I evolved these hairs as a clever way to deter herbivores. No one wants a spiky salad.
You hungry?
You want a piece of me?
Bite me!
Yes! Another snow storm and that branch is still hanging there! I can weather any storm! Yes!!! Hang on branch. Hang on!
- Pinus Ponderosa (Ponderosa Pine)
H
two
Ooooh!
…
you
Veeee!
What?
Human skin sheds too.
And dog fur… And some exoskeletons….
-Madrone
Ah, Autumn… It’s coming. It makes me feel a little out of focus.
But I guess the cycle of changing seasons is a necessary process in my life.
-Birch tree
This soil is a little sandy for my tastes, but sometimes when a niche presents itself you’ve just got to take it and run with it.
-Douglas Fir
KING
OF
SNOW.
What? I live at some seriously high elevations. I think I deserve the title.
-marmot
Arboreal epiphytes are the key to biodiversity in forests. We help with nutrient cycles and water purification. We provide nest materials for birds and homes for thousands of species of ants and other small creatures. And we ourselves are a large part of forest biodiversity.
Many of us need fog and mist to get our nutrients, since, unlike most trees, we get nutrients from the atmosphere. Then when we die, we put nutrients into the ground so that trees can use it.
Please don’t let Global Climate Change shift the altitude at which clouds form.
It could be detrimental to my health.
-moss
Decomposing dead organic matter on the ground,
How you improve the soil so.
Sometimes I wonder if germinating here was the best idea. Every once in a while I feel a pebble slip out from under me and splash into the ocean…
I mean it’s a beautiful view. Don’t get me wrong. Prime real estate here.
But… Sometimes I’m afraid that gravity will get the best of me one of these days.
