如何根據(jù)樹皮來鑒別一棵樹

如何根據(jù)樹皮來鑒別一棵樹

 (Photo: Aleksander Bolbot/Shutterstock)

Glance at a tree and you no doubt first look at its leaves. But you can also identify trees by looking at their bark. At first glance, this protective outer coating of a tree's trunk and branches may seem like an unending sea of gray and brown. However, when you look closely, you'll see variations in the colors and textures.

瞥一眼樹，毫無疑問你首先會看到它的葉子。但是你也可以通過觀察樹皮來識別樹木。乍一看，樹干和樹枝的這層保護層似乎全是灰色和棕色的。然而，當你仔細觀察，你會發(fā)現(xiàn)顏色和紋理的變化。

Smooth, unbroken bark

樹皮光滑、完整

(Photo: Martien van Gaalen)

Young trees sometimes have smooth bark that's unbroken by ridges. Often this will change as the trees age, Wojtech says. But a few species, like the American beech and the red maple, keep their smooth, unbroken bark throughout their lifespans.

幼樹有時有光滑的樹皮，樹皮上有脊狀突起。沃伊特說，這通常會隨著樹木的老化而改變。但有一些物種，如美洲山毛櫸和紅楓樹，一直都保持著光滑、完整的樹皮。

Bark peeling in horizontal strips

樹皮水平剝落

(Photo: Julia Vorotinceva/Shutterstock)

In some cases, Wojtech says, the trees' wood is growing faster than the bark surrounding it, so it pushes outward against the bark. On some species, the pressure causes thin layers of the protective outer cork layer to separate and peel away. In the paper birch, for example, these layers peel away in horizontal, curly strips.

沃伊特說，在某些情況下，樹木的樹干比周圍的樹皮生長得更快，所以它會向外擠壓樹皮。在一些物種上，壓力會導致保護外層軟木的薄層分離和剝落。例如，在紙樺樹中，這些層以水平卷曲的條狀剝落。

Lots of lenticels

大量的皮孔

(Photo: Amelia Martin/Shutterstock)

Lenticels are pores that are important in the process of moving carbon dioxide and oxygen through a tree's protective outer bark. All trees have them, but they're more visible on some species than others, according to Iowa State University Extension and Outreach.

皮孔是一種小孔，在二氧化碳和氧氣通過樹的保護層外皮的過程中非常重要。根據(jù)愛荷華州立大學的推廣和外展，所有的樹木都有這種基因，但在某些物種上它們比其他物種更明顯。

Lenticels come in many different shapes, sizes and even colors. For example, Wojtech points out that they appear as dark, horizontal lines in the yellow birch and as diamond shapes in the young bigtooth aspen.

透鏡有許多不同的形狀、大小甚至顏色。例如，Wojtech指出，它們在黃色樺樹中呈現(xiàn)出深色的水平線，在年輕的大齒白楊中呈現(xiàn)出鉆石形狀。

Scales and plates

鱗片和板狀

(Photo: Nacho Mena/Shutterstock)

Instead of ridges, some trees have breaks in the rhytidome layers that appear more like plates or scales. Many pine and spruce trees have scales of bark, while species like the black birch have thick, irregular plates on their trunks.

一些樹的紋狀穹隆層不是山脊狀，而是斷裂，看起來更像板或鱗片。許多松樹和云杉樹都有樹皮的鱗片，而像黑樺樹這樣的樹種的樹干上有厚而不規(guī)則的板。

Rainbow of colors

彩虹般的顏色

 (Photo: Bradley D. Saum/Shutterstock)

It's not just the texture of the bark that helps identify the tree, but the color as well. Although at first glance, trees may seem like an interchangeable mix of muted grays and browns, there's more to that forest rainbow.

不僅樹皮的質地有助于識別樹木，顏色也很重要。雖然乍一看，樹木似乎是柔和的灰色和棕色的混合體，但森林彩虹還有更多的含義。

As Hunker points out, "Beech trees have a light gray bark, and cherry trees have a red-brown bark. Black walnut trees have very dark bark, while birch trees have white or silvery bark."

亨克指出:“山毛櫸的樹皮是淺灰色的，櫻桃樹的樹皮是紅棕色的。黑胡桃樹的樹皮很黑，而樺樹的樹皮是白色或銀色的。”

Unusual characteristics

不尋常的特點

(Photo: Josiah True/Shutterstock)

Aside from ridges and lenticels, color and peeling layers, some tree species just have some strange things growing on their bark.

除了脊和皮孔，顏色和剝落層，一些樹種只是有一些奇怪的東西生長在他們的樹皮上。

For example, wild varieties of the honey locust tree have large, red thorns on the trunk and branches. The thorns usually have three points, but can have many more, especially on the trunk. They look like spines and can grow to be three inches long.

例如，野生品種的蜂蜜刺槐樹的樹干和樹枝上都有大而紅的刺。刺通常有三個點，但可以有更多，特別是在樹干上。它們看起來像刺，可以長到3英寸長。

Smell test

氣味測試

(Photo: ARSimonds/Shutterstock)

One more way to identify a tree is by taking a whiff of its bark. The National Park Service points out that you can recognize some trees by smelling their bark. The Ponderosa pine, above, for example, smells like butterscotch or vanilla.

另外一種鑒別樹的方法是聞一聞樹皮的氣味。國家公園管理局指出，你可以通過聞樹皮來認出一些樹。例如，上面的黃松聞起來像奶油糖果或香草。

Hunker says some other pine trees smell like turpentine, while yellow birch smells like wintergreen, and sassafras trees can smell like cinnamon and spice.

Hunker說，其他一些松樹聞起來像松節(jié)油，而黃樺聞起來像冬青樹，黃樟樹聞起來像肉桂和香料。

So the next time you're out in nature, take a closer look at the trees around you. You might see more details in the different tree barks than you ever have before.

所以下次你在大自然中，仔細看看你周圍的樹木。你可能會在不同的樹皮上看到比以前更多的細節(jié)。