3/21/11 MORE ON TREE BARK, AND WHAT'S WITH JAPANESE RELIEF?

CORKY BARK OF BUR OAK

RED PINE BARK

BARK OF VERY OLD WHITE SPRUCE

Monday, 8:00 AM.  37 degrees, wind WSW, calm at present.  It rained a bit last night,  the sky is overcast, AND the barometer predicting more of the same, perhaps a blizzard.  The weather is rather dismal, but the snow cover is fast disappearing if we don't get dumped on again.
    The bur oak, Quercus macrocarpus, is native to Midwestern oak openings but has a wider range, from east to west across the middle of the continent. It has a very corky bark, heavy enough on mature trunks that it is quite resistant to prairie wildfires, thus the species predominates in oak openings on the eastern edge of the tallgrass prairies and along stream banks further west.  The ridged cork of young trunk and branch bark is unmistakable.  It is hardy further north and makes a good street tree.
    The bark of the red pine, Pinus resinosa, has an orange cast, and arranges itself into flat platelets on the trunks of maturing trees.
    The white spruce, Picea glauca, has a handsome, flaky brown-black bark in old age.
    On the international scene, I am confused by the lack of information on how to donate to the Japanese relief effort.  There has been no apparent national leadership, no adds on TV by relief organizations. One is inclined to think that Japan does not want such help, or perhaps they are embarrassed to ask.  The news media is very fickle, and are even now moving on to more current crises.  We would do our share to help, but there seems to be little information or interest. Or am I missing something obvious?