Rare Chimeric Albino Redwood

Scientists and historians are fighting transit authorities to prevent the removal of an extremely rare 52-foot, healthy chimeric albino redwood growing near a railroad in Cotati, California, one of only ten specimens ever found that produce male and female cones as well as displaying normal and albino tissues in the same tree.

Gold in Tree Leaves

Researchers have found gold particles in the leaves of gum trees (Eucalyptus spp.) in Australia, with the trees acting as hydraulic pumps to draw the metals from underground sources and providing a possible new method for identifying mineral deposits.

Ancient Forest Found Underwater

Divers have discovered a Bald Cypress forest at least 0.8 km long off the coast of Alabama, freshly preserved for at least 52,000 years under ocean sediment in an oxygen-free environment in the Gulf of Mexico and most likely uncovered by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Maximum Height of Trees

Scientists studying the leaves of various tree species have developed a relationship between leaf size and tree height, discovering that at heights above about 100 meters any leaf size ceases to be viable due to the structure of the tree trunk and the internal transfer of nutrients.

Da Vinci's Rule for Trees

The natural shape of trees has been demonstrated in mathematical models to follow a simple rule first proposed by Leonardo da Vinci, that at any height the total cross-sectional area of all branches is roughly the same as that of the trunk, with such a design proving to resist wind breakage.