The Bristlecone Book: A Natural History of the World's Oldest Trees Book

Preface     vii
Acknowledgments     ix
Three Cousins     1
Great Basin Bristlecone Pine     4
Rocky Mountain Bristlecone Pine     8
Foxtail Pine     12
Origins     16
What Pines Are Made Of     19
Buds     19
Shoots     20
Needles     23
Seed Cones     26
Pollen Cones     27
Seeds     29
Roots     31
Wood     33
Cambium     34
Earlywood, Latewood, and the Annual Ring     35
Spiral Grain     38
Resin     38
Bark     40
Living a Long Life     43
The Seedling: Securing a Foothold     44
The Sapling: Reaching for the Sky     48
Maturity: Attaining the Evolutionary Goal     50
Old Age: A Time of Retreat     54
Shapes and Forms     61
Sectored Architecture     61
Bark Strips     64
Leaning Trunks     66
Twisted Stems     67
Multiple Trunks     68
Colorful Sapwood     74
AsymmetricalCrowns     74
Threats     76
Global Warming     76
Forest Fires     79
Bark Beetles     81
White Pine Blister Rust     81
Age and Longevity     84
The Oldest Living-and Dead-Bristlecone Pines     85
The Secret of Long Life     89
The Oldest Living Thing?     98
Bibliography     103
Glossary     108
Index     112