Tag: thorns

A Thorn in our Side: European Buckthorn

By Leslie J. Mehrhoff, University of Connecticut, Bugwood.org [CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Ontario is home to thousands of trees, shrubs and other plants; many of them native species. Sadly, many non-native species have also been introduced, some of which naturalize and others which become problematic. Those problematic plants are considered invasive species and their presence is taken very seriously. They often overtake native species and threaten their… Read more »

A Tree’s First Defense: Bark

Bark What is bark? Merriam Webster defines it as; “the tough exterior covering of a woody root or stem;specifically : the tissues outside the cambium that include an inner layer especially of secondary phloem and an outer layer of periderm” Interesting, but why are trees covered in it? Well, there are a few reasons. Bark acts likes… Read more »