Conifers, obviously, cannot send their seeds to a specific place; however, their seeds are, in a sense, directed. For example, strong winds generated by wildfires suck the wind-borne seeds from trees on the periphery into the ravaged areas. Serotinous cones that open only after exposure to high heat and flame also provide seed to regenerate growth after a fire. Even the trees’ intermittent seed dumps may be attuned to wildfire occurrences. All these factors point to the logic of nature. Although the conifer is a dominant metaphor in this chapter and throughout the book, in the real world of
...more
