Champion Trees of Ireland

Two of the trees from Trinity College Dublin feature in this beautifully illustrated book Champion Trees, a selection of Ireland’s great trees.

Platanus orientalis (Oriental Plane Tree), Trinity College Dublin – 4.98 x 11.5 meters.

Acer macrophyllum (Oregon Maple Tree), Trinity College Dublin – 3.68 @ 1.05 x 16 meters – 2^nd greatest girthed of its kind in Ireland.

Of note is that the two Oregon Maples in the main square are also thought to be the oldest trees on the Trinity College Dublin campus.

Science Notes: Plane Tree Nodules

The nodules on the plane trees give them an unusual knobbly shape. They are also unusual when viewed at high magnification in the scanning electron microscope. This SEM photo shows a rather messy, chaotic structure…

 …which is very different from that of normal wood. For example here’s a picture Clodagh took of a twig from the Oregon maple, at the same magnification:

  This remarkably regular pattern of cells makes the wood very strong and light. The nodule is also made of cells, but they have grown in a chaotic, random pattern, creating material which is much weaker. This explains why these trees have made very thick trunks to support their weight. Nodular wood is much sought-after by woodturners because it makes a beautiful patterned surface when made into, for example, a bowl, but they know to treat it very carefully because it breaks easily.

Not all the wood in the plane trees is chaotic though. Clodagh found this area where the tree has managed to get back to something approaching a regular cellular structure:

David

 

Under the Microscope: seeds from the Plane Tree

Pair of Plane Trees, Platanus orientalis (Trees no. 256 & 257) Opposite the Law Library.  

Image of the seed head sample

Microscopic image of the seed head sample

Images: Dr. Clodagh Dooley