Trees with branches raised up. Evergreen long-livers of the earth are coniferous trees. Her Majesty - Thuja

Trees with a weeping crown shape can become a point of emotional attraction in the garden. The main thing is to make the right choice.

By and large, weeping and umbrella forms of the crown should be distinguished, although often both of them are referred to in the names of plants as pendula(weeping). A umbraculifera(umbrella) is extremely rare. And this is not boring - they are used in different ways in the garden. For example, on the shore of a pond, an umbrella form, especially if the ends of its branches are not very weeping, will look worse than above a bench with a table, but a weeping one with sharply hanging branches - on the contrary.

Based on their appearance, weeping forms can easily be divided into those that have a natural appearance and those that look rather artificial. The first include ungrafted forms with drooping branches - they will look good in natural gardens. The second includes forms grafted onto a standard, or whose branches fall sharply along the trunk. Their place is in gardens, the man-made nature of which is not hidden.

9 trees with a weeping crown shape for your garden

(The descriptions do not indicate the size of the plants, as they depend on the height of the grafting and the chosen molding method.)

1. Silver birch Long Trunk (Betula pendula Long Trunk)

Similar to a more famous cultivar Youngii, but unlike it, the branches do not first rise up and then droop, but immediately hang down from the grafting site. In addition, they are thicker and longer. Otherwise, the bark and leaves are just like those of an ordinary species of birch.

2. Caragana arborescens Pendula

The popular weeping form of caragana is most often grafted onto trunks about 1.2-1.5 m high. There is a similar, also weeping cultivar " Walker", but with a very narrow leaf blade. Thanks to this, it looks even more openwork.

Caragana arborescens Pendula

3. Japanese crimson Pendulum (Cercidiphyllum japonicum Pendulum)

A very elegant and relatively old form with long hanging branches. The almost round leaf gives the crown surface a unique texture. There are specimens on sale on low (about 1 m) and high trunks (more than 2.5 m). In autumn, the foliage turns lemon tones.

Japanese Pendulum (Cercidiphyllum japonicum Pendulum)

4. Tall ash Pendula (Fraxinus excelsior Pendula)

In everything except the shape of the crown, it resembles the most common ash - dark green large leaves that turn yellow in autumn, gray smooth bark. The crown has sharply sloping shoots, which can be quite long, reaching down to the ground.

Tall ash Pendula (Fraxinus excelsior Pendula)

5. Apple berry Umbraculifera (Malus baccata Umbraculifera)

It gave rise to many modern decorative weeping and umbrella varieties of apple trees. The flowers are white, sometimes pinkish. Fruits up to 1 cm in diameter. When grafted onto a low trunk, planted and/or formed obliquely, over time it becomes very picturesque.

6. Rowan Pendula (Sorbus aucuparia Pendula)

A form known since Soviet times. Often the grafting is done on trunks 1.5-2 m high. The result is a stocky, weeping tree on a thick trunk, whose flowers, fruits, leaves and their autumn color are no different from the species common rowan.

Mountain ash Pendula (Sorbus aucuparia Pendula)

7. Elm Pendula (Ulmus glabra Pendula)

The shape is very similar to the more common rough elm in our country. camperdownii, but differs from it in that the branches first extend horizontally from the trunk and only then droop quite sharply. This makes the crown tent-shaped.

Elm Pendula (Ulmus glabra Pendula)

8. Norway spruce Frohburg (Picea abies Frohburg)

In many ways similar to the well-known form of Norway spruce" Inversa"But if we have to tie it to a support to form a vertical, otherwise the plant will simply lie on the ground, then with spruce" Frohburg“There is no need to do this - it grows upward on its own.

9. European larch Puli (Larix decidua Puli)

Entitled Pendula Quite a lot of weeping larches are imported into Russia, sometimes very different from each other. Variety Puli is derived from Pendula. It is believed that it is even more weeping than its ancestors. Most often on a trunk up to 1.5 m high.

Deciduous trees are used in the design of most garden plots. Some are planted for decorative purposes, others are fruit-bearing, in order to obtain a rich harvest.

Deciduous garden crops include flowering trees and bushes. These plants appeared later than conifers. Also read the article about. The fruits on the branches are formed as a result of the development of the ovary.

Deciduous trees vary in type of foliage, wood properties, and cultural value. Some rocks are also used to make spices.

Deciduous trees are a necessary attribute for garden compositions. In winter and summer, their structure is different.

Oak is a plant found from the north to the subtropics.

Several varieties also grow in tropical areas.

There are about 600 species in total.

Three types of oak are common in Russia: pedunculate in the European part, rocky in the Caucasus and Mongolian in the Far East.

View	Description	Leaves
Petiolate	It grows throughout all European territories up to the Urals. A light-loving, long-lived plant reaching 40 m in height. Prefers moist soil. Planting of acorns is carried out in autumn or late spring.	Oblong, with small petioles, dense, green.
Red	A short North American tree (up to 25 m), preferring light areas with soil of moderate humidity. Lifespan is up to 2000 years. Resistant to diseases, not susceptible to pests. The crown is dense, tent-shaped.	After blooming they are red, later green. In autumn, rich brown or brown.
Mongolian	Grows up to 30 m. In the coastal zone it is low and shrubby. Resistant to cold and strong winds.	Dense, with a small petiole, tapering towards the base.

Acacia

Acacia originated on the North American continent, but is now distributed throughout the globe.

Height up to 25 m, but shrubby trees are often found.

View	Description	Leaves
street	Heat-loving, easily tolerates dry summers, but does not winter well at low temperatures. The flowers are fragrant, white, up to 20 cm.	Unpaired, dark green.
Golden	Bush-like, up to 9-12 m. Inflorescences white or yellow. Flowering occurs in late spring or the first weeks of summer.	Light green, turns yellow in autumn.
Silk (Lenkoran)	A low tree (6-9 m) with a spreading crown. Blooms in mid-summer, flowers are white and pink.	Lacey, blooms late and remains on the tree until November.

Birch

One of the most common trees in Russia is birch.

In Slavic culture, products made from this plant were endowed with magical properties. In folk and traditional medicine, buds, leaves, and tree bark are used. Birch sap also has healing qualities.

About 120 species of this tree are found in nature. Some of them are dwarf, others grow up to 20 m or more. Birch trees can be a good addition to the landscape design of the area.

View	Description	Leaves
Dwarf	Western European shrub plant growing in the tundra zone, alpine foothills, and marshy areas. Hardy, winters well in cold weather.	Round, often wider than long.
Bolotnaya	The bark is white, turning gray over time. Height up to 20 m. Branches always point upward. Loves moist areas with low sand content in the soil.	Elliptical, small, bright green.
Weeping	An elegant plant with a dense umbrella crown and downward-pointing branches. Unpretentious, resistant to cold winters.	Round, dark green, small.

Maple

Maple is a long-living tree with beautiful foliage that effectively changes color with the onset of autumn. The maple leaf is featured on the national flag of Canada.

Most of the species are of medium height, but there are also shrubby forms. Several varieties of evergreen maples also grow in the Mediterranean.

View	Description	Leaves
Field (plain)	A tree with a straight or slightly curved trunk and a developed root system. Does well in urban environments.	Bright green, five-lobed, in autumn the color changes to yellow, orange, brown, reddish.
Globular	Decorative subspecies of maple, bred to decorate parks, alleys, and home gardens. The natural shape of the crown is spherical and does not require pruning of branches.	Sharp, five-lobed, glossy.
Red	Popular in Japan, but suitable for growing in the climate of central Russia.	Red, in some species purple or bluish.

