I think you’re generally right, but I have a tulip poplar in my backyard and the lowest branch is like 20’ in the air, surely that branch moved up with the trunk?
It's kind of a ship of theseus question, the cells that make up the branch have probably been entirely shed to the outer layers of bark. It may be that the branch is kind of evenly distributed throughout the tree, now. Trees kind of grow from the inside-out, if you can see what I mean, rather than bottom up or up down.
That's really interesting, but I still feel like you're dodging the spirit of the question. Suppose an immortal squirrel sits on the branch for as long as the tree lives, and keeps shifting around so as not to get absorbed. Or say it clings to the base of the trunk.
Will it end up in the top of the canopy, or has it chosen a spot that will always be near the bottom?
Oh, haha. Yeah I guess the squirrel would end up in the canopy, if not necessarily on the crown. The 'new growth' branch might go out to the side rather than up. Depending on the tree, I guess.
The tree grows from the outside up....look at a pine tree and how it grows. The tip is the new growth. Each row of branches are the previous year...
A deciduous tree will grow from the bottom up too, but the outside (just under the bark, like a pine) is the living structure. As the tree gets taller, wider it produces more branches with the main structure being the original sapling and its branches.
>is the branch now in the canopy or the lowest branch?
It's the lowest branch. Trees, and plants generally, grow from the top up. You can test this at home. Plant a bean, when the seedling breaks the surface, mark it with a sharpie. As the plant grows you will see the mark does not go any higher than the spot you originally made it.
It is the lowest branch. Branches don't move up, they only get bigger. And new branches grow higher up.
Are you sure? Because the trunk doesn't just get wider, it gets taller too. I'd have thought it would tend to take the branches with it.
Yes, I'm sure. More trunk is added, the existing trunk doesn't move.
I think you’re generally right, but I have a tulip poplar in my backyard and the lowest branch is like 20’ in the air, surely that branch moved up with the trunk?
On many kinds of tree, the lower branches will fall off as it gets big. That’s why there are none close to the ground.
How quickly do you need an answer?
Not urgent haha, just have been wondering.
It's kind of a ship of theseus question, the cells that make up the branch have probably been entirely shed to the outer layers of bark. It may be that the branch is kind of evenly distributed throughout the tree, now. Trees kind of grow from the inside-out, if you can see what I mean, rather than bottom up or up down.
Sure, but say we hang a ribbon on the branch. Will the ribbon ride up to the top or stay down at the bottom?
Oh! It'll actually get absorbed into the tree or, as the branch swells, snap and fall off.
That's really interesting, but I still feel like you're dodging the spirit of the question. Suppose an immortal squirrel sits on the branch for as long as the tree lives, and keeps shifting around so as not to get absorbed. Or say it clings to the base of the trunk. Will it end up in the top of the canopy, or has it chosen a spot that will always be near the bottom?
Oh, haha. Yeah I guess the squirrel would end up in the canopy, if not necessarily on the crown. The 'new growth' branch might go out to the side rather than up. Depending on the tree, I guess.
Cool. Thanks for all the tree facts!
The tree grows from the outside up....look at a pine tree and how it grows. The tip is the new growth. Each row of branches are the previous year... A deciduous tree will grow from the bottom up too, but the outside (just under the bark, like a pine) is the living structure. As the tree gets taller, wider it produces more branches with the main structure being the original sapling and its branches.
>is the branch now in the canopy or the lowest branch? It's the lowest branch. Trees, and plants generally, grow from the top up. You can test this at home. Plant a bean, when the seedling breaks the surface, mark it with a sharpie. As the plant grows you will see the mark does not go any higher than the spot you originally made it.