Poem: "Trees of Glass"
Dec. 29th, 2025 10:44 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithThis poem was written outside the regular prompt calls. It fills the "Genes" square in my 11-1-23 card for the Drabble Fest Bingo. It has been sponsored by a pool with fuzzyred. This is the first poem in the series Crystal Wood.
Warning: This poem is dark science fiction along the lines of ecological horror.
"Trees of Glass"
[2030]
Ironically it was a search
for greener alternatives
that destroyed the world.
Researchers wanted to find
replacements for plastics,
something more sustainable
and more biodegradable.
They found a candidate
in transparent wood.
First documented in 1992,
it was originally created by
bleaching the pigments in
plant cells to make it possible
for botanists to study trees
and other woody plants
without dissecting them.
Later, in the early 2020s,
materials scientists hit on it
as a substitute for plastic or
glass in many applications.
They sought to use it
in stronger screens for
smartphones, soft lighting,
and color-changing windows.
They used a two-stage process
to create the transparent wood.
First they bleached the lignin,
then they filled the air pockets
with light-refracting epoxy resin.
It worked -- but it was a challenging
and time-consuming technique, so
they wanted something better.
The more products came
to rely on transparent wood,
the greater the demand for
a faster, easier way to make it.
So the emphasis switched from
materials scientists using chemistry
to turn ordinary wood transparent to
gengineers trying to grow it that way.
They came up with a viral vector
that could introduce changes in
the wood as it developed, so that
upon dying it would turn clear.
Then disaster struck.
The virus escaped
from the laboratories.
It got into the pollen
and rode the wind
around the world.
The virus struck at
one after another of
the wind-pollinated trees.
Instead of waiting for them
to die or to get cut down, it
killed them where they stood.
People called it the Glaze.
Slowly, the forests of the world
began transforming into glass.
Then people began to realize
just how many of the tree species
relied on the wind for pollination.
Almost all of the conifers
did -- cedars, cypresses, firs,
hemlocks, junipers, larches,
pines, redwoods, spruces.
So went a majority of
the keystone broadleaves
like alders, ashes, aspens,
beeches, birches, cottonwoods,
hickories, mesquites, and oaks.
Palm trees such as betel nuts,
coconuts, date palms, oil palms,
and saw palmetto were pollinated
by a combination of wind and
insects, but many still died.
Most fruit trees were safe,
and there were others also
pollinated by insects or
other animals, but not
enough to save the world.
The oaks alone supported
thousands of other species
from birds to mammals,
insects to bryophytes.
As the trees faded from
brown to pale to clear,
trophic cascades swept
through their ecosystems,
wiping out connected species.
The coniferous forests fell first --
taigas, muskegs, montane forests.
Some of the resinous trees kept
hints of color as they died, turning
into woods of standing amber.
The dry temperate forests and
temperate rainforests, savannas
and open forests were ravaged.
The dense tropical rainforests
relied more on animal pollinators
except for emergent conifers and
trees adapted to high ridges.
With the great northern forests
gone and the temperate ones
quickly following, the deer and
the elk, the squirrels and the bears,
the birds in their billions, began to die.
Soon there was no longer enough
ordinary wood for the things that
people wanted to do with it,
from fuel to construction,
in many parts of the world.
New wars broke out over
the few forests that were
less affected by the Glaze,
mostly tropical rainforests
in not-very-powerful nations.
Bereft of their sheltering trees,
the other plants and animals
continued to dwindle and die.
There was no need to wait for
climate change to destroy
the environment after all.
* * *
Notes:
This series is based on a very classic technique of science fiction, using a scientific discovery or article as inspiration.
Why scientists are making transparent wood
The material is being exploited for smartphone screens, insulated windows, and more.