Linden

Linden is a plant of the mallow family, which is often planted in cities.

Takes root well in parks. Prefers moist soils, temperate and subtropical climates.

View	Description	Leaves
large-leaved	Distributed in Central Russia, it has a widely pyramidal crown. Prefers dark areas.	Oval-shaped, dark green, the underside of the leaf is lighter than the top.
Crimean	Suitable for cold regions, unpretentious. The inflorescences are small, yellow-white.	Heart-shaped, rich green color.
Small-leaved	It blooms in July for about a month. Can grow in sun and shade.	Small, heart-shaped, with reddish corners.

Willow

Imprints of ancient willows are found on rocks of the Cretaceous period.

Today there are more than 550 varieties of this plant, some of which grow in the harsh climate of the Arctic. Most common in cool areas.

View	Description	Leaves
Rod-shaped	A small tree with thin, long branches. Flowering occurs in early to mid-spring.	Elongated (up to 20 cm), thin, with soft silky hair on the surface.
Silver	Slow growing shrubby plant.	Pointed oval, small, with a silvery tint.
Weeping	It grows in Europe and has a conical crown with drooping branches. In spring, greenish, slightly silvery catkins form on the trees. Easily takes root in cities, loves open and bright places.	Narrow, shiny, bluish.

In the myths of the Komi people, alder was revered as a sacred tree, and in Ireland, cutting down this plant was considered a crime.

There are up to 40 species of alder in the world, most of which grow in temperate climates.

View	Description	Leaves
Green	A bush-like plant whose habitat is western Europe and the Carpathian Mountains. It can be grown in garden plots with sandy, clay soil. Suitable for latitudes with cold winters.	Small, ovoid, pointed.
Golden	Grows up to 20 m. The crown is rounded, sometimes conical. Does not tolerate arid climates well.	Green-golden, turning yellow in autumn.
Siberian	It grows in the Far East, preferring areas near rivers or coniferous forests. There are both trees and shrubs. Tolerates severe frosts and does not bloom.	Bright green, small, with pointed ends.

Elm

A tall, spreading tree found in deciduous forests. According to scientists, the first elms appeared on Earth more than 40 million years ago.

Now these plants can be seen in southern forests and parks, in the middle zone. Suitable for growing in gardens.

View	Description	Leaves
Thick	Found in Central Asian forests. Some trees grow up to 30 m. It easily tolerates dry weather, but growth accelerates in moist soil.	Leathery, green, with jagged edges.
Hornbeam	It has a spreading crown and prefers the steppe zone.	Dense, marsh-green, unequal, up to 12 cm in length.
Androsova Elm	A hybrid variety of elm that is cultivated in Asian countries. It has a spreading spherical crown.	Ovoid, unequal, dark green.

Poplar

Poplars are tall, fast-growing trees that adapt well to cities. They grow in temperate latitudes of America, Asia and Europe.

The lifespan of these plants usually does not exceed 150 years. Many people develop an allergy to poplar fluff (the soft hairs from the seed pod), so only male trees should be planted in the garden.

View	Description	Leaves
White	Unpretentious, tolerates heat and cold well. It has a wide, slightly rounded crown.	Young trees resemble maple trees, later they acquire an ovoid shape. Dense, with a long petiole.
Fragrant	Asian tree resistant to severe frosts. Does not take root in cities.	Leathery, oval, up to 10 cm in length.
large-leaved	A sun-loving plant, but loving moist soil. Easily tolerates frost and dry summers. It is planted for decorative purposes because of its unusual foliage.	Large (up to 25 cm), hard, glossy, heart-shaped.

In the old days, ash was revered as a male plant, so weapons were often made from its wood. This wood is used to make sports equipment, furniture, musical instruments. The fruits and bark are used in medicine.

It grows quickly and can reach a height of 60 m. The root system is very wide, going deep underground.

Hornbeam

A broad-leaved tree characteristic of European and Asian forests.

It has a cylindrical crown and fits perfectly into garden plots. The height does not exceed 20 m, and the life expectancy is about 150 years.

View	Description	Leaves
Pyramidal	A cone-shaped tree with a spreading crown (up to 8 m), growing up to 20 m.	They are egg-shaped, up to 10 cm long and 6 cm wide.
Eastern (hornbeam)	A low, often bush-like hornbeam, found in Asia and the Caucasus. Heat-loving, not adapted to cold wintering.	Oval, pointed, glossy. In autumn they change color to lemon color.
Cordifolia	Grows in the Far Eastern region. Resistant to strong gusts of wind. Unpretentious to the soil.	Light green, ovoid, changing color to brown or red by September.

Horse chestnut is a tree that grows best in deep, fertile soil. All varieties are excellent honey plants.

Horse chestnut has also been used in medicine since ancient times.

The most common tall tree varieties are not suitable for small garden plots. However, there are dwarf species that can be used in landscape design.

Fruit

Among fruit plants There are both deciduous trees and shrubs and evergreens.

There are hundreds of varieties of fruit plants in the world.

Apple, plum and cherry trees are traditionally grown in Russian regions, but some other trees are also frost-resistant and take root well in the middle zone.

This plant tolerates the harsh winters of Siberia well and does not require troublesome care. Serviceberry berries contain a high content of vitamin C, acids, and tannins.

To obtain a rich harvest, shadberry is planted in an open, sunny place, maintaining a distance between bushes of at least 3 m.

Hazel is also known as hazel. An unpretentious, sun-loving shrub that bears fruit in late summer or early autumn. Common hazel nuts are called hazelnuts.

They have high nutritional value, contain valuable oils and are rich in microelements. To increase the yield, replanting is carried out every two years.

Deciduous bush, less often a low tree. Hawthorn is often grown for decorative purposes, but its fruits are widely used in medicine.

They regulate heart function, help fight shortness of breath and are useful for thyroid diseases.

Honeysuckle

There are more than 200 species of honeysuckle in the world. In the wild, it grows in Asian regions. These plants are trees and shrubs.

Garden honeysuckle is often used for decorative purposes.

Plum, cherry, bird cherry, sweet cherry

These plants are distinguished by beautiful flowering and white or white-pink flowers.

They prefer sunny and open places. In spring they bring sophistication and freshness to the garden, and their fruits are widely used in cooking.

The most common type is black elderberry, but Marginata and Aurea varieties are more suitable for garden plots.

Elderberry is planted in a sunny place or in light partial shade and propagated by cuttings.

Rowan is a low tree of the Apple family, common in Europe and North America. There are up to 100 species, but in Russia the most common mountain ash is the common mountain ash.

Does not require complex care, looks impressive both in summer and autumn. The berries contain trace elements (potassium, copper, iron, zinc, magnesium), vitamins, sugars and amino acids.

In Russian gardens you can find different varieties of apple trees - with white, red, pink fruits. The flowering period occurs in April or May.

Apple trees are propagated by purchasing new trees, which are planted in an open and sunny place.

Growing peaches is quite painstaking, and the lifespan of this plant is short. They are not suitable for the Moscow region and all central regions.

Peach grows in warm latitudes, producing flowers early in the year - in January or February. The flowering of the tree begins before the first leaves bloom.

