Cassian Humphreys offers more excerpts from The Enlightened Gardener, continuing the story from the June/July 2024 issue…
With scratches in the sand Captain Fergus ‘Gus’ Johnstone kept up his tree story with Major Churchill.
“On top of this, multiple rays of cell tissue run through the cell walls.
“These rays help bind the increments together as well as act as pathways of cellular communication from the outer ring of dynamic tissue called the cambium layer. In a human-sense this is the heart/brain of the tree,” said Gus, drawing rays through his concentric circles until he’d drawn a dartboard in the sand. “What’s more, it’s true to say – well, perhaps in tree terms – that the cambium layer acts as a weighing scale determining load-bearing stress and triggering growth of new cells adapted to that most recent load.”
Breathing deeply again he continued: “The self-imposed growth stresses of the tree exert force through the rays, applying pressure against the increments, against the grain, binding them more tightly together. With stresses also exerted longitudinally through the cellulose in the stacked cells, and with tangential compressive stress against the lignin cell wall, mitigating crack formation along the tips of the wood rays or through the grain.”
Fergus breathed deeply with the exertion of seeing, feeling, and speaking the vision of the inner world of the tree.
“This kind of core strength of the woody plant is activated against crack formation. It’s not so dissimilar to human core-strength activation of the coccyx to abdomen to prevent muscular strains. Ring or ray cracking caused by the loss of growth stresses in trees occurs once trees are either dead or felled. Although, poor health causes tree failure prematurely.”
Pointing to the outer ring he said, “The cambium, as a meristem or growing point, grows the new wood on the inside and food- or energyconducting tissues called the phloem, on the outside. The phloem is located between this dynamic layer and the sapwood. The cambium and phloem is located just inside the outer bark of the tree.
“Though in cross section it looks ‘thin’, it’s a veneer that coats the whole body of the tree, and its overall surface area is the heart and brain of the living tree, often called the inner bark.”
Gus paused for the moment and pointed with his stick.
“The phloem translocates organic compounds in solution produced by photosynthesis in the leaves. This is used as energy around the whole body of the outermost tree and into the wood through the wood rays. To be used to fire the tree’s many processes, including defense, the wood is protected from the inner/ outer environment via the activation of resistance zones that inhibit the spread of wood-decay-causing organisms. The organic compounds are also stored in the wood and roots, to be used in lean times for ‘system’ support. Severance of this outer ring causes trees to die when we cut the tissue via ringbarking.”
Healing
At this Churchill interjected, “Not all trees, Fergus. Take the Cork-oak trees of Portugal and Spain which don’t miss a beat when the outer and inner bark is harvested.
“Oh yes, Major,” Fergus nodded. “Plus species of eucalyptus trees in Australia and fig trees in the subtropics are likewise designed to rapidly overcome such treatment.” Churchill interjected again. “Harken to the words ‘in nature there are no absolutes’ Fergus.”
Fergus nodded agreement.
“Another factor in broad-leaved trees is the growth of flexure wood,” Fergus continued. “It’s this tree muscle that, on top of everything else, that clinches it for the trees.”
After a few deep breaths Fergus continued: “Oh yes. That and the internal decay process which makes a cylinder stronger than a solid. It’s this, with vitality and vigour, that makes old trees live longer.
“Another aspect of the evolved outer tree relates to the formation of wound-wood, which forms first as soft callus tissue which then ages, closing or compartmentalising injuries. Such differentiated tissue also adds strength above and below wounds. Likewise, trees grow spotwelds in areas subject to high compression, such as between buttresses or under heavy limbs, in some cases growing lifebelts around their trunks to help fortify such load.
“This is akin to a human weightlifter sporting a thick leather belt when powerlifting.”
Vitality
Gus returned back to the wood rays.
“I am aware, Major, that in a number of tree genera, particularly in the family Myrtaceae, that in the case of live wood delaminations or live splinters, the wood rays even have the capacity to act as pathways for callus or new wood tissue to form through them, forming boundary zones and wound-wood on the inside of the spilt timber, as well as primary wood on the outside. Such trunk delaminations with buds and shoots and incremental growth can even be transitioned into limbs.”