JUDE COLEMAN, KNOWABLE MAGAZINE - 12/10/2023, 6:15 AM
Wind-pollinated Trees
Conifers
(most if not all conifers, especially:)
Cedars (*Northern white cedar, *Western red cedar)
*Cypresses
Firs (*Douglas fir, *Grand fir)
Hemlocks (*Eastern hemlock, *Mountain hemlock)
*Junipers
Larches (*Western larch)
Pines (*Jack pine, *Loblolly pine, *Lodgepole pine, *Longleaf pine, *Piñon pine, *Ponderosa pine, *Shortleaf pine, *Slash pine, *White pine)
*Redwoods
Spruces (*Red spruce, *Sitka spruce)
Broadleaves
*Alders
*Ashes
*Aspens
*Beeches
Birches (*White birch, *Yellow birch)
Butternuts
*Chestnuts
*Cottonwoods
*Elms
*Gums
*Hackberries
Hazelnuts
*Hickories
*Mahogany
Maples (*Bigleaf maple, *Red maple, *Sugar maple)
*Mesquites
Mulberries
*Oaks
Pecans
Persimmons
Pistachos
Poplars (*Yellow poplar)
Walnuts
Palms
Açaí palms
Betel nuts
Chilean wine palms
Coconuts
Date palms
Jelly palms
Oil palms
Peach palms
Saw palmetto
Snake palms
Nearly all of our common conifers – including pines, spruces, and firs – rely on wind pollination, and so do many broadleaved trees, including aspens, cottonwoods, oaks, ashes, elms, birches, and walnuts.
[---8<---]
Among the best known insect-pollinated trees are apples, basswood, cherries, black locust, catalpa, horse chestnut, tulip tree, and the willows.
Also, many kinds of trees – pines, oaks, maples. Some of our favorite nut trees depend on the wind for pollination – pecans, pistachios, hickories, black walnut, butternut, hazelnut, English walnut. Chestnuts and coconuts can go both ways – insect and wind pollination.
Cones: Redwoods have pollen (male) cones and seed (female) cones. The pollen cones can be identified by their small egg shape, while the seed cones are long and elliptical shaped (Earle 2017). The male and female cones occur on the same tree but on different branches. The pollen from the male cones are dispersed by wind which reach the seed cones in order to start the reproduction process (David, Douglas and Gerald). Seed cones mature and open to spread the seeds in the fall around September.
Growing Edible Arizona Forests, An Illustrated Guide
Wind pollination is associated with temperate forests and dry, or seasonally dry, habitats where animal pollination vectors are comparatively rare and where rainfall rarely hinders pollen dispersal. The temperate forests of northern mid-high latitudes are dominated by species such as oak, beech, and birch, that rely on wind pollination. In the temperate rainforests of Chile, New Zealand, and the Pacific Northwest of America, wind pollination is again common, despite the wet climate. Open forests and savannas are particularly well represented by wind-pollinated trees. In the dense vegetation of a rainforest wind pollination is usually restricted to emergent coniferous trees (e.g., Araucaria and Agathis) and to trees occurring on ridge tops (Balanops australiana, Nothofagus). Wind pollination does, very rarely, occur in the rainforest understory among more specialized angiosperm groups, including Euphorbiaceae, Pandanaceae, and Palmaceae.
Palms have been a source of food for many generations, and this installment of “Palm Fact of the Week” lists the world’s 10 most common palms that provide edible fruits.
1. Coconut palm – the fruits are commonly eaten around the world, the oil is a common cooking oil, and the water inside the young coconut is also a widely consumed beverage
2. Date palm – dates are a staple food in the Middle East and have been cultivated since ancient times (origin is likely in/around Mesopotamia and Egypt)
3. Açaí palm – the açaí palm is cultivated for both it’s fruit (known as açaí berry), and for hearts of palm.
4. Peach palm – native to Central and South America, the peach palm grows nutritious fruits that have been used as food for centuries. The fruits have to be cooked for 3-5 hours in order to be consumed. These palms are also cultivated for hearts of palm and are also used to feed animals.
5. Oil palm – this palm is widely used for commercial palm oil production, and the oil contains more saturated fats than other vegetable based oils, and contains zero trans fats. It is commonly used in fried foods.