Evergreen deciduous plants

Coniferous or evergreen deciduous trees are also used in the design of homestead areas. Today there are many varieties of trees and shrubs that are capable of decorating a site with their fresh and bright crown throughout the year.

More than 600 species of rhododendron grow in the world, some of which are deciduous, and some are evergreen. One of the most popular genera is azalea.

Azaleas are heat-loving, require careful care, they need acidic soil and regular fertilizers.

A slow-growing, unpretentious plant that in Russia grows mainly on the Black Sea coast.

One of the most ancient shrubs used for landscaping. Since boxwood easily tolerates pruning, it is well suited for creating hedges and sculptural compositions.

A small tree with an openwork crown and small leaves that turn into bright and unusual colors in autumn

There are also large varieties, the crown width of which can reach 10 m. Dwarf and creeping varieties are often used in decorating areas, effectively entwining fences and hedges.

An ancient plant that appeared in the Cretaceous period. Natural habitat is East Asia and North America.

Wild magnolia grows on the Russian island of Kunashir. In the southern regions it is used for urban landscaping and planted in private areas.

Difference between deciduous and coniferous trees

Deciduous plants differ from conifers not only in leaf structure and reproduction characteristics. There are coniferous trees whose leaves do not resemble needle-shaped needles, and some of them (for example, larch) are not evergreen, so determining the type of plant is not always easy.

Main differences:

There are many classes of deciduous plants, while conifers are grouped into one class. Previously, yews were classified into the second group, but now scientists have abandoned this division.
Conifers are much older and do not have a flowering stage. They are always either male or female.
Deciduous trees adapt more easily to different climatic conditions and are able to grow in the harshest and driest regions.

Despite the existing differences, both types are able to exist next to each other, so they are often combined when designing a site. Popular ornamental coniferous plants are cypress, cedar, thuja, and juniper.

Mr. Summer Resident informs: deciduous trees in the landscape

Trees are an integral part of landscape design. Both an exotic variety of magnolia and an ordinary aspen or alder can look impressive on the backyard.

To properly design a site, you should follow simple rules:

The height of the tree should correspond to the area of the garden.
Oak, elm and other large species have deep roots, so they can dry out the ground greatly.
The shape of the crown can emphasize or disrupt the elegance of architecture. When creating the design of the territory, the growth characteristics of the branches are taken into account.

Most deciduous plants do not require complex care, but they can enliven the garden and make the area elegant and unusual.

Among the plants that decorate our gardens, conifers occupy a special place. They give the garden a noble look and decorate it all year round. They are loved because they are very decorative and set the tone in many compositions. But, coniferous plants are especially popular in winter - on the eve of the New Year. They look spectacular in New Year's decorations in our apartments, under caps of snow in large parks and squares, and in very small areas.

As for the landed coniferous plants, then we can say that the sympathies of gardeners are almost evenly distributed among the various types of spruce, pine, thuja, juniper and larches. All of them can be called long-livers; many of them live for hundreds of years.

Almost all conifers are evergreen. Only some of them, for example, larch, shed their needles for the winter. Still, the rest renew their needles gradually. Every few years the old needles fall off and new young green needles appear in their place.

The variety of coniferous plants allows gardeners to choose the most suitable tree or shrub for their garden.

The following advantages of conifers make them very popular in landscape gardening:

Tolerates lack of light and moisture well
Many varieties naturally have correct form and therefore do not need a haircut
Thanks to its medicinal pine aroma, it is widely used in folk and official medicine.
Due to the variety of types and shapes, they are actively used in landscape compositions in areas of any size.

If you decide to plant a coniferous plant on your site, you need to approach the choice very carefully.

Key questions to ask yourself:

What do you want to plant - a tree or a shrub?
Is the composition ready for the conifer?
Have you taken into account your climatic conditions and the composition of the soil on the site?

Coniferous plants go well, in particular with cereals, roses, etc. If the answers are ready, you can start selecting the variety, type and shape of the coniferous plant.

Types of conifers

Spruce

An evergreen monoecious and wind-pollinated plant. Its Latin name (lat. Picea) spruce is due to the high resin content in the wood. Widespread use in industry is due to the softness of the wood and the absence of a core.

Spruce- perhaps the most beloved and widespread coniferous tree in our country. These beautiful slender trees with a pyramidal crown occupy one of the first places in the coniferous kingdom and number almost 50 species of plants in their genus.

The largest number of spruce species grows in Western and Central China and in the northern hemisphere. In Russia, 8 species of spruce are well known.

Spruce is considered a fairly shade-tolerant plant, however, it still prefers good lighting. Its root system is superficial, i.e. close to the ground. Therefore, they do not dig up the soil at the roots. Spruce is demanding on soil fertility and loves light loamy and sandy loam soils.

Types of fir trees successfully used in landscaping:

Sometimes it reaches 40 meters. Fast growing tree. Thanks to the special color of the needles - the top is shiny dark green, and the bottom has noticeable white stripes - it gives the impression that the tree is bluish-green. Brown-purple cones give the plant a special charm and elegance.

Serbian spruce looks great both in single and group plantings. An excellent example is the magnificent alleys in parks.

There are dwarf varieties no more than 2 meters high.

(Picea obovata). On the territory of our country it grows in Western and Eastern Siberia, the Far East and the Urals.

Coniferous tree up to 30 m high. The crown is dense, wide-conical, with a pointed apex. The bark is fissured, gray. The cones are ovoid-cylindrical, brown. It has several subtypes, differing in the color of the needles - from pure green to silver and even golden.

Norway spruce or common spruce (Picea abies). The maximum height of a coniferous tree is 50 m. It can live up to 300 years. This is a slender tree with a dense pyramidal crown. Norway spruce is considered the most common tree in Europe. The width of the trunk of an old tree can reach 1 m. Mature cones of the common spruce are oblong-cylindrical in shape. They ripen in the fall in October, and their seeds begin to fall from January to April. Norway spruce is considered the fastest growing. So, in a year she can grow 50 cm.

Thanks to breeding work, several very decorative varieties of this type. Among them there are weeping, compact, and pin-shaped spruces. All of them are very popular in landscape gardening and are widely used in park compositions and as hedges.

Spruce, like any other coniferous plant, becomes especially beautiful with the arrival of winter. Any shade of pine effectively emphasizes the snow cover, and the garden looks elegant and noble.

In addition to the types of spruce described above, prickly spruce, oriental spruce, black spruce, Canadian spruce, and ayan spruce are also popular among gardeners.

The pine genus consists of more than 100 names. These conifers are distributed throughout almost the entire Northern Hemisphere. Also, pine grows well in forests in Asia and North America. Artificially planted pine plantations do well in the Southern Hemisphere of our planet. It is much more difficult for this coniferous tree to take root in urban conditions.

Tolerates frost and drought well. But pine doesn’t really like the lack of light. This coniferous plant gives good annual growth. The dense crown of pine is very decorative, and therefore pine is successfully used in landscaping parks and gardens, both in single and group plantings. This conifer prefers sandy, calcareous and rocky soils. Although there are several types of pine that prefer fertile soils - these are Weymouth, Wallich, cedar and resin pine.

Some properties of pine are simply amazing. For example, the peculiarity of its bark is fascinating: the bark below is much thicker than the one above. This makes us think once again about the wisdom of nature. After all, it is this property that protects the tree from summer overheating and possible ground fire.

