The Wisdom of Trees: Growth, Defense and Care

摘要

I am fully aware of the dangers of anthropomorphisms (projecting human characteristics or traits onto animals or plants) when speaking of trees and of being misunderstood as promoting sentimental spiritualities that glean life lessons from trees. After all, many harmful tree practices have resulted from imposing human characteristics on trees; failing to grasp the nature of tree systems can lead one to work against trees, rather than with them. Nonetheless, for trees, there is a certain way of beinga tree in this world, shaped by natural selection and passed from generation to generation. Alex Shigo referred to this as the "intelligence of tree systems," an ancient and ever-adaptive biological wisdom.