For those of us who garden, it’s hard not to see the countless parallels between the arc of a human life and that of a tree, right from infancy to old age.
Both are hard-wired to seek out shelter, nourishment, and a suitable spot to put down deep roots, as well as with a desire for community. Each is shaped in a myriad of ways by their environment, as well as vulnerable to the challenges of sickness and old age. Both are also part of a complex ecosystem upon which they depend on for their wellbeing, learning to share precious resources as a way of greatly upping the chances of survival.
In the case of trees, they do this by means of vast underground fungal networks made up of microscopic mycorrhizae- the “woodwide web”- through which they can share water, carbon, nitrogen and other important nutrients. Known as “mother trees”, the largest, oldest trees in a woodland typically have the most extensive fungal network, through which they help support younger, more vulnerable trees in need of assistance. In this way a woodland is remarkably similar to human society at its best, a model of peaceful co-operation.
Even the biochemical processes that
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