Some trees, like the beech, have thin bark that can grow with them, but most, like this old pine, have stiff bark that cracks in patterns unique to each tree, forming ridges and plates of great beauty. The almost square plates are even more prominent on our native common persimmon, Diospyros virginiana , becoming raised chunks, each visible from some distance. The wildlife are generous with their plantings of this tree on our property. The photograph is a trunk I see from my bedroom window upon awakening. There's a crook in the trunk that gives it additional character.
Younger trees have a quite different appearance .
On the right is the native redbud, Cercis canadensis , whose ridged outer bark splits and falls off, revealing layers underneath. This only happens, I understand, once a tree has passed the thirty year mark. Not So Subtle Stripes Acer davidii , the beautiful snakebark maple, is a Chinese species, not as readily available as it ought to be. On the left is a young stem, showing the typical striping over greenish bark. On the right is a more mature trunk from a specimen photographed at Barry Yinger's Asiatica Nursery this spring.