#18552
02/07/2001 3:30 PM
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Joined: Nov 2000
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Some time ago, on the subject of Halloween, I had occasion to mention osage orange trees. Last evening I learned, from a crossword puzzle of all things, that the osage orange is also called Bois d'arc. This leads to the supposition that the French used this wood for bows, unlike the English, whose longbows that proved so effective at the battles of Agincourt and Crecy were made, I believe of yew.
This led me to a contemplation on our words for trees. The first that came to mind was Platanus acerifolia, the London plane tree, which we in the US call the sycamore. But then, I wondered, if we here call it a sycamore and the English call it a plane tree, how come King James' translators used the expression sycamore tree in the story of Zaccheus?
There are tons of interesting, even romantic tree names. (I noticed a mention this morning of one called Harry Lauder's Walking Stick). In front of my house is a huge and magnificent specimen which I have been informed is called a pepperidge tree. Good thing someone told me, because I have never seen another one anywhere. Research develops that it's Nyssa sylvatica, also called black gum, sour gum, or tupelo, and is the source of tupelo honey.
Across the street from my office is a paulownia, Paulownia tormentosa, which my dictionary says was named for Anna Pavlovna, daughter of Tsar Paul I. There are quite a few of these trees scattered around wooded areas near me. They have beautiful lavender flowers in early spring, while they and other trees are first putting out leaves. The wood is extremely valuable, since the Japanese will pay very high prices for it (it's used for musical instruments). In fact, owners of paulownia trees have come home from work or vacation and found their tree(s) cut down and gone.
Anyone else care to contribute to tree names and lore?
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#18553
02/07/2001 4:36 PM
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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I've always thought weeping willow (Salix babylonica) is
an evocative name, though in my mind 'waterfall tree' would be a more accurate representation of what it looks like.
Babylonica (thanks, Atomica!)--now there's something evocative! Bet they grew by the waters of Babylon...
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#18554
02/07/2001 4:48 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,156
old hand
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old hand
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I personally like the name "trembling aspen" which is a synonym for a poplar tree. They are called this because their leaves will rustle with even the slightest of breezes, or even when there is no breeze particularly evident. I think it may be a translation from their aboriginal name (must look this up at home).
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#18555
02/07/2001 4:57 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 771
old hand
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old hand
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On the subject of "trembling aspen", I believe I've also heard this as "quaking aspen"... beautiful trees.
I'm also partial to dogwood, although I'm not aware of the etymology that linked Cornus florida to dogs. Canus florida I could see, but Cornus...?
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#18556
02/07/2001 6:03 PM
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Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400
Carpal Tunnel
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I remember reading somewhere dog wood trees had good wood for making "dogs" mechanical parts for mills-- which reappear in sewing machings--"feed dogs" I dont't think the use of the word dog is related to the animal-- mechanical "dogs" show up in lots of machines (copiers, printers, fullers, newpaper printers, etc.)
Do we have any mechanical engineers who will help define a mechanical dog-- or any wood workers who know the characteristics of dog wood-- I am vaguely aware that certain woods where use to specific purposes-- I am off now to google search for "The Hundred Year Shay" a poem about a carriage that was built so no part was stronger than any other-- and the whole thing lasted-- until, all at once it fell apart--entirely! it has a verse or two on which wood was used for what purpose..
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#18558
02/08/2001 1:45 AM
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Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 347
enthusiast
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enthusiast
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>The first that came to mind was Platanus acerifolia, the London plane tree, which we in the US call the sycamore. But then, I wondered, if we here call it a sycamore and the English call it a plane tree, how come King James' translators used the expression sycamore tree in the story of Zaccheus?Yes, all very confusing, Bob. For me, planes and sycamores are quite different trees. Here in Melbourne, Australia, we have many thousands of what we call plane trees as street trees - they are in fact platanus occidentalis, also known as the American plane or Occidental plane. They are large deciduous trees, and have large leaves, and large round hard furry seed balls. The sycamore, as we use the term, is acer pseudoplatanus (note that pseudo-plane bit!), and is a member of the maple genus. Also large and deciduous with large leaves, one distinguishing feature is its winged or "helicopter" seeds. I'm no botanist, but I think that in Australia, and probably in Britain too, plane trees are the genus platanus, and maple trees are the genus acer, and the sycamore for us is just one of the maples. From what I have researched just today, in the US you call all of the genus platanus (our planes) "sycamores" or "buttonwoods", including platanus acerifolia (The London plane); you refer to the genus acer as maples (as we do), and acer pseudoplatanus (our sycamore) you appear to call the "sycamore maple" (that's not too bad) or "planetree maple". Still with me? To confuse the picture further, the eastern fig, or mulberry fig, or sycamore fig, ficus sycomorus, is apparently also called "sycamore" by some people or in some parts of the world. Here's a picture of what I believe is that type of tree in Jericho, purportedly that of Zaccheus fame, definitely not the large-leaved maple or plane (check out the second row, first image): http://www.edwardfudge.com/photoalbum4.html
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#18559
02/08/2001 2:20 AM
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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I personally like the name "trembling aspen" which is a synonym for a poplar tree... I think it may be a translation from their aboriginal nameBean, don't you mean a rboriginal name? 
