Exploding tree
Encyclopedia
Exploding trees occur when stresses in a tree trunk increase leading to an explosion. These explosions can be caused by three different factors: cold
, lightning
, and fire
.
. The sound is produced as the tree bark splits, with the wood contracting as the sap expands. John Claudius Loudon
described this effect of cold on trees in his Encyclopaedia of Gardening, in the entry for frosts, as follows:
Henry Ward Beecher
records anecdotal evidence of the wood from which instrument cases and carrying boxes were made splitting in temperatures of -70 F in Captain Bach's travels near the Great Slave Lake
. Linda Runyon, author of books on wilderness living, recounts her experience of the effect of cold on maple trees as follows:
Wally and Shirley Loudon reported the effect of the freeze of December 1968 upon their orchard in Carlton, Oregon
as follows:
To the Sioux
of The Dakotas
and the Cree
, the first new moon of the new year is known, in various dialects, as the "Moon of the Cold-Exploding Trees".
Tree sap is a supercooled liquid
in cold temperatures. John Hunter
observed, in his Treatise on the Blood, that tree sap within a tree freezes some 17 degrees Fahrenheit below its nominal freezing point.
is carried mostly by the water-conducting sapwood below the bark
, heating it up and boiling the water. The pressure of the steam can make the trunk burst. This happens especially with trees whose trunks are already dying or rotting. The more usual result of lightning striking a tree, however, is a lightning scar, running down the bark, or simply root damage, whose only visible sign above ground is branches that were fed by the root dying back.
s. In Australia
, the native eucalyptus trees
are also known to explode during bush fires due to the high flammability of vaporised eucalyptus oil produced by the tree naturally.
hoax covered by National Public Radio, stating that maple
trees in New England
had been exploding due to a failure to collect their sap, causing pressure to build from the inside. Of course, maple trees have survived for millions of years on Earth, without human beings tapping them for maple syrup and without exploding nonetheless. The root pressure
in a maple tree is approximately 0.1MPa, one standard atmosphere, which is nowhere near enough to explode a tree.
's 1795 Mathematical and Philosophical Dictionary
Cold
Cold describes the condition of low temperature.Cold may also refer to:*Common cold, a contagious viral infectious disease of the upper respiratory system*Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease...
, lightning
Lightning
Lightning is an atmospheric electrostatic discharge accompanied by thunder, which typically occurs during thunderstorms, and sometimes during volcanic eruptions or dust storms...
, and fire
Fire
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material in the chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. Slower oxidative processes like rusting or digestion are not included by this definition....
.
Cold
Cold causes maple trees to explode by freezing the sap, because it contains water, which expands as it freezes, creating a sound like a gunshotGunshot
A gunshot is the discharge of a firearm, producing a mechanical sound effect and a chemical gunshot residue. The term can also refer to a gunshot wound caused by such a discharge. Multiple discharges of a firearm or firearms are referred to as gunfire. The word can connotate either the sound of a...
. The sound is produced as the tree bark splits, with the wood contracting as the sap expands. John Claudius Loudon
John Claudius Loudon
John Claudius Loudon was a Scottish botanist, garden and cemetery designer, author and garden magazine editor.-Background:...
described this effect of cold on trees in his Encyclopaedia of Gardening, in the entry for frosts, as follows:
Henry Ward Beecher
Henry Ward Beecher
Henry Ward Beecher was a prominent Congregationalist clergyman, social reformer, abolitionist, and speaker in the mid to late 19th century...
records anecdotal evidence of the wood from which instrument cases and carrying boxes were made splitting in temperatures of -70 F in Captain Bach's travels near the Great Slave Lake
Great Slave Lake
Great Slave Lake is the second-largest lake in the Northwest Territories of Canada , the deepest lake in North America at , and the ninth-largest lake in the world. It is long and wide. It covers an area of in the southern part of the territory. Its given volume ranges from to and up to ...