6. Betel Nut palm – also known as the areca nut, a few slices of the betel nut is commonly wrapped – along with spices – into betel leaves and chewed for its mild stimulant effects, similar to how tobacco is chewed. Chewing betel nut is a common and important custom in Asian and Oceanic countries.
7. Snake palm – also known as “salak”, this palm species is native to Java and Sumatra. The fruit is refered to as “snake fruit” due to the reddish-brown scaly skin. When peeled back, the pulp of the fruit is edible and is sweet and acidic.
8. Jelly palm – the jelly palm fruits are edible, and are often used to make alcoholic beverages in South America, where the tree is native
9. Chilean wine palm – the common name of this palm refers to the past use of the sap from the trunk of this palm to produce a fermented beverage. The sap is also boiled down into a syrup and sold locally in South America and the Canary Islands as miel de palma.
10. Saw Palmetto palm – heralded for its medicinal uses, saw palmetto fruits are enriched with fatty acids and phytosterols, and the extract has been promoted as useful for people with prostate cancer.
Other species noted for their edible fruit around the world (though primarily eaten by locals) include several species of Acrocomia, Actinorhytis, Allagoptera, Astrocaryum, Attalea, Bactris, Borassus,Brahea edulis ((Brahea edulis), Calamus, Carpoxylon, Chamaerops, Clinostigma, Copernicia, Cryosophila, Daemonorops, Dypsis (many species), Gulubia, Hyphaene, Jubaeaopsis, Latania, Loxococcos, Nypa, Oenocarpus, Parajubaea, many species of Phoenix, Pinanga, Ptychococcus, Sabal, Syagrus, Washingtonia filifera (California fan palm).
Keystone Trees and Shrubs Maps
Keystone trees have an increased impact on the environment beyond what their numeric presence would suggest. Typically this comes from a high number of relationships with other species of plants and animals. Here are some popular keystones.
Any tree that has a forest type named after it should be considered a keystone. For example, oak-hickory is a common decidous forest type while hemlock/sitka spruce is a common evergreen forest type. Because of the Glaze, almost every forest type in North American, along with many in other parts of the world, would lose all of its defining species.
Forest Type Groups
White/red/jack pine
Spruce/fir
Longleaf/slash pine
Loblolly/shortleaf pine
Pinyon/juniper
Douglas-fir
Ponderosa pine
Western white pine
Fir/spruce/mountain hemlock
Lodgepole pine
Hemlock/Sitka spruce
Western larch
Redwood
Other western softwoods
California mixed conifer
Exotic softwoods
Oak/pine
Oak/hickory
Oak/gum/cypress
Elm/ash/cottonwood
Maple/beech/birch
Aspen/birch
Alder/maple
Western oak
Tanoak/laurel
Other western hardwoods
Tropical hardwoods
Exotic hardwoods
Tree Communities of the Forest Biomes of North America
Forest Atlas of the United States
Coniferous Forests
Notice that North America has already lost multiple keystone trees (at least in terms of dominating their habitats) and others are under threat. These include previously chestnut (to chestnut blight), elm (to Dutch elm disease), and currently ash (to emerald ash borer) and oak (to sudden oak death) among others.
Viruses are widely used as vectors in gengineering. This is dangerous because they are live things that can get out of control and wreak havoc. It does work for gengineering ... as long as you don't get unlucky. One stroke of bad luck aimed at a keystone can wreck a habitat, or more rarely, a whole biosphere. It's unlikely to kill everything, but it can certainly spark a mass extinction. That's because a hit to a keystone species can cause a trophic cascade, sweeping through the food web of connected species. Consider that oak trees support at least 2300 species of mammals, birds, fungi, bryophytes, lichens, and invertebrates -- not counting microbes -- and you can see how toppling one species could bring down many more, and then their connections, and so on.
A 2021 study estimates that there are about six birds for every human on the planet. That leaves us with a total bird population of about 50 billion. That’s right, you read it correctly! We, humans, are outnumbered many times over by birds. The shocking fact is that this number is actually quite conservative. According to a study conducted in 1997 by Gaston, K.J., and Blackburn, the number of birds that they counted was between 200 billion and 400 billion.
fuzzyred. This is the first poem in the series Crystal Wood.Warning: This poem is dark science fiction along the lines of ecological horror.
