Tree Biology
What is the process called by which trees convert sunlight into energy?
Photosynthesis
What is the term for the tumor-like outgrowth that results in a swirling grain pattern in wood?
Burl or Burr
Which tree genus is recognized as a crucial keystone group of related species and supports a greater diversity of life forms than any other group?
The genus Quercus or Oaks
This tree was designated as the official state tree of Tennessee by Public Chapter 204 of the Acts of the 1947 General Assembly. What is it?
Tulip Poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera)
This native Tennessee tree boasts the most northern range among tropical and subtropical plants. Additionally, it produces the largest edible fruit in North America. What it is?
Pawpaw (Asimina triloba)
What is the water-soluble pigment found in plants, particularly in flowers, fruits, and leaves which are responsible for the red, purple, blue, and even black colors observed in many plants?
Anthocyanin
Blue pine, refers to the blue stain of several species of fungi, but how did it get there?
Wood-boring beetles
Although it may be an old wives tale, which tree did your mother tell you to never to plant your tomatoes under?
Black walnut (Juglans nigra)
What is the oldest tree in the world?
The Great Basin Bristlecone Pine (Pinus longaeva) Estimated to be over 5,000 years old.
Applejack is a high proof liquor made from apples. Unlike most spirits, this is traditionally distilled by doing what?
freezing it. [American settlers would leave hard cider outside during the winter and periodically toss out the chunks of ice that would form]
What is the name of the tissue in trees that transports water from the roots to the leaves?
Xylem
The surprising red color of "flame boxelder" is because by what?
A bacteria
Which native Tennessee tree is unique among temperate plants for producing flowers directly on its branches and trunk?
Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis)
John Chapman, famously known as Johnny Appleseed, reported lived inside of the hollow cavity of what kind of tree near his nursery in Ohio?
American sycamore (Platanus occidentalis)
Bourbon whiskey needs to be at least 51% corn and aged in new charred oak barrels. To be legally called "Tennessee whiskey", it also needs to be filtered through charcoal made from what tree?
Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum), this step is known as the 'Lincoln County Press'
Which part of the tree is responsible for producing new cells for growth?
Cambium / meristem
In hardwood lumber, dark colored steaks caused by fungi is known by what woodworking term?
Spalting
Osage orange wood not only is the hottest burning hardwood species in North America, but native americans also used this wood to make what weapon?
Bows
this famous American Elm was named 'The Surviver Tree' after what 1995 disaster?
The Oklahoma City Bombing. [In New York City, the survivor tree of the 9/11 attack was a Bradford pear]
Sourwood honey is renowned in our region for its smooth and delicious taste. However, bee keepers know there are three native shrubs in Tennessee which flower just be before sourwood and make poisonous "mad honey". Name one of them.
rhododendron, azalea, and mountain laurel
According to the CODIT model, trees don't heal, they do what instead?
Compartmentalize
Known also as the "cat's eye effect", what is the term used when wood has wavy reflective patches in the grain?
Chatoyancy
Which thorny native tree blooms during the time that emerald ash borer emerges during the spring?
Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia)
In Betty Smith's "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn", what species is the stubbornly resilient tree was she talking about?
Tree of Heaven. ["No matter where its seed falls, it makes a tree which struggles to reach the sky. It grows in boarded-up lots and out of neglected rubbish heaps. It grows up out of cellar gratings. It is the only tree that grows out of cement. It grows lushly"]
What small native tree, bearing bright red berries, is used to make a tart "lemonade"?
(Staghorn) sumac