. Linda Runyon, author of books on wilderness living, recounts her experience of the effect of cold on maple trees as follows:
Wally and Shirley Loudon reported the effect of the freeze of December 1968 upon their orchard in Carlton, Oregon
Carlton, Oregon
Carlton is a city in Yamhill County, Oregon, United States. According to the 2000 United States Census, the municipality population was 1,514. The 2007 estimate is 1,755 residents.-History:...
as follows:
To the Sioux
Sioux
The Sioux are Native American and First Nations people in North America. The term can refer to any ethnic group within the Great Sioux Nation or any of the nation's many language dialects...
of The Dakotas
The Dakotas
The Dakotas is a collective term that refers to the U.S. states of North Dakota and South Dakota together. The term has been used historically to describe the Dakota Territory, and is continued to be used to describe the collective heritage, culture, geography, fauna, sociology, the economy, and...
and the Cree
Cree
The Cree are one of the largest groups of First Nations / Native Americans in North America, with 200,000 members living in Canada. In Canada, the major proportion of Cree live north and west of Lake Superior, in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and the Northwest Territories, although...
, the first new moon of the new year is known, in various dialects, as the "Moon of the Cold-Exploding Trees".
Tree sap is a supercooled liquid
Supercooling
Supercooling, also known as undercooling, is the process of lowering the temperature of a liquid or a gas below its freezing point without it becoming a solid....
in cold temperatures. John Hunter
John Hunter (surgeon)
John Hunter FRS was a Scottish surgeon regarded as one of the most distinguished scientists and surgeons of his day. He was an early advocate of careful observation and scientific method in medicine. The Hunterian Society of London was named in his honour...
observed, in his Treatise on the Blood, that tree sap within a tree freezes some 17 degrees Fahrenheit below its nominal freezing point.
Lightning
Trees can explode when struck by lightning. The strong electric currentElectric current
Electric current is a flow of electric charge through a medium.This charge is typically carried by moving electrons in a conductor such as wire...
is carried mostly by the water-conducting sapwood below the bark
Bark
Bark is the outermost layers of stems and roots of woody plants. Plants with bark include trees, woody vines and shrubs. Bark refers to all the tissues outside of the vascular cambium and is a nontechnical term. It overlays the wood and consists of the inner bark and the outer bark. The inner...
, heating it up and boiling the water. The pressure of the steam can make the trunk burst. This happens especially with trees whose trunks are already dying or rotting. The more usual result of lightning striking a tree, however, is a lightning scar, running down the bark, or simply root damage, whose only visible sign above ground is branches that were fed by the root dying back.
Fire
Exploding trees also occur during forest fires and are a risk to smokejumperSmokejumper
A smokejumper is a wildland firefighter who parachutes into a remote area to combat wildfires.Smokejumpers are most often deployed to fires that are extremely remote. The risks associated with this method of personnel deployment are mitigated by an extremely well developed training program that has...
s. In Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, the native eucalyptus trees
Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering trees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Members of the genus dominate the tree flora of Australia...
are also known to explode during bush fires due to the high flammability of vaporised eucalyptus oil produced by the tree naturally.
April fools' hoax
Exploding trees were the subject of a 2005 April Fools' DayApril Fools' Day
April Fools' Day is celebrated in different countries around the world on April 1 every year. Sometimes referred to as All Fools' Day, April 1 is not a national holiday, but is widely recognized and celebrated as a day when many people play all kinds of jokes and foolishness...
hoax covered by National Public Radio, stating that maple
Maple
Acer is a genus of trees or shrubs commonly known as maple.Maples are variously classified in a family of their own, the Aceraceae, or together with the Hippocastanaceae included in the family Sapindaceae. Modern classifications, including the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group system, favour inclusion in...
trees in New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
had been exploding due to a failure to collect their sap, causing pressure to build from the inside. Of course, maple trees have survived for millions of years on Earth, without human beings tapping them for maple syrup and without exploding nonetheless. The root pressure
Root pressure
Root pressure is when roots of two different plants collide. They put pressure against eachother and the two plants form to make one. This is how new plants are created. Root pressure occurs in the xylem of some vascular plants when the soil moisture level is high either at night or when...
in a maple tree is approximately 0.1MPa, one standard atmosphere, which is nowhere near enough to explode a tree.
Exploding trees in fiction
- In Larry NivenLarry NivenLaurence van Cott Niven / ˈlæri ˈnɪvən/ is an American science fiction author. His best-known work is Ringworld , which received Hugo, Locus, Ditmar, and Nebula awards. His work is primarily hard science fiction, using big science concepts and theoretical physics...