Another feature is how the tree prepares for the winter in advance. After all, the evaporation of moisture in frost can destroy the plant. Therefore, as soon as cold weather approaches, pine needles are covered with a thin layer of wax, and the stomata close. Those. the pine tree stops breathing!

Scots pine. It is rightfully considered a symbol of the Russian forest. The tree reaches a height of 35-40 meters, and therefore is deservedly called a tree of the first magnitude. The trunk circumference sometimes reaches 1 meter. Pine needles are dense, bluish-green. They come in different shapes - protruding, curved, and even collected in bunches of 2 needles.

The lifespan of needles is 3 years. With the onset of autumn, the needles turn yellow and fall off.

Pine cones, as a rule, are located 1-3 pieces on the legs. Ripe cones are brown or brown in color and reach a length of 6 cm.

Under unfavorable conditions, Scots pine may stop growing and remain a “dwarf”. Surprisingly, different specimens may have different root systems. For example, in dry soils, a pine tree can develop a taproot that extracts water deep underground. And in conditions of high groundwater levels, lateral roots develop.

The lifespan of Scots pine can reach 200 years. History knows of cases when pine lived for 400 years.

Scots pine is considered a fast-growing tree. Over the course of a year, its growth can be 50-70 cm. This coniferous tree begins to bear fruit at the age of 15. In forest and dense planting conditions - only after 40 years.

Latin name Pinus mugo. This is a multi-stemmed coniferous tree reaching a height of 10-20 meters. Dwarf varieties - 40-50 cm. Trunks - semi-lodging and ascending. In adulthood it can reach a diameter of 3 m. A very decorative coniferous plant.

The needles are dark, long, often curved. The bark is brownish-gray, scaly. The cones ripen in the 3rd year.

To date, more than 100 varieties of mountain pine have been registered. And every year this number increases. In landscape gardening, dwarf varieties are especially used, which form beautiful compositions along the banks of reservoirs and in rocky gardens.

Magnificent species with a narrow pyramidal crown. Homeland - North America. In our country it grows well in the southern and middle zones. Grows up to 10 meters. It does not tolerate urban conditions very well. Especially at a young age, it often freezes. Prefers places protected from winds. Therefore, it is better to plant yellow pine in groups.

The needles are dark and long. The bark is thick, reddish-brown, cracking into large plates. The cones are ovoid, almost sessile. There are about 10 varieties of yellow pine.

A very impressive variety of pine. Homeland - North America. The needles have a blue-green tint. The cones are large and somewhat curved. A mature tree can reach a height of more than 30 meters. It is considered a long-liver, as it can live up to 400 years. As it grows, it changes its crown from narrow-pyramidal to wide-pyramidal. It acquired its name thanks to the English Lord Weymouth, who brought it to his homeland from North America in the 18th century.

Does not tolerate salty soils well. It is relatively resistant to frost, but does not like winds. Weymouth pine is characterized by red pubescence on young shoots.

A relatively low coniferous plant - up to 20 m high. It is a slow-growing tree. The bark is light gray, lamellar. The needles are bright green, hard, curved. The cones are yellowish, shiny, long. The crown diameter can reach 5-6 meters.

Some experts consider it Geldreich's pine. Indeed, the similarities are great. However, since there are varieties under both names, we will still focus on whitebark pine. To date, about 10 varieties of this species are known. Geldreich's pine has about the same amount. Often varieties can be mixed.

In the conditions of our country, this type of pine takes root best in the southern regions, as it does not tolerate frost well. Whitebark pine is light-loving and undemanding to the nutritional composition of the soil, but grows better on moderately moist, drained and moderately alkaline soils.

Looks good in Japanese, rocky and heather gardens. Excellent for both solitary planting and mixed groups.

Fir

Tall (up to 60 m) coniferous tree with a conical crown. Looks a bit like spruce. The diameter can reach 2 meters. This is a real long-lived plant. Some specimens live 400-700 years. The fir trunk is straight and columnar. The crown is dense. At a young age, the fir crown has a cone-shaped or pyramidal shape. As it matures, the shape of the crown becomes cylindrical.

The needles, depending on the variety, have different lengths and live 8-10 years. Fir begins to bear fruit at the age of approximately 30 years. The cones are erect and long (up to 25 cm).

This coniferous plant does not tolerate frost, drought and extreme heat. The advantage is that this is the most shade-tolerant tree. Sometimes seedlings may appear under the mother tree in complete shade. With good lighting, firs naturally grow better.

This coniferous plant is a real find in landscape gardening. Fir is used both in single plantings and for decorating alleys. Dwarf forms look great in a rocky garden and on an alpine hill.

The botanical name is Abies balsamea "Nana". This coniferous plant is a dwarf cushion-shaped tree. IN natural conditions grows in North America.

Unpretentious in care. Loves good lighting, but also tolerates shadow well. For balsam fir, it is not so much frost that is dangerous as strong gusty winds, which can simply damage a small tree. Prefers light, moist, fertile, slightly acidic soil. It reaches a height of 1 m, which makes it a favorite decorative object in landscape gardening. It is equally good for decorating the garden, landscaping terraces, slopes and roofs.

Propagated by seeds and annual cuttings with an apical bud.

The needles are dark green with a special sheen. Exudes a characteristic resinous aroma. The cones are red-brown, elongated, reaching a length of 5-10 cm.

This is a very slow growing coniferous plant. In 10 years it grows no more than 30 cm. It lives up to 300 years.

Nordmann fir (or Caucasian). An evergreen coniferous tree that came to us from the mountains of the Caucasus and Asia Minor. Sometimes it grows up to 60-80 meters in height. The crown shape is neat cone-shaped. It is for this neat appearance that gardeners love Nordmann fir.

It is she who is decorated instead of a Christmas tree on new year holidays In many European countries. This is largely due to the structure of the branches - the branches are often located and raised upward. This is a distinctive feature of the Nordmann fir.

The needles are dark green with some shine. Young shoots have a light green, even yellowish tint. The needles are from 15 to 40 mm and look very fluffy. If you lightly rub the needles between your fingers, you can feel a specific citrus aroma.

The trunk of an adult plant can reach two meters in diameter. When young, the bark of Caucasian fir is grayish-brown and smooth. As it matures, it cracks into segments and becomes dull.

Nordmann fir grows quite quickly. Under favorable conditions, this coniferous tree can live up to 600-700 years. Moreover, the increase in height and width continues until the very last day of life!

Depending on the type of soil, the root system can be either superficial or deep with a central core. The cones of this fir are large, up to 20 cm, located vertically on a short stem.

It has a unique property - the needles on the branches remain even after they dry out, even to the point of mechanical damage.

A coniferous evergreen plant belonging to the Cypress family. It could be either a tree or a shrub. Common juniper (Juniperus communis) grows mainly in the Northern Hemisphere of our planet. However, in Africa you can also find your own juniper - the East African one. In the Mediterranean and Central Asia, this plant forms juniper forests. Quite common are low-growing species that spread along the ground and rocky slopes.

Today, more than fifty species of juniper are known.

As a rule, this is a light-loving and drought-resistant crop. Completely undemanding to soils and temperatures. However, like any plant, it has its own preferences - for example, it develops better in light and nutritious soil.

Like all coniferous plants, it is long-lived. Its average lifespan is about 500 years.

