Why do some male trees turn female?

[Jani]

I could have posted this at the MtF Forum!  I found it very interesting as well as something I didn't know.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2018/02/27/why-do-some-male-trees-turn-female/?utm_term=.cabc52c147b9

 

"Only when the trees bloom can you figure out their sex. Lots of trees are hermaphroditic — that is, their flowers contain both male and female reproductive parts. Other species have male trees and female trees, which you can tell apart by looking at their flowers: The male reproductive parts are the pollen-laden stamen; the female parts their egg-holding pistils."

 

"Acer pensylvanicum, a striped maple found in the Northeast United States and Southeastern Canada, is that rarest of species: Not only can it take a mere three weeks to bloom (a nanosecond in arboreal terms), but an individual tree can switch sexes, from male to female."

 

The researcher cut branches to run a test and the story goes on to say...

"Virtually the only thing that was common to the branches — and different from the tree itself — is that they were all cut off for the experiment: “It seems damage is important as far as triggering a male tree to become female,” Blake-Mahmud said.

The Rutgers botanist may have, in effect, replicated what was going on in nature. More damage to the trees was resulting in more sex changes."

 

So an internal change causes the tree to change.  Sound familiar???

 

Jani  

[Charlize]

No wonder i'm a tree hugger!

 

Hugs,

 

Charlize

[Jani]

I thought of you when I read this since I know you do Maple Sugaring. 

 

Jani