Botanical Wednesday: Get some pants on!

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1. 1
   

   Sally Strange, OM

   27 October 2011 at 12:38 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

   Pssshhhh. Wearing pants is so twentieth century.

2. 2
   

   sandiseattle, fannypack user since 2000

   27 October 2011 at 12:39 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

   So maybe the lower part was under water at one point? at least thats what I would surmise.

3. 3
   

   feralboy12

   27 October 2011 at 12:40 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

   Obviously this tree is dreaming; it’s probably about to give a speech before the United Nations assembly.

4. 4
   

   Glen Davidson

   27 October 2011 at 12:47 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

   I saw some bits and pieces of what it was wearing in some bottle or other. Jammed in pretty tightly.

   I don’t think it would do it any good any more.

   Glen Davidson

5. 5
   

   Sentient Meat

   27 October 2011 at 12:52 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

   Hungry giraffes?

6. 6
   

   Rey Fox

   27 October 2011 at 12:54 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

   You know, if you click on the picture…

7. 7
   

   'Tis Himself, OM

   27 October 2011 at 1:27 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

   Get some pants on!

   Trees don’t pant. They respire in another way.

8. 8
   

   wilsim

   27 October 2011 at 1:54 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

   Does it appear that tree has shrinkage? I looked, but see nothing in the crotches of the tree.

   In other news, is that a cork tree?

9. 9
   

   matthewgill

   27 October 2011 at 2:14 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

   It’s a cork tree.

10. 10
    

    Menyambal

    27 October 2011 at 3:19 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

    Yeah, it’s a cork oak. Click the pic for most of the story. What they leave out is the fact that the cork harvesters can’t use the rough outer layer the first time, so they really have to wait even more years to get a useful harvest.

11. 11
    

    Stuart

    27 October 2011 at 3:43 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

    I read this blog in Google Reader, and it seems they have some weird algorithm for selecting ads to appear. I just noticed noticed an ad on this post for Christian Mingle, a dating site for Christian singles. A screen shot is here:
    https://webshare.uchicago.edu/xythoswfs/webui/_xy-4214763_1-t_Ly1x7jAB

12. 12
    

    RowanVT

    27 October 2011 at 3:57 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

    @10

    Actually, they can use it… just not for the typical purposes associated with cork. It’s very popular with reptile and air-plant enthusiasts, however.

13. 13
    

    Richard Drumm The Astronomy Bum

    27 October 2011 at 4:53 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

    I recognized a cork tree immediately. Interesting background info, Menyambal!
    I see lots of cork products that look like they’re made from small chips of cork glued together. Might be from that first harvest of bark.

14. 14
    

    madtom1999

    27 October 2011 at 8:24 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

    Enjoy it while you can – these trees will be gone soon with the acceptance of plastic corks. And so will the whole ecosystem they support – not least of which is pigs fattened on their acorns and then turned into air dried ham of a quality that might just make you believe in a higher being who certainly wouldn’t even consider considering pigs to be dirty…

15. 15
    

    Ariaflame

    27 October 2011 at 9:05 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

    Although given the depletion of the fossil fuel resources necessary for the creation of plastics it might be that cork from renewable sources may come back into vogue.

16. 16
    

    Antiochus Epiphanes

    27 October 2011 at 11:40 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

    Suber post, Squidly OL.

17. 17
    

    ibbica

    27 October 2011 at 1:06 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

    @madtom1999
    Odds on the flooring industry picking up the slack?

    Reminds me of the argument to use real trees, vines, flowers, berries, etc. for decorations, instead of buying plastic or silk, as it encourages farms of plants over production in factories.

    There’s a little more to it than that, of course… but if the farming is done in a responsible way that allows the natural ecosystem to persist then I’m all for it. All those captive-bred Iberian lynx need somewhere to live, after all :)

18. 18
    

    Naked Bunny with a Whip

    27 October 2011 at 1:57 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

    Aww.

19. 19
    

    greame

    27 October 2011 at 4:26 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

    @Stuart #11

    We are all well aware of the situation with the ads. It has been addressed many times.