H. Lodgepole pine

Lodgepole Pine (figure3.8), like all pines, is evergreen. Lodgepole pine is native to the Rocky Mountains from Alaska to Colorado. The tree is a tall, slender evergreen with a straight trunk. It averages a height of 12-25 m and a width of 6 m. It can live from 50-100 years and grows about 30-90 cm a year. The needles are in pairs and are stiff with a sharp point.

T

Figure 3.12 Lodgepole Pine

he 3-7 cm cones often need exposure to high temperatures (such as from forest fires) in order to open and release their seeds. The cones have prickles on the scales. The cones are short and cylindrical, and remain on the branches for many years. The scales protecting the seeds are armed with a sharp prickle. These trees tend to form dense forests, where little can grow underneath the thick canopy. The 3-7 cm cones often need exposure to high temperatures (such as from forest fires) in order to open and release their seeds. The cones have prickles on the scales. The cones are short and cylindrical, and remain on the branches for many years. The scales protecting the seeds are armed with a sharp prickle. These trees tend to form dense forests, where little can grow underneath the thick canopy. They are the most common conifer of the northern Rocky Mountains and grows on a variety of soil types and elevations. Lodgepole pines benefit from fire. Some of the cones on the branches will only open and release the seeds after being exposed to high temperatures. The seeds can then germinate in an environment where most other competitors have been destroyed by the flames. But not all the cones on the lodgepole have this mechanism, so that they can still release seeds without fire. The hard and straight trunk of lodgepole has meant that it has been used by Native Americans for lodge and teepee supports, and the timber today is used for the construction of housing and fences.

Exercises to the texts A-H

3.3 Give Russian equivalents: scale-like leaves, needle-like leaves, lightweight lumber, scarce of knots, medium textured, closed straight grain, interior or exterior, leaf arrangement, valuable timber, decorative wood grain, moderately softwood, leaf arrangement, valuable timber, decorative wood grain, moderately softwood, long-lasting and durable heartwood, resistant to moisture.

3.4 Make two groups of trees (coniferous and deciduous) from the following words: alder, ash, aspen, baobab, beech, birch, chestnut, cedar, cypress, Douglas fir, eucalyptus, elm, fir, juniper, hemlock, holly, larch, lime, maple, oak, pine, poplar, rowan, spruce, teak, willow, yew.

Example:

coniferous	deciduous
spruce	birch

3.5 Make up summary chart of some trees (use the texts a-h).

Example:

3.6 Read and translate the text 1 using the active vocabulary and a dictionary. Text 1 Strange Kinds of Trees

Among unusual trees are the tropical mangrove and banyan. From their extended branches they send down roots that grow into supporting trunks. Thus each tree becomes a grove. The baobab, or monkey-bread tree, grows immensely broad without growing proportionately tall. Its trunk may be 20 to 30 feet in diameter but only 60 to 70 feet high. Its branches, 50 to 60 feet long and each as thick as a good-sized tree, sweep the ground with their foliage. South American forests have several different cow trees. They yield a creamy, pleasant-tasting juice, which is said to serve as a milk substitute. These are related to the rubber trees. The "deadly tree" of southeastern Asia was once believed to have a poisonous breath that was fatal to any living creature within ten miles. This has proved to be a fable; but the real tree has a poisonous juice.

According to tradition, Buddha received enlightenment under the sacred Bo tree in India. The original tree has vanished, but a Bo tree in Sri Lanka, said to be over 2,000 years old, is venerated by Buddhists as having sprung from a slip of the sacred tree. It is a member of the fig genus.

The Redwoods and Douglas firs of the Pacific coast are the world’s tallest trees. Second to them is the eucalyptus of Australia. Probably the largest in circumference is the Tree of Tule, about 175 feet around the trunk and 150 feet tall. It is in a village churchyard southwest of Oaxaca, Mexico. It is a cypress, called in English the Montezuma cypress. Its age has been estimated to be 3,000 to 5,000 years.