"Trees of Glass"
[2030]
Ironically it was a search
for greener alternatives
that destroyed the world.
Researchers wanted to find
replacements for plastics,
something more sustainable
and more biodegradable.
They found a candidate
in transparent wood.
First documented in 1992,
it was originally created by
bleaching the pigments in
plant cells to make it possible
for botanists to study trees
and other woody plants
without dissecting them.
Later, in the early 2020s,
materials scientists hit on it
as a substitute for plastic or
glass in many applications.
They sought to use it
in stronger screens for
smartphones, soft lighting,
and color-changing windows.
They used a two-stage process
to create the transparent wood.
First they bleached the lignin,
then they filled the air pockets
with light-refracting epoxy resin.
It worked -- but it was a challenging
and time-consuming technique, so
they wanted something better.
The more products came
to rely on transparent wood,
the greater the demand for
a faster, easier way to make it.
So the emphasis switched from
materials scientists using chemistry
to turn ordinary wood transparent to
gengineers trying to grow it that way.
They came up with a viral vector
that could introduce changes in
the wood as it developed, so that
upon dying it would turn clear.
Then disaster struck.
The virus escaped
from the laboratories.
It got into the pollen
and rode the wind
around the world.
The virus struck at
one after another of
the wind-pollinated trees.
Instead of waiting for them
to die or to get cut down, it
killed them where they stood.
People called it the Glaze.
Slowly, the forests of the world
began transforming into glass.
Then people began to realize
just how many of the tree species
relied on the wind for pollination.
Almost all of the conifers
did -- cedars, cypresses, firs,
hemlocks, junipers, larches,
pines, redwoods, spruces.
So went a majority of
the keystone broadleaves
like alders, ashes, aspens,
beeches, birches, cottonwoods,
hickories, mesquites, and oaks.
Palm trees such as betel nuts,
coconuts, date palms, oil palms,
and saw palmetto were pollinated
by a combination of wind and
insects, but many still died.
Most fruit trees were safe,
and there were others also
pollinated by insects or
other animals, but not
enough to save the world.
The oaks alone supported
thousands of other species
from birds to mammals,
insects to bryophytes.
As the trees faded from
brown to pale to clear,
trophic cascades swept
through their ecosystems,
wiping out connected species.
The coniferous forests fell first --
taigas, muskegs, montane forests.
Some of the resinous trees kept
hints of color as they died, turning
into woods of standing amber.
The dry temperate forests and
temperate rainforests, savannas
and open forests were ravaged.
The dense tropical rainforests
relied more on animal pollinators
except for emergent conifers and
trees adapted to high ridges.
With the great northern forests
gone and the temperate ones
quickly following, the deer and
the elk, the squirrels and the bears,
the birds in their billions, began to die.
Soon there was no longer enough
ordinary wood for the things that
people wanted to do with it,
from fuel to construction,
in many parts of the world.
New wars broke out over
the few forests that were
less affected by the Glaze,
mostly tropical rainforests
in not-very-powerful nations.
Bereft of their sheltering trees,
the other plants and animals
continued to dwindle and die.
There was no need to wait for
climate change to destroy
the environment after all.
* * *
Notes:
This series is based on a very classic technique of science fiction, using a scientific discovery or article as inspiration.
Why scientists are making transparent wood
The material is being exploited for smartphone screens, insulated windows, and more.
