A New Kind of Wood and More...

The Tulip Tree, which is neither hardwood nor softwood and IS a possible tool against climate change.

Today’s Good Thing will deal with a scientific journal called New Phytologist, and an institution for higher learning called Jagiellonian University. If you saw either of these coming, just take a bow.

Today’s good thing also deals with the Tulip Tree, an old tree with a new classification:

A Tulip Tree. Courtesy of Kathy Grube

The Tulip Tree (Liriodendron tulipifera) and its close relative, the Chinese tulip tree (Liriodendron chinense) were long considered hardwood trees. Primarily because of their seeds.

You see, as most people know, there are hardwood trees (oak, maple) and there is softwood (fir, cedar.) Traditionally the difference between the two is how they propagate. Hardwood through fruits or shelled seeds, softwoods through conifers. But scientists break the two categories down by analyzing these tiny structures called macrofibrils. Macrofibrils are long fibers within the cells of trees.

Hardwood macrofibrils are around 15 nanometers in diameter, and softwood around 25 nanometers. But the scientists from Poland found that tulip trees are in between! The macrofibrils of these trees checked in at 20 nanometers. And so, we have a new tree “type” this one cleverly (not really) called “midwood.”

You might think that a new tree type being found is enough to qualify as good news. But there’s more!

There’s this beautiful bloom:

And…

There is a second recent discovery about Tulip Trees. You see back when evolution came into play, and Tulip Trees diverged from their parent, the Magnolia Tree, the atmosphere was full of carbon. An offshoot of this is that Tulip Trees evolved in two profound ways:

1. They grew quicker than most other tree types.

2. They developed the ability to store large amounts of carbon from the atmosphere.

So, that’s the upside. A new tree type, and a fast growing tree that manages to capture carbon efficiently

The downside for these trees?

Well, they produce a lot of sap and they aren’t the sturdiest. They have a propensity for toppling over in high winds or storms (which, ironically are more prevalent and fiercer with more carbon in the air.)