The needles of juniper are bluish-green, triangular, pointed at the ends. The cones are spherical in shape and gray or blue in color. Tap root.

This coniferous plant was also attributed magical properties. For example, a juniper wreath was believed to ward off evil spirits and bring good luck. Perhaps this is why in Europe there is a fashion for hanging wreaths on the eve of the New Year.

Both juniper trees and shrubs are widely used in landscape design. Group plantings are good for creating hedges. Single plants also do an excellent job of playing the main role in the composition. Low-growing creeping varieties are often used as ground cover plants. They strengthen slopes well and prevent soil erosion. In addition, juniper lends itself well to pruning.

Scaly juniper (Juniperus squamata)- creeping shrub. Dense branches with equally dense needles look very decorative.

Evergreen coniferous plant. Looks like trees or shrubs. Depending on the genus and species, it differs in color, quality of needles, crown shape, height and life expectancy. Representatives of some species live up to 150 years. At the same time, there are specimens that are true long-livers, reaching almost 1000 years!

In landscape gardening, thuja is considered one of the basic plants, and like any conifer, it is good both in group planting and as a solo plant. It is used to decorate alleys, hedges and borders.

The most common types of thuja are western, oriental, giant, Korean, Japanese, etc.

Thuja needles are soft, needle-like. The needles of a young plant are light green. With age, the needles acquire a darker shade. The fruits are oval or oblong cones. The seeds ripen in the first year.

Thuja is famous for its unpretentiousness. It tolerates frost well and is easy to care for. Unlike other coniferous plants, it tolerates gas pollution well in large cities. Therefore, it is indispensable in urban landscaping.

larches

Coniferous plants with needles that fall off in the winter. This partly explains its name. These are large, light-loving and winter-hardy plants that grow quickly, are undemanding to soil and tolerate air pollution well.

Larches are especially beautiful in early spring and late autumn. In the spring, larch needles acquire a soft green hue, and in the fall - bright yellow. Since the needles grow every year, their needles are very soft.

Larch bears fruit from the age of 15. The cones have an ovoid-conical shape, somewhat reminiscent of a rose flower. They reach a length of 6 cm. Young cones are purple in color. As they ripen, they acquire a brown tint.

Larch- a long-lived tree. Some of them live up to 800 years. The plant develops most intensively in the first 100 years. These are tall and slender trees, reaching 25-80 meters in height, depending on the type and conditions.

In addition, larch is a very useful tree. It has very hard and durable wood. In industry, its red kernel is in greatest demand. Also, larch is valued in folk medicine. Folk healers harvest its young shoots, buds and larch resin, from which they obtain “Venetian” turpentine (turpentine), which is used for many diseases. The bark is harvested throughout the summer and used as a vitamin supplement.

Photos of coniferous plants

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The roots of New Zealand's giant tree, Metrosideros excelsa, live by their own rules. The scientific name of this tree is "metrosideros", but the Antipodes call it the "Christmas tree" because it blooms magnificently at Christmas time, which in New Zealand falls in the spring.

This is not a trunk, but a plexus of huge rata vines (Meirosideros robusta).

Most of these Christmas trees (the Maori call them "pahutakawa") are perfectly normal, except that when they grow on the ocean, they often extend their roots straight into the churning surf. But this is what is striking about them: sometimes this or that tree throws out a lot of fibrous roots that hang from the branches. These roots never reach the ground; they surround the trunk like a New Zealand grass skirt. For what? No one knows. New Zealand scientists Laing and Blackwell write: “When they grow on the plain, large tufts of brown fibrous roots can sometimes be observed... Their purpose is unknown.”

Two assumptions are made. Perhaps the tree is preparing for old age - after all, these trees reach great heights and great age - and they may need roots in the future. Or maybe, if the roots of a tree in the ground are clogged with ocean salts, aerial roots extract moisture from the atmosphere.

The top of the rath "tree".

And other metrosideros are famous for their roots. In the New Zealand rhododendron reserve in Pukeiti there once lived a coniferous tree called Dacrydium cupressinum. One day a bird sat on it and cleaned its beak on the bark, dropping into the crack the seed of a rata vine, also belonging to the Metrosideros. The seed sprouted and sprang. It reached its roots to the ground, and over time the roots became so huge that they grew together, forming a “trunk” that crushed the host tree (see page 50). Currently, this rata is a tree 45 m high with a diameter at the base of 4.2 m. Recently, fourteen schoolchildren climbed into a hollow that appeared at the base as a result of the complete rotting of the dacridium that once served as a support for the rata.

Banyan trees

The banyan tree is a ficus tree that has developed auxiliary trunks to support its crown. The word "banyan" does not denote a type of tree, but only this growth feature. There may be few additional trunks, but sometimes their number reaches several hundred. In the Calcutta Botanical Garden there is a banyan tree with so many trunks that you can walk around it all in only ten minutes. Many species of ficus eventually become banyan trees, but the Indian species Ficus benghalensis exhibits this feature most often and is the most famous.

Additional trunks do not rise from the ground, like most trunks, but arise on branches in the form of aerial roots. Typically these aerial roots grow downwards, sometimes forming giant garlands under a large tree. They remain thin and flexible until they reach the ground, and then one of them turns into a kind of trunk supporting a branch. Such a root is called a “pillar root.” All trees with this feature are called banyans after the Indian tree. Developing more and more new roots-pillars, they grow more broadly than upward, and as a result, the crowns of banyan trees extend much further than the crowns of ordinary trees, and in old banyan trees they occupy a vast area. In India, the banyan tree is considered a sacred tree; bamboo sleeves are placed on the dangling young roots to protect them from damage, and the soil underneath is loosened and fertilized, preparing it to receive the young roots.

Indian ficus (F. elastica), which is cultivated in many temperate countries as indoor plant, in the wild, it throws out pillar roots and turns into a giant banyan tree.

Many banyan trees begin life normally, but some are born as epiphytes, as will be discussed in the next section.

Epiphytic roots and stranglers

In the tropics, many trees begin life high above the ground in the branches of another tree. This feature is common among ficus trees, but Clusiu rosea and other trees also often develop this way. Birds, squirrels, monkeys, eating forest fruits, drop a seed on a branch, perhaps somewhere thirty meters above the ground. If such a seed falls into a fork or other secluded place, where the wind will not throw it away and the rain will not wash it away, it most often germinates.

From this seed an epiphyte develops - an air plant that is held on the branch that shelters it, entwining it with strong roots. From there, its roots slide down the trunk of the support tree to the ground and begin to grow rapidly. Notice that this root is creeping up the trunk. Under normal circumstances, unlike the aerial roots of a banyan tree, it does not descend to the ground directly from the branch. Lateral roots encircle the trunk of the host tree, growing together where they touch each other. Botanists call this process anastomosis. Then the aggressor plant begins to release aerial roots along the entire first link that connected it to the ground - they grow down and surround the tree in a complex weave.

Support roots under one of the branches of a banyan tree in a Florida park.

These roots thicken mainly on the least illuminated side - they grow not towards the light, but from the light. And since they are tightly pressed to the trunk of the host tree, as they thicken, they press through its bark and ultimately kill it. Meanwhile, the plant, fed by the main root, grows and becomes a tree itself.