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#18560
02/08/2001 3:44 AM
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 2,661
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Every year the cottonwood trees in the area release a breath of "snow" that blows around for blocks. It reminds me of my childhood when we tortured one of the cranky neighbors (a little sensitive) by lighting thier grass on fire. When the dry "cotton" which surrounds the airborne seed clumps together, one match will burn in an all around spread pattern at about one foot per second. I can't resist igniting this trail of memories every time I walk by... 
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#18561
02/08/2001 2:07 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,773
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
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Marty, I think you are right about the maple/sycamore distinction in the US. Genus acer is definitely maple, and what we call a sycamore around here is no maple. The most beautiful tree in the township is a sycamore perched on the top of a hill.
Anyway, the subject "trees" also brought to mind an appellate court opinion. The following is an honest-to-gosh published, binding law, opinion of the Michigan Court of Appeals, issued in 1983. Background: the plaintiff is a litigious sort, who sued in tort for damage to his oak tree caused when one of the defendants drove his car into the tree. Under Michigan's no fault insurance act, the defendants were immune. The trial court granted judgment for the defendants, and the plaintiff appealed. This is the entire text of the opinion, excluding footnotes:
We thought that we would never see
A suit to compensate a tree.
A suit whose claim in tort is prest
Upon a mangled tree's behest;
A tree whose battered trunk was prest
Against a Chevy's crumpled crest;
A tree that faces each new day
With bark and limb in disarray;
A tree that may forever bear
A lasting need for tender care.
Flora lovers though we three,
We must uphold the court's decree.
Affirmed.
Fisher v Lowe,, 122 Mich App 418 (1983).
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#18562
02/08/2001 4:35 PM
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
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Sparteye,
That was wonderful! Boy, I'll bet that's still the stuff of legal legend today in your neck of the woods. (One of mine is that one of our workers found such deplorable conditions in one home, that he not only got an order to have the children removed, he took the dog too. Truth.)
I have often thought it was necessary to have a certain sense of humor in jobs where one comes across such miserable circumstances sometimes, and whoever wrote that ruling obviously has one!
And, musick--I'm going to have to think twice about whether I want to have a drink with a firebug, even with AnnaStrophic-the-intrepid to protect me.
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#18563
02/09/2001 8:10 PM
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Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 444
addict
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addict
Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 444 |
Anyone else care to contribute to tree names and lore?No lore here, but I have been aware for some time that while the names of many trees evoke strong images for me, the images are not necessarily anything to do with reality. 'Frangipani' always breathed scent and flowers and exotic beauty to me. Most of the time a frangipani just looks like a lot of twisted and swollen hosepipes. A major disappointment that is offset by 'jacaranda'. I grew up in a town where the local sweet shop was called 'Jacaranda's' - the word always conveyed a main street, noise, homeliness. But a jacarnada in full bloom is one of the most beautiful trees I have ever seen. Nowadays, when I read passages of literature with descriptions of trees in them, I tend to double-check on the image that is being created in my mind. And even as I do that, I wonder how many other readers out there are getting the wrong message. ..oh, nearly forgot gingkos. The most amazing-shaped leaves! http://www.wellesley.edu/Activities/homepage/web/Species/pgingko.html
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#18564
02/10/2001 6:08 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 328
enthusiast
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enthusiast
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the most amazing-shaped leaves!And the most amazing smell when the fruit starts to drop... 
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#18565
02/10/2001 10:40 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Posts: 13,858 |
Dear Rapunzel: If I'm thinking what you were thinking, I remember girl I was dating having surprising reaction to that odor. More inappropriately stimulating than amazing.wwh
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#18566
02/11/2001 9:25 AM
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 315
enthusiast
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enthusiast
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A curiosity:
we call "cane" a part (the handle?) of a rifle:
cane del fucile = (literally) dog of the rifle.
