Textures and Patterns in Nature

I have many photos of different tree trunks or their barks. I just take their photos whenever i see one. However, i can't  seem to use these photos in my blog posts. Now that i have more time in my hands I cannot find the barks i took before. So i just put here some of my recent ones. I included some information about the pictures.

I will join this post to Donna's Garden Walk Garden Talk Word for Wednesday: Texture and Pattern

These ipil-ipil trees, Leucaena glauca or L. leucocephala, are leguminous trees, meaning they can get the free Nitrogen from the air through their roots. It is special as their roots are inhabited by bacteria helping the plant to absorb nitrogen. So even with low nitrogen in the soil they survive well. In our area the leaves and twigs are cut and fed to cattle and goats, which make Batangas beef famous in the country for having good quality meats. However, it contains mimosine that is toxic to non-ruminants.

Trunk of Citrus, fully embraced by these maplike structures called lichens. This is a symbiotic relationship of an algae and fungus, which when growing separately are very much different in morphology and habit than when in partnership in lichens. With these symbiotic relationship they are able to withstand adverse environmental conditions.

Decaying trunk provide house to a lot of organisms either seen with the eyes or microscopic. Termites made those hollow pathways, the remnant of soil they put in their tracts are still there. Termites have special enzymes in their guts which decompose cellulosic materials of wood. Then other insects, spiders, fungus, bacteria will follow and eat the smaller debris and enhance decomposition. 

This is cured wound of the bark of another legume. The bark is the phloem vessel of the tree which transports food from the leaves to the roots and other parts of the plant. The cambium layer of the phloem is a very active component of the wounded areas which heal through time producing these scar. 

When newly developed cells are added inside the bark,  there will be natural peeling of old barks just like our old dead skin cells, which peel off when we take a bath. 

A natural bark structure of a tamarind tree. A lot of organisms also inhabit these natural crevices for protection and safety. Spiders, lizards, beetles and a lot more insects abound in these crevices.

Can you imagine that the above are the flowers of the tamarind tree? The ground is fully carpeted with the dehisced flowers. At fruiting time the ground is replaced by dropped fruits.

This is an almost smooth bark of a forest tree found at the edge of our property. But we will note that there are patterns in the bark giving its characteristic texture. It is a fast growing timber species, whose timber is not hard enough for furniture, but in making pulp and paper.

The extensive root system helps its heavy top be safely anchored to the ground.

I would like to ask you if these are dill flowers. The leaves look like that of dill and the scent seems like dill too, but i am not sure if it really is dill. When the branches are cut and about to dry, some butterfly species love to hover or stay in the branch for days. So when it's butterfly season, i usually cut some branches and just lay there to dry. In four days the butterflies are hallucinating again.

These are the vegetative immature stems of the flowers above, which i call dill. I bet it has patterns and texture  too, unless they don't!

Those are the 2 butterfly species, which don't want to leave the drying stems of the dill. I disturb them to leave but they can't fly fast after too much time sipping the sap. My conclusion is that they somehow feel groggy or they get drunk after these dill parties.  I describe them as hallucinating butterflies.

This is also a natural art, do you think it is also an old bark from an old tree? What do you think is it from?