The first ropes stretching to the ground from a young epiphyte are sometimes mistaken for the stems of vines - but vines grow from the bottom up. The dead support tree trunk continues to rot in the ficus root basket for many years. We don’t know how long it takes to strangle a large forest tree, but at least a hundred years pass from the germination of the seed to the ficus becoming completely independent.

All trees that finally strangle the tree that gave them life - so to speak, throw away the ladder that has served its purpose - are called stranglers. Many types of ficus become stranglers if given the opportunity. But sometimes the seed germinates in the soil, and not on the branches of a tree high above the ground. In these cases, the young ficus remains small forever, since it has lost the ability to independently form a tall trunk. Such a tree develops long branches and long roots, but cannot produce a high stem-trunk.

Some tropical plants belong to the same family of Ramenaceae as mistletoe, and, like its famous relative, live at the expense of their neighbors. They steal nutrients by attaching their roots to the roots of neighboring plants, and the victims apparently do not suffer at all from having to feed the parasite.

In this sense, the controversy over the Western Australian Christmas tree is typical. John Bird ( John Bird is the director of the Royal Park and Botanic Gardens in Perth (Western Australia).) summarizes it as follows:

On the other hand, when the forest department preserved Nuytsia in pine forests, it learned the hard way that Nuytsia smothers the taproots of pine trees.

The following confirmation of this fact is interesting. At the American tracking station in Muchi near Perth, underground electrical cables in plastic sheaths began to fail. When they were dug up, it turned out that they were entwined with the sucking organs of Nuytsia, which managed to dissolve the shell, which led to the closure. It is not known why Nuytsia mistook these cables for roots, but, in any case, it is obvious that the enzyme with which the sucking organs penetrate the tissues of the host plant must be extremely active."

Australian Plants, in its December 1962 issue, devoted considerable space to Christmas trees and featured reports from two gardeners successfully solving the difficult task of growing them. One of them was convinced that a tree could develop from a seed without the help of a host plant, and the other tried planting seeds with and without host plants and found that both methods gave the same positive results.

Stilt roots

Many unrelated tropical trees are characterized by so-called stilt roots, that is, roots that extend from the trunk above the ground and reach the soil in a steep arch, giving the impression that the tree is standing on stilts. Botanists call such roots adventitious, which simply means they are out of place.

Stilt roots can be roughly divided into four types, although they are all very close and merge into one another, so that they are often difficult to distinguish.

Walking type

Pandanus (Pandanus) includes one hundred and eighty species of tropical trees with narrow, long leaves. A young plant throws out adventitious roots growing downwards - perhaps for additional support. As the tree grows, more and more additional supports appear, especially if it is bent due to exposure to wind or for some other reason. Each of these supports in turn releases roots that grow downward, and as a result, it sometimes seems as if the plant is walking somewhere.

Tent type

The tent type of stilt roots is most pronounced in Brazilian palms of the genus Socratea (also called Iriartea). When looking at a mature tree, the uninitiated may think that its trunk has never touched the ground, since it starts in the air at a height of 2-3 m and rests on small poles located in a tent. G. Bates wrote about this curiosity of the Brazilian forests:

“One genus of palm trees - pashiuba (Iriartea exorrhiza)... (has) roots above the ground - they diverge from the trunk at a fairly high altitude... Between the roots of an old tree you can straighten up to your full height, far from reaching your head to the place where a vertical stem begins... These roots are lined with powerful thorns, while the tree trunk is completely smooth. This oddity may be to... compensate the tree for the inability of its root system to grow in the soil due to the proximity of the roots of other trees."

Walking pandanus in a Florida tropical garden

The “cork” or “umbrella” tree (Musanga smithii) of western tropical Africa has the same structure, but with one additional feature: wherever one of its far-reaching stilts penetrates the soil, a new tree begins to grow. J. Dalziel wrote:

“It grows very quickly and immediately appears in clearings, where the leaves form a thick layer of humus, which serves as a good nutrient medium for sprouts. Soon it begins to reproduce - vegetatively, with the help of stilted roots - and in the end the first tree turns out to be the center of a small grove. Stilt roots grow from the lower part of the stem at a height of up to 3 m. Such a root first grows at right angles to the stem, and then bends towards the ground, where it gives rise to a new shoot. A broken adventitious root may branch or produce an aerial shoot upward and a root downward.”

3. Enraged Roots

An uninitiated person can imagine that the roots of all trees begin somewhere under the trunk and go down, deep into the ground. But both are true when it comes to unusual trees: there are roots that grow straight up, and there are those that grow around the branches and trunk of the tree rather than going deep into the ground. In short, roots can originate anywhere and grow in almost any direction. Bas-reliefs in Indian temples show that the Hindu religion was at one time characterized by cult drawings and sculptures of Ficus religiosa and F. benghalensis trees upside down!

Many plants have aerial roots. Epiphytic orchids have trailing roots on all branches, and in addition, more or less straight roots that grow into humus from fallen leaves, which accumulates among the leaves of the orchid. The same thing happens with epiphytic ferns. Following these plants, trees also go astray. Many palm trees have short feeding roots that grow from the soil upward, into the humus surrounding the plant, and even into the air. J. Willis reports that the roots of raffia palms (Raphia ruffia) develop between the dry petioles of fallen leaves. “They curve upward and are said to function as respiratory organs.” (For other respiratory roots, see the corresponding section of this chapter.)

Regular roots grow downward under the influence of gravity and the action of growth hormones auxins. The stems, on the contrary, grow upward - also under the influence of gravity and, apparently, due to the action of the same hormones. The root and the stem behave in diametrically opposite ways, reacting to the same stimulus, just as two unequal weights suspended from a rope passed through a pulley move in opposite directions under the influence of the same force - gravity.

However, any generalization forces us to immediately point out exceptions. In some palms (the so-called stemless Brazilian palms), the stem grows downward and thus acts as a root. As the stem deepens into the ground, the bud bends upward, but the stem of the palm tree itself turns out to be upside down. But the breathing roots of black mangroves (Avicennia nitida) grow through the mud into the air and behave like stems.

It is believed that the roots are an organ of the tree that we never see, that they stretch in different directions in search of nutrients and at the same time ensure the stability of the tree. Yes, of course, they collect water containing nutrient minerals for the entire upper superstructure and help pump this solution to the leaves against gravity, but they are completely relieved of many other household duties. Roots generally do not bear any responsibility for procreation and are not very often attacked by people, animals, or electrical companies.

No one can comprehensively explain what a root is. And in a book like this, one can only report the facts, for tree roots are capable of deviating from the norm in at least eight directions, each of which is devoted to a section in this chapter.

Trees growing upside down

Banyan trees

The Indian ficus (F. elastica), which is cultivated as a houseplant in many temperate zone countries, in the wild throws out columnar roots and turns into a giant banyan tree.

Many banyan trees begin life normally, but some are born as epiphytes, as will be discussed in the next section.

Epiphytic roots and stranglers

On the other hand, when the forest department preserved Nuytsia in pine forests, it learned the hard way that Nuytsia smothers the taproots of pine trees.

Stilt roots

Stilt roots can be roughly divided into four types, although they are all very close and merge into one another, so that they are often difficult to distinguish.