Fergus continued his drawing in the sand.
“The incremental integration of girdling roots into new, woody trunk and buttress growth in Myrtaceae is achieved in the same way.
“Plants are made up of multiple parts and processes where structure and biology are as one. Humanity underestimates the plant, let alone its woody counterpart. There is a vast intelligence in its design, a great knowing in its being.
“In the same way I do not intimately know my own biomechanics, least of all on a cellular level, I do trust the intelligence within, which optimises me regardless of ‘my’ knowledge. This is the same intelligence that enables us to outmaneuver our enemy as combatants. The very same knowing I likewise trust as operating within the tree, Major. I believe it to be the same intelligence. It is God’s Intelligence.”
Looking straight into the Major’s eyes Fergus saw the understanding – the same self-aware knowledge of divinity. Holding Fergus’ gaze while raising his arm the Major said it all by saluting the lower-ranking officer.
“It’s a basic summary of the treesystem: with every cost this highly evolved harmoniser seeks to make a benefit. All it needs to do so is the vitality.”
Ascension
“Ah, Fergus, and so we have a parallel to human psychology,” offered Churchill, “a mind-map as it were.”
“Consider your woody-plant cellular structure, those cojoined cells that form the pathways. Consider the loadbearing stress and, as you say, selfimposed stressors, up, down, side-toside and through.”
“Yes, Major,” replied Gus. “Extending into the root plate, transport roots, even to the root tips binding trees to the soil, with the mechanics and the biology of the root-ball, the ultimate counter ballast helping trees stand for up to thousands of years.”
Taking a breath himself Churchill continued, “The human egoic-mind, the adapted self, is as compartmentalised as a tree. It is that which we create as children, as buffers, to cope with our loss to our link to divine intelligence. It’s our separation from that spiritual knowing, more the love of the ‘father’ and the ‘mother’ – or as the Christians call it, ‘Holy Spirit’. The tree, Fergus, is the perfect illustration of the form to the mental container that is the bane of humanity. All human suffering comes from that false sense of separation from God.”
It was then that Fergus got it, fuelled by the joy and the light in Jack’s eyes.
“And yet, Major, though the tree illustrates the structure to its form, the tree as the analogy of the humanegoic- mind, made up of multiple walls of cells to give the impression of the layers of a ‘self-imposed prison’, so too, is the ‘current’ tree dynamic.” Fergus paused to take another needed breath.
“As well as the now tree, the dynamic symplast, so too is the inert harder apoplast interlinked with the living all-encompassing heart/brain of the tree, throughout so much of its body are pathways. Pathways between the cell walls, the intercellular spaces, these enable and are symbolic of the pathway of spirit. The tree is likewise a reflection of the Trinity, the Father, the Holy Spirit, and the Christ. It’s in the gap that Christ’s light travels, the all-knowing pathway back to God, the pathway to ascension is within the container.”
He stopped again as he stabbed his drawing stick into the damp sand. “Not only does the tree literally unite heaven and earth, both physically and spiritually, the tree embodies the perfect analogy of ascension!”
Symbolism
Stopping, both men breathed in the epiphany of their mutual understanding – as though they were actually women who’d been through a birth, less the pain – a birthing in consciousness. Silence descended to help magnify the gap between their thoughts and time.
Then Churchill piped up once more: “Fergus, consider the symbology of the cross, the framework of the tree that Christ was crucified on. Embracing the cross, owning our sin of separation, the mental and emotional dysfunction that goes with the false self, unique to us all, and then transcending it. Transcending human sufferance unto God, while becoming Christlike ourselves.
“Your narrative nails it for me. Yet again the tree features at the center of the ascendence story.”
At their point of mutual understanding, the dance of recognition, the expansion, with the tree at the heart of their discourse – suddenly a loud bellow came from the headland.