JUDE COLEMAN, KNOWABLE MAGAZINE - 12/10/2023, 6:15 AM
Wind-pollinated Trees
Conifers
(most if not all conifers, especially:)
Cedars (*Northern white cedar, *Western red cedar)
*Cypresses
Firs (*Douglas fir, *Grand fir)
Hemlocks (*Eastern hemlock, *Mountain hemlock)
*Junipers
Larches (*Western larch)
Pines (*Jack pine, *Loblolly pine, *Lodgepole pine, *Longleaf pine, *Piñon pine, *Ponderosa pine, *Shortleaf pine, *Slash pine, *White pine)
*Redwoods
Spruces (*Red spruce, *Sitka spruce)
Broadleaves
*Alders
*Ashes
*Aspens
*Beeches
Birches (*White birch, *Yellow birch)
Butternuts
*Chestnuts
*Cottonwoods
*Elms
*Gums
*Hackberries
Hazelnuts
*Hickories
*Mahogany
Maples (*Bigleaf maple, *Red maple, *Sugar maple)
*Mesquites
Mulberries
*Oaks
Pecans
Persimmons
Pistachos
Poplars (*Yellow poplar)
Walnuts
Palms
Açaí palms
Betel nuts
Chilean wine palms
Coconuts
Date palms
Jelly palms
Oil palms
Peach palms
Saw palmetto
Snake palms
Nearly all of our common conifers – including pines, spruces, and firs – rely on wind pollination, and so do many broadleaved trees, including aspens, cottonwoods, oaks, ashes, elms, birches, and walnuts.
[---8<---]
Among the best known insect-pollinated trees are apples, basswood, cherries, black locust, catalpa, horse chestnut, tulip tree, and the willows.
Also, many kinds of trees – pines, oaks, maples. Some of our favorite nut trees depend on the wind for pollination – pecans, pistachios, hickories, black walnut, butternut, hazelnut, English walnut. Chestnuts and coconuts can go both ways – insect and wind pollination.
Cones: Redwoods have pollen (male) cones and seed (female) cones. The pollen cones can be identified by their small egg shape, while the seed cones are long and elliptical shaped (Earle 2017). The male and female cones occur on the same tree but on different branches. The pollen from the male cones are dispersed by wind which reach the seed cones in order to start the reproduction process (David, Douglas and Gerald). Seed cones mature and open to spread the seeds in the fall around September.
Growing Edible Arizona Forests, An Illustrated Guide
Wind pollination is associated with temperate forests and dry, or seasonally dry, habitats where animal pollination vectors are comparatively rare and where rainfall rarely hinders pollen dispersal. The temperate forests of northern mid-high latitudes are dominated by species such as oak, beech, and birch, that rely on wind pollination. In the temperate rainforests of Chile, New Zealand, and the Pacific Northwest of America, wind pollination is again common, despite the wet climate. Open forests and savannas are particularly well represented by wind-pollinated trees. In the dense vegetation of a rainforest wind pollination is usually restricted to emergent coniferous trees (e.g., Araucaria and Agathis) and to trees occurring on ridge tops (Balanops australiana, Nothofagus). Wind pollination does, very rarely, occur in the rainforest understory among more specialized angiosperm groups, including Euphorbiaceae, Pandanaceae, and Palmaceae.
Palms have been a source of food for many generations, and this installment of “Palm Fact of the Week” lists the world’s 10 most common palms that provide edible fruits.
1. Coconut palm – the fruits are commonly eaten around the world, the oil is a common cooking oil, and the water inside the young coconut is also a widely consumed beverage
2. Date palm – dates are a staple food in the Middle East and have been cultivated since ancient times (origin is likely in/around Mesopotamia and Egypt)
3. Açaí palm – the açaí palm is cultivated for both it’s fruit (known as açaí berry), and for hearts of palm.
4. Peach palm – native to Central and South America, the peach palm grows nutritious fruits that have been used as food for centuries. The fruits have to be cooked for 3-5 hours in order to be consumed. These palms are also cultivated for hearts of palm and are also used to feed animals.
5. Oil palm – this palm is widely used for commercial palm oil production, and the oil contains more saturated fats than other vegetable based oils, and contains zero trans fats. It is commonly used in fried foods.
6. Betel Nut palm – also known as the areca nut, a few slices of the betel nut is commonly wrapped – along with spices – into betel leaves and chewed for its mild stimulant effects, similar to how tobacco is chewed. Chewing betel nut is a common and important custom in Asian and Oceanic countries.