Walking type

Tent type

Type of trees with conical trunk

A young tree of this type grows very little in thickness at the butt, so that over time the trunk turns into a cone, tapering towards the ground. Numerous stilted roots extend in arches from the cone-shaped part to the ground. This process is so similar to the formation of plank-shaped buttress roots (see the corresponding section) that these two classes of roots cannot be clearly distinguished. This type of roots is observed in the stilted simpoch (Dillenia reticulata), a majestic tree that reaches a height of 30 meters or more. Korner wrote the following about him:

“In the swampy forests bordering rivers on the alluvial plains between the foothills and coastal mangroves, many trees of various families develop stilted roots... This... is associated with periodic flooding of the lower part of the tree during floods. This tree (D. reticulata) belongs to this class, as does D. grandifolia. Both of these species are remarkable in that they also grow at higher elevations far from rivers, but even there they develop stilted roots.”

Some prominent experts consider stilt roots to be an adaptation to flood conditions, since many trees with stilt roots actually grow in swamps. Korner points out that in Malaya, in addition to dillenia, only xylopia (Xylopia ferrugmea) develops stilted roots not only in damp areas, but also in dry ones. This tree is smaller - up to 25 meters in height, but the number of stilted roots varies significantly. They extend from the trunk at a height of about a meter.

Delarue was very intrigued in Africa by the fact that Uapaca guineensis grows only in dry forests, while other species of the same genus prefer swamps. They all have stilted roots. Huapaca guinea is considered a valuable fruit tree in western tropical Africa. It often reaches 27 m in height and 2 m in girth. In February it bears a significant number of bright red plum-like fruits up to 3 cm long with three to four seeds surrounded by sweet pulp. These fruits are sold in the bazaars of Ghana and Liberia as a food product, but the inhabitants of northern Nigeria sometimes prepare a component of arrow poison from the bark and flowers of this tree.

Desbordesia oblonga, one of the majestic rulers of African forests, has no lower part of the trunk at all. Walker and Silence describe it as “a very tall, mighty tree with strong buttresses at the base. When it reaches a certain age, the lower part of the trunk completely disappears and the tree stands supported by buttresses, as if on columns.”

Type of trees with non-conical trunk

An example of a fourth type of tree with stilt roots is the Malayan tree Blumeodendron tokbrai and another Malayan tree commonly called the "stilted butter tree" (Elaeocarpus littoralis). It grows along the banks of rivers and streams, where the salt water of the tidal wave does not reach. It usually has buttresses as well as stilted roots. In addition, it also has a third anchor that holds it in the soil, namely respiratory roots (see the corresponding section of this chapter).

Korner points out that with this type of formation of stilt roots, the young tree thickens normally and develops a cylindrical trunk from the ground upward; stilted roots supporting the trunk appear later. He reports:

“In both cases (conical and non-conical trunk), but especially in the second, there is an undoubted connection between the appearance of supporting roots and flooding of the trunk. Trees with stilted roots are characteristic of swampy forests that are subject to frequent flooding. I have more than once been convinced that the uppermost stilted roots extend from the trunk at the level that water reaches during normal flooding of a given forest - even at a height of 9 m, which I observed in Malaya, in Johor.”

Korner emphasizes three main points:

“Firstly, these roots undoubtedly support the trunk - some of them are flat in shape and work mainly as guy wires and flying buttresses, while others, cylindrical, act as supports and buttresses. Secondly, not all types of trees in swampy forests have such roots; they develop only in some species under flooding conditions favorable to this. Third, very few species produce stilted roots in any environment, even if they are not subject to flooding at all.”

The remaining trees having distinct stilt roots, but not described here, belong to the following species of the eleven families listed in the left column:

Buttresses and serpentine roots

Many tropical trees that grow in areas with heavy rainfall and low light develop powerful buttresses or lateral serpentine roots at the base of the trunk, diverging along the soil surface for a distance of up to 60 m. Some of these serpentine roots expand at the point of their attachment to the trunk up into a kind of buttress. The expression “sort of” is used here because real buttresses rarely extend far from the tree in the lateral direction - buttresses grow more in height than in length.

In any case, serpentine roots and buttresses allow us to distinguish between two groups of trees - those that develop a tap root and very few laterals (such trees rarely have buttresses or aerial roots), and those that develop large lateral roots and no taproot. Such trees usually develop either buttress roots, snake roots, aerial roots, or all three types at the same time.

As always, there are several intermediate types between these types. Generally speaking, snake roots are roots that grow horizontally from the very surface of the ground. They support the trunk like shrouds and extract nutrients from the litter and upper layers of soil.

Delarue wrote

“A person who finds himself for the first time under the canopy of a tropical rainforest is struck by the unusual appearance of the lower part of the tree trunks. All the trees there have shallow roots and often snake right along the surface of the earth. The base of many trees belonging to a variety of families - Legummosae, Bombacaceae, Sapotaceae, Meliaceae and others - are equipped with powerful plank-shaped buttresses. These buttresses rarely extend from the trunk at a height of several meters and extend for a considerable distance in the form of tall and narrow twisting roots. As a result, the base of the tree appears picturesquely draped.

Buttresses are sometimes so large that local residents make planks from them - this is much easier than hewing giant trunks. That is why these graceful buttresses are so often disfigured and turned into ugly stumps.”

According to some experts, buttresses are formed because the prevailing winds in a given area tilt the tree in one direction or another, or because the crown becomes too heavy for the trunk, which creates additional supports for itself. But research by several scientists has shown that both of these assumptions are incorrect, and T. Petch, working in Ceylon, reports buttresses developing in young Delonix regia and other trees of humid forests, for which such roots are generally typical.

W. Francis reports numerous buttress trees in the rainforests of Australia. He's writing:

“It is quite obvious that this structural feature is by no means inherent only to certain families... Buttresses are often noticeably developed already in relatively young trees... This observation contradicts the hypothesis, which considers the appearance of buttresses a direct result of the influence of some external forces on the crown of a tree. The above-mentioned young trees with developed buttresses were in the depths of the forest and had not yet reached the stage when they have large crowns and begin to be affected by the winds.”

Buttresses and serpentine roots very rarely go deep into the ground, and when they reach a significant size, the taproot of the tree usually dies. C. Taylor reports the following information about the disappearance of tap roots, which he observed in western tropical Africa:

“The root system of trees in the equatorial forest, as a rule, lies shallow and is limited only by lateral roots. Although a young tree usually has a tap root, it cannot be detected in trees with a trunk diameter of 10 centimeters or more.

Many large trees develop buttresses. This appears to be an innate genetic trait, and the type of buttresses is common throughout the species. Apparently, this feature is characteristic of trees growing in tropical areas with high humidity. Local factors, apparently, do not influence the development of buttresses and, to some extent, determine only the moment of their appearance or their preferential development from this side... Tarrietla utilis has a peculiar growth feature - as the buttresses develop, the central root system disappears. At first glance, this phenomenon resembles the process of ascent, since the developed buttresses are similar to narrow, closely spaced stilted roots. The development of such buttresses is accelerated in areas with wetter soil. Thompson points out that the buttresses of T. utilis represent an intermediate stage between the cylindrical aerial “root-buttresses” and the typical plank buttresses.”

Petch wrote about disappearing taproots:

“Several similar trees with buttresses and without taproots have been observed. The trees of the famous avenue of Indian ficus (Ficus elastica) in front of the botanical garden at Peradenya in Ceylon began to decay around 1907, and in the same year one of them was blown over. No traces of a taproot were found. The rest of the trees in the alley were then cut down, and in all cases, without exception, the trunk was hollow inside and the tap root was missing...

