The shape of trees

Why are trees shaped the way they are? Why are leaves the shape they are? As you know, there are deciduous trees, like a maple tree and coniferous trees, like a pine tree. Their shapes and leaves are so different. Isn't their job just to sit there and collect sunlight and grow? In fact, why be a tree at all? Why not just stay a bush? In the rain forest, it was an easy decision:



There is so much sunlight, you only need a portion of your being to collect light. But there are so many competitors that you need to grow a trunk and get high and pretty soon you have a canopy. You don't have to worry about loss of moisture so your leaves can be big or small but they can stay thin. The trees are called deciduous but they remain green all year round because they can.

Maple trees have a different problem. They have winter to deal with.



When the weather is warm, there is plenty of sunshine and moisture so their leaves are large and broad. Other maple trees keep their distance. So they grow big and tall and bushy but when the winter comes, the leaves become a liability so off they go. And I have to rake them up!

Farther north, the trees have a different problem. It's cold and dry and there isn't as much light, ever.



So instead of leaves, pine trees have developed needles to minimize their surface area and therefore moisture loss. Their light collection area has to go from tip to toe and they have a conical shape so that no section is in shadow. I.e. they maximize their light collection surface.

Bottom line: the shape of trees and the shape of leaves evolve to suit their environment. We found out in Rome's Revolution that Deucado has cane-trees. The gravity is a little lighter there and sunlight is a little redder but there is plenty of it. Their trunks don't need to support much weight and up they go.

But what about on Hades, the cold, cold world in the upcoming The Milk Run and Ayden, the world of the living plants? Stay tuned.