How Did Those Rags Get There?

Trees have served as an inspiration to religions since before written history. Symbolism includes life, prosperity, and even the residence of a God. An article a recently read from the Economic Botany Journal, Why Are Rags Tired to the Sacred Trees of the Holy Land?, was written and researched by Amots Dafni (Institute of Evolution). The trees in that area have been known to have rag ceremonially tied to them for many years. But none asked why. Is it superstition or strictly religious?

It turns out it is a mixture. The research group interview 60 people who personally tied rags to trees. These people were from a mixture of religious and geographic groups. They payed special attention that they were not closely related so that they would get independent answers. A majority of people answered that it was an offering to a their respective God. This is interesting since most who said this were from a religion that looked down on tying rags to trees. The religious officials state that it is a pagan practice and is seen as people trying to remind their heavenly being that the people are still present. This is seen as disgracing to their God. Another reason was to have a healing ability when removed. The rags are said to soak of the essence of the sacred tree (like water) and dispel it into the person who wears it. This is thought to dispel sickness and overall strengthen the person. The rags can be worn anywhere on the body to have this affect.

There are many other reasons, such as to simply mark a blessed tree or put out rags for those in need. One I found interesting was that the rag was suppose to grant permission to the person to pick the trees fruit. In my mind this seems connected to appeasing the trees spirit in the sense that you are trying to gain the trees favor and not have ill luck set upon you because the tree was angry.

The reason I chose this article was because it was interesting to see how a “pagan practice”, as some have labeled it, still shows itself in religions that supposedly against the polytheistic religions. Also, other regions, such as Japan, also tie something around a tree to show it is sacred. The reason are different depending on the region/religion but the entire ideal that the tree is a guide if not a connection to an unearthly essence that they worship.

So Many Trees, So Little Time: Part 2

Trees change very slowly so that sometimes you can’t notice them at all until the last second. My first gigapan was taken when all the trees were a deep and vibrant green. Now, my class has gone out to take more gigapans to show the gradual changes. As you can see below not all of the trees have started to change. Many are a deep green while others are just about to transition from green to yellow. Specifically, I would like to focus on the trees that I described in my previous post.

The Durand Oak is at the far right corner of the section of trees and is just at the edge of where the tree line recedes away from the camera. It can be seen that the oak’s leaves have changed color. The green in some places has been replaced by a faint gold while in others a light green. The foliage of the oak has also been reduced by leaf fall. Before, you could barely see the branches of the tree while now, the branch skeleton is prominent.

The young Yellow Poplar is to the lower right of the power pole. The leaves as a whole have only gotten lighter. If you look on the right side of the tree, you can see the yellow beginning to show. The leave seem to have fallen also but to a much lesser degree than the Durand. None of the skeleton is showing but the leaves seem to be drooping much more than the previous picture. This is an indicator that the leaves will soon begin to drop.

The Black Locust is to the left of the power pole and is distinctly noticeable from against the bare trees in the background. It’s leaves have very little green left in them and are a bright orange/gold. The foliage, like the Durand, has been greatly reduced. The innermost skeleton is present while a majority of the leaves frame the tree.

As stated in my previous post, there are many theories as to why the leaves change color. But why don’t they all change at the same time? There are many different factors that determine when a tree will change color or drop its leaves. One of which is that the type of ideal environment of the tree. If a tree has been moved out into an unknown environment then it is probably going to have a harder time surviving than others. This tree’s stress might induce its leaves to drop earlier to avoid the even harsher environment of that area’s winter. Another factor is that different species of trees determine the time and color. Oak usually aren’t very colorful while the maples are very vibrant. I know that the oak doesn’t have something called an abscission layer and therefore the leaves usually stay attacked to the tree all winter. These are only two of the many factors that prompt the tree to change for the winter. None the less, the leaves changing colors is a beautiful sight and a tedious mess to pick up.

So Many Trees, So Little Time: Part 1

Out of the many places I could have taken a picture of trees, I chose right on top of Observatory Hill looking towards Guion. There is a multitude of greenery in which I could observe but there was also a large number of vines. These vines scaled the trees as they hunted for more sunlight and have taken over any trees. But there was hope. I found smaller trees among the shrubs that hadn’t been consumed by the climbers. This being said, I was able to find a few Durand Oaks, one Yellow Poplar, and one Black Locust.