7. Snake palm – also known as “salak”, this palm species is native to Java and Sumatra. The fruit is refered to as “snake fruit” due to the reddish-brown scaly skin. When peeled back, the pulp of the fruit is edible and is sweet and acidic.
8. Jelly palm – the jelly palm fruits are edible, and are often used to make alcoholic beverages in South America, where the tree is native
9. Chilean wine palm – the common name of this palm refers to the past use of the sap from the trunk of this palm to produce a fermented beverage. The sap is also boiled down into a syrup and sold locally in South America and the Canary Islands as miel de palma.
10. Saw Palmetto palm – heralded for its medicinal uses, saw palmetto fruits are enriched with fatty acids and phytosterols, and the extract has been promoted as useful for people with prostate cancer.
Other species noted for their edible fruit around the world (though primarily eaten by locals) include several species of Acrocomia, Actinorhytis, Allagoptera, Astrocaryum, Attalea, Bactris, Borassus,Brahea edulis ((Brahea edulis), Calamus, Carpoxylon, Chamaerops, Clinostigma, Copernicia, Cryosophila, Daemonorops, Dypsis (many species), Gulubia, Hyphaene, Jubaeaopsis, Latania, Loxococcos, Nypa, Oenocarpus, Parajubaea, many species of Phoenix, Pinanga, Ptychococcus, Sabal, Syagrus, Washingtonia filifera (California fan palm).
Keystone Trees and Shrubs Maps
Keystone trees have an increased impact on the environment beyond what their numeric presence would suggest. Typically this comes from a high number of relationships with other species of plants and animals. Here are some popular keystones.
Any tree that has a forest type named after it should be considered a keystone. For example, oak-hickory is a common decidous forest type while hemlock/sitka spruce is a common evergreen forest type. Because of the Glaze, almost every forest type in North American, along with many in other parts of the world, would lose all of its defining species.
Forest Type Groups
White/red/jack pine
Spruce/fir
Longleaf/slash pine
Loblolly/shortleaf pine
Pinyon/juniper
Douglas-fir
Ponderosa pine
Western white pine
Fir/spruce/mountain hemlock
Lodgepole pine
Hemlock/Sitka spruce
Western larch
Redwood
Other western softwoods
California mixed conifer
Exotic softwoods
Oak/pine
Oak/hickory
Oak/gum/cypress
Elm/ash/cottonwood
Maple/beech/birch
Aspen/birch
Alder/maple
Western oak
Tanoak/laurel
Other western hardwoods
Tropical hardwoods
Exotic hardwoods
Tree Communities of the Forest Biomes of North America
Forest Atlas of the United States
Coniferous Forests
Notice that North America has already lost multiple keystone trees (at least in terms of dominating their habitats) and others are under threat. These include previously chestnut (to chestnut blight), elm (to Dutch elm disease), and currently ash (to emerald ash borer) and oak (to sudden oak death) among others.
Viruses are widely used as vectors in gengineering. This is dangerous because they are live things that can get out of control and wreak havoc. It does work for gengineering ... as long as you don't get unlucky. One stroke of bad luck aimed at a keystone can wreck a habitat, or more rarely, a whole biosphere. It's unlikely to kill everything, but it can certainly spark a mass extinction. That's because a hit to a keystone species can cause a trophic cascade, sweeping through the food web of connected species. Consider that oak trees support at least 2300 species of mammals, birds, fungi, bryophytes, lichens, and invertebrates -- not counting microbes -- and you can see how toppling one species could bring down many more, and then their connections, and so on.
A 2021 study estimates that there are about six birds for every human on the planet. That leaves us with a total bird population of about 50 billion. That’s right, you read it correctly! We, humans, are outnumbered many times over by birds. The shocking fact is that this number is actually quite conservative. According to a study conducted in 1997 by Gaston, K.J., and Blackburn, the number of birds that they counted was between 200 billion and 400 billion.
(no subject)
Date: 2025-12-30 06:24 am (UTC)O_O
Date: 2025-12-30 06:54 am (UTC)... sometimes I am amazed that Homo has not yet wiped itself out.