Tom Kimmerer, PhD

I will have to read this. Stewart Brand, via The Whole Earth Catalog, guided me through my late teens, when I shifted from a life in music to one in forest science. Best thing that could have happened.

Tom Kimmerer (@tomkimmerer) You have probably heard about threats to biodiversity — to the number and diversity of organisms in our ecosystems — but how aware are you that it is happening right in front of us? Ash trees (Fraxinu...

You are probably aware of the global loss of biodiversity. It is happening right in front of us, and many of us don't notice. Here is a magnificent white ash that is now gone. There are things we can do to stop the invasion of foreign insects and diseases that kill our trees. More at Our Trees.

I began teaching undergrads 40 years ago. Many of my students in forestry were rural Appalachian kids. A few were borderline illiterate and failed to graduate. In the long Kentucky tradition, a few were wonderful creative writers. Kentucky raised standards a lot in the next few years.

She issued a series of nonsensical statements until I couldn’t listen any more. She is indeed a doomer, and we have many reasons to ignore doomers.

I can’t comment on seeds, but in an extensive inadvertent survey of vascular cambium of many species, Aesculus was cyanogenic, Acer was not. We were actually looking at alcohol dehydrogenase activity and a few trees tested negative due to cyanide which stops ADH activity.

He is either ignorant or compromised. Or both.

I’m stumped.

Keep me posted.

There are 3 species of Phoradendron in Oregon, including our eastern P. leucarpum. Oregon is just a nice place for plants.

This is a bit north of the known range of mistletoe, Phoradendron leucarpum. However, the species is moving north with climate change, and I don' t know what else it could be. Mistletoe is common on stems, not just branches. Can we get a closer look at the attachment to the main stem?

Sounds dangerous!

The one on the left is Shumard oak, Quercus shumardii. It’s mostly a more southern species but there is a population on the west end of Lake Ontario.

The top left is northern red oak; the top right is a cherrybark oak; bottom left is a scarlet oak; bottom right is a shumard oak. Good finds!

Tom Kimmerer (@tomkimmerer) Come join us as we begin our exploration of the trees we use during these holidays, including some that may be threatened or endangered. This series will continuue until December 15. And during this p...

Join us at Our Trees as we begin an exploration of the trees we use during these holidays, including some that may be threatened or endangered. Until December 15, we offer you a 30% discount on monthly or annual subscriptions to everything that Our Trees has to offer.

Well done!

It is so thrilling to see them develop language and reading skills. Much of what they say cracks us up and we remember it forever, but it is also deeply rewarding.

Good! It is the most concise expression of our situation that I have seen.

Tom Kimmerer (@tomkimmerer) The climate conference known as COPE30 is under way in Brazil. The conference is dominated by oil industry lobbyists whose goal is to continue to stall progress. This cartoon by my friend Joel Pett is...

This famous cartoon by my friend Joel Pett tells us what we need to know while the current climate conference, COPE 30, is dominated by fossil fuel lobbyists. We have it in our power to defeat the fossil fuel oligarchs and their pet politicians. By doing so, we can create a much better world.

Farewell pennies. I have fond memories of pennies in threes. At my elementary school, lunch was free but a 1/2 pint of milk was 3¢. And is it really lunch without milk? My classmates and I carried a few extra pennies in our pockets so that kids who lacked pennies could get their milk too.

Green islands are very common in autumn leaves (see my fall color stories at Our Trees on Substack). There are papers, but I would need to dig them up.

Notice that the green islands are between the veins, the opposite of the usual pattern. The usual explanation for this is the presence of an organism like a fungus or viruses that avoid the veins for some reason.

Tom Kimmerer (@tomkimmerer) We have been discussing the many tree products we use during the holidays, from Christmas trees to spices. Surprisingly, many of these trees are endangered or at risk of extinction, including those sh...

Among the large variety of trees we use during the holidays, for decoration and for food, many are threatened or endangered. At Our Trees, we are beginning a series on using these trees. Come join us.

Now we know what government by the stupidest looks like. It’s time to try the opposite.

The human propensity for bitter flavors is fascinating and, I think, an evolutionary response on our part. Bitterness in food is related to longevity.

Thank you!

That’s nuts.

Haunting whose house?

Tom Kimmerer (@tomkimmerer) What is your favorite Christmas tree? For many of us, it is the tree we were familiar with as kids. For me, that means fir, various species of Abies. In the eastern US, Fraser fir is a common Christma...

What is your favorite Christmas tree? I have loved fir, various Abies species, since I was a kid. Fraser fir is a very popular tree in the east and is actually an endangered species. Favorite trees often reflect on our childhood experience. Please, tell us yours.

I’m writing a book that heavily depends on the literature. MDPI journals are excluded from my citations. I am unwilling to take the time to discern whether there are a few valid papers.

Tom Kimmerer (@tomkimmerer) Artists often struggle to represent trees in a way that looks real. Fortunately, Leonardo da Vinci explained how to represent trees in a way that is true to their nature. He noted, in a series of sket...

Artists often struggle to represent trees accurately in their work. Fortunately, Leonardo da Vinci showed us how to represent trees. See what he taught us at Our Trees.