Kurzgesagt - In a Nutshell: Trees Are So Weird

Trees are among Earth’s most extreme life forms: they build their bodies from thin air, pump water at pressures that’d crush us, and wrap living “cables” of cells in layers of dead wood to create a super-strong skeleton. Beneath the bark lies the cambium—a microscopic strip of endlessly dividing cells that push out new wood inward and fresh bark outward, keeping the tree growing, healing wounds, and coordinating millions of functions.

Thanks to this living/dead tissue combo, trees can haul water hundreds of meters skyward, record years of growth in their rings, and achieve a form of near-immortality that leaves us mere mortals scratching our heads. Their secret plumbing and structural system is so efficient and resilient that these ancient giants have dominated the planet for hundreds of millions of years.

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