My dictionary says that in English it is "cock" - another animal.
Emanuela
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#18567
02/11/2001 11:15 AM
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,981
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,981 |
Thanks for that. I've always wondered what an aspen tree was and simultaneously loved poplars. I found this useful description of the two varieties: "The quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) was named by the eminent French botanist Andre Michaux in his 1803 Flora Boreali-Americana. The scientific name tremuloides means "like tremula," commemorating its resemblance to the European form (Populus tremula). Subtle geographic variations have led some scientists to split aspens into multiple species, while other scientists have considered assigning all aspens to a single circumboreal superspecies. Given the difficulty of determining the age of individual aspens, the possibility of a close relationship to one ancestral form must be kept in mind. The generic name of aspen, Populus, is from a Latin word meaning "people, a great number," for the similarity between the continuous motion of a crowd and the trembling of leaves. The word "aspen" is itself an old word, encoded in some Indo-European languages for thousands of years. Originally the tree was known as "asp" with "aspen" being used as an adjectival form. Metaphorically, the adjective once referred to trembling, especially in fear or anger (as in Chaucer's, "That lyk an aspen leef he quook for ire")." http://arts.envirolink.org/literary_arts/DavidLukas.html
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#18568
02/11/2001 11:56 AM
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,981
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
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>including platanus acerifolia (The London plane) Marty, I agree. The London plane is Platanus x acerfolia, a hybrid of the American sycamore Platanus occidentalis and the oriental plane tree Platanus orientalis, so it must be a fairly recent import. It was, apparently, introduced in the 1700s and has done so well because of its ability to survive neglect and pollution. "London plane probably is more tolerant of smoke, dust, soot, air pollution, reflected heat, pavement over the roots, wind, heavy pruning, and general abuse than any other tree, and quite possibly has been planted in more cities worldwide than any other tree." http://www.floridata.com/ref/p/plat_xac.cfmOur sycamores acer pseudoplatanus are very invasive and are causing problems in many areas. http://www.rfs.org.uk/totm/sycamore.htmThese days gardens are becoming so small that there lots of Japanese maples acer palmatum.
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#18569
02/11/2001 1:50 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,773
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
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According to Webb Garrison in Why You Say It, dogwood gets its name from the fact that the bark, dried and ground and included in an emulsion, was the best old remedy for fleas, and thus it was commonly applied to canine hides.
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#18570
02/11/2001 6:59 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 771
old hand
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old hand
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In reply to:
...dogwood gets its name from the fact that the bark, dried and ground and included in an emulsion, was the best old remedy for fleas...
So obviously my next question is: Who ever thought that up?
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#18571
02/12/2001 2:16 PM
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,027
old hand
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old hand
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So obviously my next question is: Who ever thought that up?Who could ever doubt that dogwood got its name from...the bark ?
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#18572
02/12/2001 3:23 PM
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Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 1,289
veteran
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Dogwood for fleas
This brings up the medicinal uses of many trees. The most famous, perhaps, being aspirin, main ingredient salicylic acid, which comes from Salix the willow tree, the bark of which was the original source of the medication before it was synthesized by the Bayer firm in the 19th century.
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#18573
02/12/2001 4:28 PM
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Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400
Carpal Tunnel
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and cherry bark and flavor is a common for cough medicines-- cherry bark is supposed to be soothing to the throat. (it was used by both europians and native americans)
most medicials got started with plants-- Foxglove was used for "dropsy"-- what we now call edemia-- an common drug of choice for cardiac edemia is still "digatalis"--from the latin name of foxglove. there are many traditional "treatments" that have real world uses.
Sometimes i think we are so limited in our thinking-- we don't think about eating bark (cinnamon) or minerals (salt, calcium carbonate) or molds (blue cheese). Or about how many common foods are or contain common poisons.. bitter almonds-- (the "seed" from inside a peach pit) or rhubarb (the leaves are poisonious).
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#18574
02/12/2001 10:42 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Dear of Troy: I tried looking up digitalis in MS Encarta,drew a blank, also drew a blank on name of medical discoverer. Tried www.itools.com mentioned just now by des, entered "Digitalis discoverer" got a whole bunch of stuff. Good site, thanks, des wwh
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#18575
02/13/2001 2:37 AM
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Who could ever doubt that dogwood got its name from...the bark?Ohhhhh, wsieber, I am howling. 
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