Non-indigenous trees

John Dixon

In bonsai we sometimes wonder about the ability of certain species to adapt to a different climate. Back in June, I was introduced to a certain species of spruce that made me realize how long man has tried to introduce non-indigenous species to other areas.

The attached photo is of (I think) Nordic or Norway Spruce. These trees were on ridges of mountains on the island of O'ahu in Hawaii. I took this photo while on a helicopter tour of the island and the pilot gave a very fact-filled narration. According to him (and many others), this spruce was brought to Hawaii by Captain Cook. The motivation for this was to have a source of replacement timber for sailing masts for re-fitting the fleet. Being so far away from home waters, this was apparently a great concern.

The climate in Hawaii was very easily adapted to by the spruce. In fact, because the tree no longer experienced cold-weather, it had no dormant period. This caused it to grow at an unprecedented rate. At first it seemed like a great success, but later on it proved a failure. Due to the fact the trees grew so much faster, they lacked the strength of the "original" spruce. The timber proved unable to provide the resilience needed for sailing masts.

Although the spruce was not suitable for ship's masts, it didn't seem to care. It grows all over the island and the locals consider it a nuisance, in some respects.

Now I realize that no sane person would be considering bonsai for making a ship's mast, but I thought it was interesting to see examples of how adaptable some species are, and the "success" you can have if you dare to try.


John

Attached Images

Pines in Hawaii small.jpg (12.2 KB, 79 views)

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John Dixon

Si vis pacem parabellum

Stay off the trails of others, that's where the booby-traps are.

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Aaron_K

Hi John,

What a fascinating story. It is remarkable just how adaptable trees are. Many thanks for sharing!

Regards,

Aaron

Walter_Pall

John,

interesting.

These cannot be pine trees.
The trees look to me like what the English call 'Norway spruce'
It is Picea abies, which grows all over Europe. It is generally called THE European spruce.

The name Norway spruce has an intereting history. Actually these trees once grew all over the British isles. The straight high trunks were ideal for ship masts. The Engish managed to more or less get the species extinct on their islands as a consequence. Then they discovered that the same trees grew in Norway which was not so far away. And thus called it Norway spruce. They had no clue that so many more of these trees grew on mainland Europe and could not care less anyway.

Nowadays, of course, one can find lots of these spruce all over the British isles again. But they are no longer a strategic good.
It fits well into this story that Captain Cook has tried to plant this strategic good on places which were confiscated for the crown.
Well, such things are still done, only we don't call it that anymore.

Here a picture of a couple of Picea abies in the Alps.
The European spruce is by far the most common tree in Europe. In some parts, like Austria, almost 80% of all trees are European spruce.

Attached Images

Dscn5858v.jpg (65.3 KB, 33 views)

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Henke

Are you sure this isn't some kind of joke!? I'm stunned! In Sweden those pines don't even grow in the south because they don't like the mild climate there... The best timber and most expensive is collected far north just because it grows very slowly. This must have been a major setback for the captain! In Sweden we don't even use south growing timber for building houses! It's good for fire wood but they don't need very much heating in Hawaii I guess...

Thanks for sharing!!

Cheers!

John Dixon

[QUOTE=Walter_Pall]John,

interesting.

These cannot be pine trees.
The trees look to me like what the English call 'Norway spruce'
It is Picea abies, which grows all over Europe. It is generally called THE European spruce.

Walter,

I stand corrected. You are exactly right, they are Norway/European Spruce. I think I have "pine on the brain" right now, but since the mistake was in the original post, I can't change it. Thanks for correcting the error.

Your remarks add further conviction to the pilot's rendition.

Best regards,

John

__________________
John Dixon

Si vis pacem parabellum

Stay off the trails of others, that's where the booby-traps are.

Henke

Mr Pall is right, the the trees on the picture must be spruce, not pines. Forest pines have no branches until the very top of them, where they have a little crown.

John Dixon

Henke,

As best as I can tell this is an accurate history of the SPRUCE coming to Hawaii. Now, I am 100% sure they are there because I took the picture. In several other areas I have determined to my own satisfaction that Captain Cook is indeed responsible for this. There was a program on the (US) Discovery Channel about Cook. I can't remember if the spruce were mentioned, but it was in-depth, and that's when I first found out that Cook was killed by the indigenous people. Much of what was discussed I learned while I was in Hawaii.

Anyway, I'm glad you found it interesting. It is rather strange how the spruce adapted, but then again, they are at the highest points on the ridges which alludes to the fact they were purposely placed there as the "coolest" point, (at least in my opinion). On the Big Island they even have snow!!! I didn't realize that Muana Loa (volcano) is over 13,000 feet above sea level, until I was actually in Hawaii. On O'ahu, Diamond Head (extinct volcano) is actually ARID in the crater. The Hawaiian Islands have almost all of the climates on earth.

It really humbled me how little I know.

Best regards,

John

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John Dixon

Si vis pacem parabellum

Stay off the trails of others, that's where the booby-traps are.

John Dixon

I was able to change the original post and it now correctly states spruce rather than pine.

Thank you to all those who pointed out the error.

John

__________________
John Dixon

Si vis pacem parabellum

Stay off the trails of others, that's where the booby-traps are.

Attila

Fascinating story.

I also remember seing Giant redwood on the highest peaks of Kauai, and at first I couldn't believe it. But indeed, the air is pretty cool up there, so although there is no dormancy period, there is no scorching heat either, and the trees seem to thrive on it.

Reading about the indigenous trees of Hawaii, I've learned that every tree there is introduced from somewhere else. Same with every indigeneous bird. I saw Canada goose there which is considered native, but now almost extinct.

Given a few million years, they take on new characteristics and become a new species. It would be interesting to see how these spruces and other northern trees become different and "native" in the not-so-distant geological future.