In both cases — leaf size and tree height — the explanations are rooted in the physics of the tree’s plumbing, or the branching vascular system that nourishes the tree from leaf to trunk, the ...

The vascular plant emerged around 400 million years ago and started Earth's forest-building process during the Silurian geologic period. Although not yet a "true" tree, this new member of the ...

After a year or two of being staked, the ties and wires gouge into the bark and soft tissue under the bark until the tissue tries to grow over it. This girdling cuts off the trees’ vascular system and ...