Durland Oaks is often mistaken when identified because it can look so much like a white oak. This tree has leaves that are slightly shiny like plastic and the acorns they produce have very little tannins and therefore are a favorite of wild life to eat. This oak is very tolerable to many types of soil and weather conditions.

The Yellow Poplar can grow up to 120 feet tall and have tulip-shaped leaves. The flowers on these trees are famous since they are a beautiful yellow with orange accents. Unfortunately, when I started to observe this tree, all of the flowers were gone. Their seeds are wing shaped and eaten by a variety of animals.

The Black Locust stuck out to me because of the pods that were falling off of it. Another peculiarity was how the leaves (elongated ovals) were opposite of each other on the spine. Upon further investigation online, I found out that this tree also has very beautiful flowers, abate white. I seem to have bad luck when it comes to observing beautiful flowers.

The age old question has been posed yet again. Why do the leaves change color? Chlorophyll, the green coloring, is used in photosynthesis in order to create glucose and oxygen from carbon dioxide during spring and summer time. When autumn comes along, there is less sunlight and therefore less energy to be made. The chlorophyll then fades aways so that the bases of yellows and oranges (which has always been there) can be seen. These yellow and orange pigmentations are from carotenoids. Anthocyanins, the red and purple pigmentation, is produced during the summer. This is all how the leaves change color but now why. That is because it is relatively unknown why they change colors. Some scientists believe it is a sign to animals and insects that winter is coming while others believe is just an occurrence that use to have significance in the past (like our appendix) but no longer does. There are still studies going on to explain the beautiful phenomenon but there has yet to be any concrete evidence.

A New Perception of Cotton

Imagine if you are dropped into a world where there is no money, only trading. As expected, you are started. When you bring this issue to the native people, they look at you strangely before asking you to explain this “money” idea. You look around frantically, hoping to see something that would help. Your eyes catch something white on the horizon. Large fields of cotton are haphazardly strewn across the hilly area, making a sea of clouds. “There!” you almost want to shout. You point to the fields and tell how if you were to pick this cotton and then give it to each other as payment for an item then that would be money. They look between you and the fields, some with pity while others just shook their heads. The only one that listened was a little girl, about seven, with a ragged shirt and short brown hair. “So you could get anything with this ‘money’?” she asks. You nod your head and watch in excitement as her eyes light up. She runs to the fields and grabs an armful of cotton and then brings it to a merchant. She asks for something sweet from the vendor and asks how much he wants for it. He says the leg of a chair. The little girl lays out the cotton and says that this should be enough. The man looks in question before looking at you. The villagers that were around you start to understand. Finally someone mumbled why this “money” was so important. Universal payment.

Years have gone by and the society has grown to accept this money. But they seem to have grown stubborn when it came to determining what money is. You explain that money could be either plastic or paper and it has pictures on it. They would laugh and point to the cotton field all the while exclaiming “That is the money you taught us to value!” Finally, you gave up. The entire system of cotton collection and distribution within the world is relatively interesting and easy. It was only a few days of the village using money for the government, which was made up of a group of three people from all the twenty provinces in the world, to notice them. They interviewed the villages and yourself for answers. “Why do you pay your taxes with these?” one of them would ask as they hold up a bundle of cotton. “Because it is money,” they would all answer as if it was common sense. The investigators soon began to see the potential of this invention and scurried off to their superiors. The practice spread within weeks. Those who would grow the cotton only enjoyed the feeling of being rich for a month before the government seized all the cotton and cotton seeds. The government began growing this money and distributed an even amount to each person in the world. Along with this money came attached a decree that stated this was federally approved currency. 

Counterfeiting of course soon followed. The black market scrounged for whatever cotton seeds there was and sold them to high bidders. The counterfeiters would grow the seeds until the cotton was ripe and then pick the cotton and seeds. The government, as expected, wasn’t pleased. They debated for months until they devised a plan. They sent out a message to turn in all cotton balls so that they could redistribute another form of cotton. This form had the cotton completely encased in plastic that was hard and very durable. If you were to squint, you could see lines skillful engraved onto the inside of the plastic. It was of the governments seal that had been morphed into the shoots of cotton. The original cotton bundles were labeled invalid after a certain amount of time and the counterfeiting was halted.

Here you are, years later with people asking you for your opinion on the monetary inventions they had. One being a way to compress cotton into sheets in order to create and easier way to store them. These sheet would finally have pictures on them, an idea that you have been pressing for awhile. When asked what you would put on it, you would smile to yourself and say “How about a little girl with an armful of cotton.”