Large old Canarium zeylanicum trees in the botanical garden at Khenaratogoda, which is low-lying but receives about the same rainfall as Peradenya, have buttresses reaching a height of 3.5 m. One of them was knocked down by the wind and turned out to have no tap root.

Francis observed a similar phenomenon in trees with buttresses in Queensland. He reports: “All mature trees with buttresses examined by the author of this book are characterized by a noticeable narrowing of the tree trunk from the point where the buttresses extend towards the ground. The extent of this constriction was measured on a large stump of Echinocarpus woollsii. The trunk above the buttresses had a diameter of 0.6 m, while its diameter at the surface of the ground... was only 23 cm, or three-eighths of its diameter above the buttresses.”

We would like to propose the following working hypothesis: 1) the presence of buttress roots is associated with the death of the tap root and 2) buttress roots are formed due to the fact that nutrients and water are supplied only to limited narrow areas of the trunk directly connected to the lateral roots."

Taylor points out the misuse of the word "buttress":

“Although the term “buttress” is used very widely, it gives a misleading idea of the development or modification of such a root. Observations show that usually these buttresses pull the trunk and crown towards themselves and, therefore, function not as buttresses, but as guys, or cables. In a leaning tree, the buttresses develop more powerfully on the side opposite to the inclination. Likewise, a tree growing on a slope will have more developed upper buttresses. All this clearly shows that they are experiencing tension, not compression."

Francis writes about the close relationship between external roots on the ground and aerial roots high up in the tree:

“It seems obvious that in those cases where a buttress develops, the upper part of the main surface roots acquires the properties of aerial organs, and is therefore subject to some of the laws of growth acting on the stem. For trees and upright shrubs of rain forests, in which buttresses are found in abundance, vertical elongation of the stem is very characteristic - it is explained by the attractive effect of light (phototropism), combined with normal upward growth in defiance of gravity (negative geotropism). The upper part of the main surface roots of species that develop buttresses can be exposed to negative geotropism and phototropism either directly or indirectly through the trunk; as a result, a vertical extension of the root appears, which is the buttress.

Most often, the roots are underground organs, but in rain forests the roots of many plants take on the character of aerial or semi-aerial roots. Adaptation of roots to the air environment is facilitated by high relative humidity and low penetration of direct sunlight into such forests. Thus, these two conditions probably play an important role in the development of buttresses.

An example of the predominance of buttresses in trees whose roots have clearly acquired an aerial character is the epiphytic species of ficus, so common in the rainforests of Queensland. All large specimens... that we observed had a pronounced flattening of the roots in the vertical direction near the soil surface.

Heredity may also play a large role in this, since some types of trees that develop buttresses... tend to retain this type of roots even when they are planted in gardens and parks, in conditions not similar to those of rain forests. However, in these cases the buttresses are not as large and noticeable as those of trees of similar sizes in rain forests.”

Breathing roots

Tropical trees growing in swampy or muddy areas often develop breathing roots. They are porous, rod-shaped growths that rise vertically into the air from an underground root system. Holes and numerous passages in their spongy tissues allow air to freely reach underground roots. Similar formations, colloquially called "knees," on swamp cypress (Taxodium distichum) of the southwestern United States may have previously served the same purpose, but evolution appears to have eliminated this useful property, since now their tissues are hard and woody. Meanwhile, the cypress tree found another way to get the air its roots needed. The base of its trunk is not cylindrical, but expands almost into a cone, and at the height of the usual water level, a skirt of respiratory roots develops around it, which is constantly ventilated thanks to small waves. This seems to completely satisfy all the tree's needs. American ecologist R. Daubenmire writes:

“Some trees growing in areas subject to prolonged flooding form shoots that rise vertically from the lateral roots where these roots for some reason approach the soil surface. They have a distinctive conical shape but are laterally flattened and are called "knees" in North America. The likelihood that the “knees” serve for gas exchange between flooded roots and free air seems doubtful...

The "knees" develop only when the soil is periodically exposed to the air, and their growth in height is so dependent on moisture and aeration that, although they reach a height of three meters, they never rise above the highest point to which the waves reach. A well-rooted swamp cypress can live for many years in a semi-flooded state, but since young shoots die when flooded, groves of these trees could obviously only appear due to the fact that there are periods when the water is low and does not interfere with the first stages of their development.” .

This section deals mainly with those respiratory roots that actually supply the lateral roots in the ground with oxygen and carbon dioxide. Daubenmire points out that trees, usually growing on land, become so accustomed to the high oxygen content in the air that when they fall into water, they have to develop some means of ensuring sufficient aeration. They quickly develop tissues with vents and air passages. These are true pneumatophores, or breathing roots, which are characteristic of many tropical trees in areas with high humidity.

A prime example of this is the diverse species of mangroves that grow around the world near the ocean along the marshy shores of sheltered bays and estuaries in quiet salt water. The same roots have developed in many trees growing in fresh swamps.

In all these trees, the roots, located in an almost airless environment, give rise to special erect shoots, which usually have a well-developed intercellular system of air passages connected to exit holes, so that they undoubtedly play an important role in the process of gas exchange.

Underground flowers and fruits

Perhaps the most amazing of all the functions inherent in roots is reproduction. In the few trees that have this feature, underground organs form both flowers and fruits. These “roots” are actually long, thin shoots extending from the base of the trunk. They are only capable of producing leaf scales. Since these branches are located underground, they could not help but acquire a resemblance to roots. From the nodes - those points from which leaf scales grow - they produce real adventitious roots. The fruits develop in the axils of leaf scales, and not on the true roots.

Those who grow peanuts (Arachis hypogaea), or groundnuts as they are sometimes called, are well aware that they are buried in the ground to bear fruit. With this in mind, it will be easier for us to understand the habits of the earthen fig tree - an amazing ficus growing in Malaya. However, here the situation is more complicated: the flowers are inside the structure, which becomes the fruit, so that both flowers and fruits develop underground. Corner explains it this way:

“At the edge of the forest... there are... thickets of small trees from 3 to 6 m high, which are very similar to ficuses... however, they seem to produce neither flowers nor fruits. These are earthen fig trees. If we look carefully at the base of their stems, we will see that thin rope-like lashes branch off from the trunk at different heights and go into the ground; most of them are at the base. The shortest of them sometimes bear figs above the ground, but the rest seem barren. However, if you gently pull them, bunches of figs will appear from under the ground. The vines... can reach several meters in length, and usually they produce new shoots, which, having taken root... develop into small trees near their parent. This is why earthen fig trees grow in dense clumps. However, the main purpose of these shoots is to bear fruit, and they bear them in small clusters hidden in the humus. How pollination occurs underground and whether wild animals dig up these fruits is unknown to us.”

An extremely interesting example of fruit-bearing roots is provided by the Malayan Polyalthia hypoleuca. This forest tree, reaching a height of 30 m, sends out shoots about half a centimeter thick, which extend from the base of a large cylindrical trunk. They burrow into the litter and produce flowers at soil level and fruits in the litter.

Why? Without a doubt, this fruiting at soil level indicates that nutrients are accumulating in the lower part of the tree - possibly under the influence of growth hormones. In this case, fruit-bearing underground shoots (stolons) extend from that part of the trunk where the concentration of nutrients is highest.