The Pines of Rome

[robcat2075]

You may have played "The Pines of Rome" but have you ever seen them?

Quite unlike the pines I am familiar with here in the US.

Get a good look at them... they're dying. An invasive parasite.

WaPo (sub req'd): Rome’s iconic pines, hit hard by a nasty parasite, now face their own pandemic

[AndrewMeronek]

They can't be particularly healthy trees even without parasites. All that pavement and very little room for water to get into their root structures.

[robcat2075]

They can't be particularly healthy trees even without parasites. All that pavement and very little room for water to get into their root structures.

I'm not sure how that works, except that perhaps because Rome is on a river the water table is high enough for the roots to reach anyway. The pines in that top image seem to have been purpose-planted to line the street so it must somehow work.

But they have many other pines in conventional forests which aren't faring any better.

[AndrewMeronek]

I'll also note that all of those trees are trimmed unnaturally high, so the only remaining branches are right at the top. That can't be great for the tree's circulatory system.

[Crazy4Tbone86]

Nice tangent! Sad to hear that the pines of Rome are struggling.....they are beautiful trees.

I love trees and the uniqueness of all the many species. I planted some new trees on my property just a few months ago and really enjoyed researching the pros and cons of each species. I tried to find species that would live for many decades and provide beauty for future generations. I think of trees as a wonderful gift to people who will enjoy them 80 to 100 years from now.

The ash trees in my backyard (and throughout the Mid-Atlantic Region of the USA) are being devoured by the emerald ash borers. There is one spectacular 60 foot ash directly behind my house that is declining quickly and it saddens me. Once infested, it is nearly 100% fatal for the ash trees.

This thread has me thinking.....someone needs to compose a piece about ash trees before they are endangered. Then I remembered, someone already has......the traditional Welch song "The Ash Grove."

[robcat2075]

I suppose there's quite a bit of music about trees.

The next one i think of is "Obra mai fu" AKA "Handel's Largo from Xerxes" which is an homage to the Plane tree.

[timothy42b]

O Tannenbaum, o............

[timothy42b]

O Tannenbaum, o............

Maple Leaf Rag
Chestnuts Roasting
Don't sit under the Apple Tree
When they're flecked with brown and have a golden hue (bananas)
Woodsman, spare that tree
the old Oaken Bucket

[timothy42b]

Can't believe I forgot:

Put the lime in the coconut and

And the second saddest country western song I know: See the tree, how big it's grown.

[cmcslide]

Let's also throw in
Tie a Yellow Ribbon 'round the old Oak Tree...

[JohnL]

There's the folk song Lemon Tree.

[elmsandr]

Norwegian Wood? Wait, is that not the same thing....

[robcat2075]

Tales from the Vienna Woods

It is not only the waltz by Johann Strauss II, but also a play by Ödön von Horváth.

There still are Vienna Woods today AKA Der Wienerwald