One of our oldest natural resources is the tree. Trees have provided us with shelter, fire, food, paper, beauty, protection, and so much more. It’s clear that we think trees are cool here at Timber Ridge Tree Service, so we thought we’d share some fun facts about them with you:
- The world’s shortest tree is found in northern tundra regions and is called the Dwarf Willow. It only grown about couple of inches high.
- The world’s tallest trees include the Coast Redwood, Sitka Spruce, Giant Sequoia, and the Australian Mountain Ash. They can get over 320 feet high.
- The tallest standing tree in the world right now is a Mountain Ash tree called “Centurion” and is found in Tasmania. It stands over 329 feet 8 inches high.
- Trees do not die of old age. They only die from insects, diseases, and people.
- There are over 23,000 types of trees in the world.
- A single tree can absorb as much as 48 pounds of carbon dioxide each year. That same tree can take on about one ton of CO2 safely by the time its 40 years old.
- Every state has their own official tree. (Remember Utah’s? It changed! Hint: Read our previous blog about Utah’s state tree.)
- Some Bristlecone Pines are thought to be over 5,000 years old. The famous Lime Tree in Gloucestershire is about 6,000 years old, and Perthshire’s Fortingall Yew is estimated to be about 9,000 years old.
- The vessels in softwoods are different than in hardwoods. Their cells are open and are used to bring nutrients to the tree. Also, not all softwoods are actually softer than hardwoods.
- The shade and wind protection that trees provide reduces heating and cooling costs by about $2.1 billion throughout the United States each year. For maximum benefit, plant trees effectively on your property to get an estimated 30% cut in air conditioning costs. (Our arborists can help with placement suggestions.)
- Trees only get about 10% of their nutrition from the soil, the other 90% comes from the atmosphere.
- With proper forest management and protections, wood fuel can be renewable. The net carbon emissions from wood are generally less than with fossil fuels.
- Wet wood can conduct electricity, dry wood cannot.
- The world’s lightest wood is Holly. The world’s darkest wood is Ebony.
- Lignin is what makes hardwoods hard, therefore softwoods have less of it.
- The heaviest wood in the US is Holywood Lignum Vitae, which have loads of lignin. The heaviest wood in the world is Australian Bauhinia Red.
- Before human impact, the Oak Woodland was the most common vegetation found in Britain.
- Trees in the country tend to live about 13 years longer than trees in the city.
- Spanning an impressive 8.5 million acres, the Amazon Basin is the biggest area of tropical forest on Earth.
As you can see, we’re passionate about trees! Trees require professionally maintenance to stay healthy and happy. Trust in our expertise when it comes to the trees on your property.
