My Favorite Tree Roots
Photos and reflections
A tree root usually grows underground, secures the plant, absorbs minerals and water from the soil, and stores food. However, some tree roots grow above the ground in humid climates or when weather erodes the soil. An example is my favorite tree root, the Moreton Bay Fig in Santa Barbara, California. I liken its massive roots to dinosaur feet.
It has a famous history as well.
A seaman visiting Santa Barbara In 1876 presented a seedling of an Australian Moreton Bay Fig tree to a local girl who planted it at 201 State Street. After the girl moved away a year later, her girlfriend, Adeline Crabb, transplanted the tree to the corner of Montecito and Chapala streets. The tree became the biggest Moreton Bay Fig in the United States. The widest spread of the branches is 198 feet (60 m). The trunk diameter above the buttress roots is 12.5 feet.
It could provide shade for an entire city block.
I call the tree root on the left Desert Roots, located on a Palm Springs golf course — and who knows how many guys in PING hats plunked balls off its bark.
The one on the right, I call Yoga Tree. When I see its roots, I think of outstretched legs, hands on the ground, and a torso stretched into an upward dog. So, I figure, if a tree can do yoga, so can I.
I found this beauty in the Alice Keck Park Memorial Garden, one of my favorite spots to visit in downtown Santa Barbara. The garden features over 75 different tree and plant species, a koi pond, and a sensory garden. This winding tree looks like it is all roots, and I often stop to analyze its convoluted shape— trying to make sense of nature.
This tree is called the Australian Tea Tree. And those are not roots but trunks. It thrives along the coast, and its dried leaves can be used to make tea.
You’d think a sequoia would have massive roots about a block long, but that’s not the case. The roots only go down 6–12 feet. Despite this, sequoias rarely fall over.
These babies are the longest-living tree species, and they keep growing and growing, partially due to their very effective root system.
And thanks to its sturdy foundation, this Empire State Building of trees keeps us looking up.
Before moving to California in 2012, I took a picture of this sad sight in my old neighborhood. A tornado hit Philadelphia — which is a rarity. It uprooted this poor Polar, whose botanical name is “Eastern Cottonwood.”
This picture illustrates the complexity of the tree’s root system. Its roots can reach 15 feet in diameter and absorb 200 gallons of water daily.
Roots symbolize stability; when a tree falls over, I feel part of my world is unstable.
Trees serve the vital purpose of cleaning the air and supplying a source of beauty amidst the city’s brick and mortar. So whenever I see a down tree, I think we should have a funeral for the poor thing. I’d invite all the tree lovers, birds, and other life forms. A squirrel could even give the eulogy.
May you rest in peace, dear tree.
Please read my other recent tree posts: The Dream Tree, Palm Shadows, and Palm Trees in California.
© 2021 Mark Tulin
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