's fictional setting of Known SpaceKnown SpaceKnown Space is the fictional setting of some dozen science fiction novels and several collections of short stories written by author Larry Niven. It has also in part been used as a shared universe in the Man-Kzin Wars spin-off anthologies sub-series....
, an alien race called the TnuctipTnuctipThe Tnuctipun are a fictional extinct alien species in Larry Niven's Known Space series.Tnuctipun were small, arboreal pack predators, averaging about 3–4 feet long. Their heads were long and lean, and their eyes opened laterally...
un used genetic engineeringGenetic engineeringGenetic engineering, also called genetic modification, is the direct human manipulation of an organism's genome using modern DNA technology. It involves the introduction of foreign DNA or synthetic genes into the organism of interest...
to create the stage tree, a tree which produces solid rocketSolid rocketA solid rocket or a solid-fuel rocket is a rocket engine that uses solid propellants . The earliest rockets were solid-fuel rockets powered by gunpowder; they were used by the Chinese in warfare as early as the 13th century and later by the Mongols, Arabs, and Indians.All rockets used some form of...
fuel. Stage trees spread their seeds only when they are ignited. - The Integral TreesThe Integral TreesThe Integral Trees is a 1984 science fiction novel by Larry Niven . Like much of Niven's work, the story is heavily influenced by the setting: a gas torus, a ring of air around a neutron star...
and The Smoke RingThe Smoke RingThe Smoke Ring is a 1987 science fiction novel by Larry Niven. Like much of Niven's work, the story is heavily influenced by the setting: a gas torus, a ring of air around a neutron star. It is a sequel to The Integral Trees.-Setting:...
, also by Niven, feature enormous inhabited trees in orbit around a neutron starNeutron starA neutron star is a type of stellar remnant that can result from the gravitational collapse of a massive star during a Type II, Type Ib or Type Ic supernova event. Such stars are composed almost entirely of neutrons, which are subatomic particles without electrical charge and with a slightly larger...
. The tidal forceTidal forceThe tidal force is a secondary effect of the force of gravity and is responsible for the tides. It arises because the gravitational force per unit mass exerted on one body by a second body is not constant across its diameter, the side nearest to the second being more attracted by it than the side...
keeps them under strong tension, and if they drift out of the habitable zone of the gas ring, they split in half with explosive force, sacrificing one half of the tree to save the other half. - In the book Brian's WinterBrian's WinterBrian's Winter is a 1996 young adult novel by Gary Paulsen. It is the third novel in the Hatchet series, but second in terms of chronology as an alternate ending sequel to Hatchet....
by Gary PaulsenGary PaulsenGary James Paulsen is an American writer who writes many young adult coming of age stories about the wilderness. He is the author of more than 200 books , 200 magazine articles and short stories, and several plays, all primarily for young adults and teens.-Biography:Gary Paulsen was born in...
the main character believes he is hearing gunshots, and walks toward them, and finds out that sound is made by exploding trees. - In the Super NintendoSuper Nintendo Entertainment SystemThe Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
video game EarthBoundEarthBoundEarthBound, also known as EarthBound: The War Against Giygas! and released as in Japan, is a role-playing video game co-developed by Ape and HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System video game console...
there is an enemy in the Peaceful Rest Valley called the Territorial Oak which explodes when defeated and causes a great deal of damage to party members. - In the Book of Exodus (3:1-21), the Burning BushBurning bushThe burning bush is an object described by the Book of Exodus as being located on Mount Sinai; according to the narrative, the bush was on fire, but was not consumed by the flames, hence the name...
is the location at which MosesMosesMoses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...
was appointed by GodGodGod is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
to lead the Israelites out of EgyptEgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
and into CanaanCanaanCanaan is a historical region roughly corresponding to modern-day Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, and the western parts of Jordan...
. - In Mary ShelleyMary ShelleyMary Shelley was a British novelist, short story writer, dramatist, essayist, biographer, and travel writer, best known for her Gothic novel Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus . She also edited and promoted the works of her husband, the Romantic poet and philosopher Percy Bysshe Shelley...
's FrankensteinFrankensteinFrankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is a novel about a failed experiment that produced a monster, written by Mary Shelley, with inserts of poems by Percy Bysshe Shelley. Shelley started writing the story when she was eighteen, and the novel was published when she was twenty-one. The first...
, Victor is inspired to pursue a life of science when he observes an oak exploding in a thunderstorm. (literally exploding, leaving the tree in thin ribbons of wood.) - In Robert JordanRobert JordanRobert Jordan was the pen name of James Oliver Rigney, Jr. , under which he was best known as the author of the bestselling The Wheel of Time fantasy series. He also wrote under the pseudonyms Reagan O'Neal and Jackson O'Reilly.-Biography:Jordan was born in Charleston, South Carolina...
's Wheel of TimeThe Wheel of TimeThe Wheel of Time is a series of epic fantasy novels written by American author James Oliver Rigney, Jr., under the pen name Robert Jordan. Originally planned as a six-book series, the length was increased by increments; at the time of Rigney's death, he expected it to be 12, but it will actually...
series, trees in the northern countries commonly explode by freezing, due to the extreme cold. - In Terry GoodkindTerry GoodkindTerry Goodkind is an American writer and author of the epic fantasy The Sword of Truth series as well as the contemporary suspense novel The Law of Nines, which has ties to his fantasy series, and The Omen Machine, which is a direct sequel thereof. Before his success as an author Goodkind worked...
's The Sword of TruthThe Sword of TruthThe Sword of Truth is a series of thirteen epic fantasy novels written by Terry Goodkind. The books follow the protagonists Richard Cypher, Kahlan Amnell and Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander on their quest to defeat oppressors who seek to control the world and those who wish to unleash evil upon the world of...
series, wizards and sorceresses use their gift to heat the sap inside trees to boil, until the tree explodes, sending jagged wood fragments in all directions and delivering horrendous wounds to those near it. Seen in Faith of the FallenFaith of the FallenFaith of the Fallen is the sixth book in Terry Goodkind's epic fantasy series The Sword of Truth.-Plot introduction:The Imperial Order continues to bring an undesired war upon the New World. Its mission: to enslave the world in a system in which no human being can aspire to anything more than...
and ChainfireChainfireChainfire is the ninth book in Terry Goodkind's epic fantasy series The Sword of Truth, and the first in a trilogy.-Plot introduction:During a raid on his camp, Richard is seriously wounded and now Nicci must use subtractive magic in order to save him. Richard awakens to find his wife Kahlan...
. - In David ZindellDavid ZindellDavid Zindell is an American author known for science fiction and fantasy epics. He was born in Toledo, Ohio, and resides today in Boulder, Colorado; he received a BA degree in mathematics and minored in anthropology at the University of Colorado at Boulder...
's NevernessNevernessNeverness is a science fiction novel written by David Zindell and published in 1988. The novel grew from a 1985 novelette entitled 'Shanidar'. Neverness concerns a medium far-future world where mathematicians have become a kind of caste or religious order, because of their abilities to do the...
descriptions of "popping noises" in the distance are heard and splinters found in the snow drifts when Mallory Ringess and company are posing as Alolai and travelling to the Devlaki tribe, Describing the explosions of trees due to the extreme colds found on Neverness (the planet) - In Gary PaulsenGary PaulsenGary James Paulsen is an American writer who writes many young adult coming of age stories about the wilderness. He is the author of more than 200 books , 200 magazine articles and short stories, and several plays, all primarily for young adults and teens.-Biography:Gary Paulsen was born in...
's The Foxman the main character hears the exploding sound several times as he is skiing through the woods. - In Alan Dean FosterAlan Dean FosterAlan Dean Foster is an American author of fantasy and science fiction. He currently resides in Prescott, Arizona, with his wife, and is also known for his novelizations of film scripts...
's Spellsinger series, it is mentioned that pine trees often produce cones that are like hand grenades, acting as deadly decoys to foraging animals and thus protecting the normal pine cones and seeds.
Footnotes
Similar text can be found in the entry for Frost in Charles HuttonCharles Hutton
Charles Hutton was an English mathematician.Hutton was born at Newcastle-on-Tyne. He was educated in a school at Jesmond, kept by Mr Ivison, a clergyman of the Church of England...
's 1795 Mathematical and Philosophical Dictionary