Here is another round-up of tree news articles from around the world. Click on each of the pictures if you would like to read the full stories.
Plea to solve Welsh beach ‘coin tree’ mystery
The BBC tells the tale of a couple who have asked for help to solve the mystery of how a coin-studded tree trunk appeared on a South Wales beach…
‘Never randomise the placement of trees’
Arch Daily has a thought-provoking article on the elements of landscape design and tree layouts…
A giant disconcertingly out of place
Is a dead humpback whale in the Amazon an omen, asks The Guardian’s Jonathan Jones…
It’s a greener world than 20 years ago
NASA has found that ‘ambitious tree planting programs’ in China and India have made the world more leafy, says Mail Online…
Primary forests do not return after plantations abandoned
Eucalyptus plantations in southern India that were abandoned and left to recover for nearly 40 years are still far from resembling the primary forest surrounding them, says the Pacific Standard…
Kew’s tree library leads hi-tech war on illegal logging
New techniques will help customs officers identify and seize wood that came from endangered species, reports The Guardian…
Tree rings may open insights on past climate
A new method of analysing tree rings in the USA matches the story told by more high-tech equipment, reports Tech Explorist…
A scene from a science fiction movie?
A mum in Sydney, Australia, was horrified to find the mystery sacs hanging from a tree in a neighbour’s garden were filled with baby spiders, reports The Sun…
Americans are ‘flushing forests down the toilet’
Market Watch suggests that a ‘tree-to-toilet pipeline’ is destroying Canadian forests…
Japanese couple robbed of 400-year-old tree
The BBC reports on two Bonsai enthusiasts who have launched an emotional plea to thieves who stole seven trees from them, offering care instructions for their ‘children’…
Indian college row over ‘virginity tree’ ritual
Female students at a college in Delhi are demanding an end to a Valentine’s Day ritual that sees male students hang condoms filled with water from a tree in the hope that it will help them lose their virginity, reports the BBC…
Council apologises over felling threat to healthy tree
The Local Government Ombudsman has found Sheffield Council ‘deliberately set out not to reveal true advice’ about an alder tree earmarked for felling, says The Guardian – this is part of a long-standing campaign against the English council’s street tree policy…
Special Report on Sheffield’s street tree row
It’s not a new article but I found this special report on the Sheffield situation from New Civil Engineer fascinating, as I now work in Highways and damage to pavements from street trees is an ongoing issue…
Paying tribute to Britain’s forests
The BBC shares poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy’s poem Forest, commissioned by the UK’s Forestry Commission…
Locals and expats launch campaign to save oldest tree in Malaga
A chestnut tree in the Sierra de las Nieves natural park in Malaga, Spain, needs decking to protect its roots, reports The Olive Press…
The shutdown is over. Can Joshua Tree recover?
Park service workers reported dogs, illegal fires and off-roading by visitors during the 35-day US government shutdown – can the Joshua Tree national park recover, asks The Guardian…
Australia’s tallest tree ‘Centurion’ survives bushfires
Australia’s tallest tree has survived Tasmania’s fierce bushfires, with the only damage a scorched, gaping hole at the base of the 100-metre tall Eucalyptus tree, reports Mail Online…
Mystery disease hits beech trees
The BBC reports on a mystery disease affecting beech trees in North America…
GM plan to bring species back from the brink
Genetically modified trees could be planted in the United States to save dying forests, says the Independent…
Restoring faith to Japan’s sad forest
One of Japan’s most beautiful forests also has a sad association with suicide. But Kyochi Watanabe wants to change that, reports the BBC…
Part of nature’s insurance plan
Fungi and invertebrates on the forest floors are attenuating climate change and saving the planet, according to The Ecologist…
And finally…
Even a wild cougar can get stuck up a tree
Firefighters in California rescued a mountain lion stuck in a tree, according to Sky News…
The Squirrelbasket 
40 years and still not A Forest. Joshua trees (we have the same off-road driving problem especially in the Namib Desert). Rescuing a mountain lion.
Always interesting reading – thank you!
Thank you for reading it.
I do enjoy researching it every couple of months.
Best wishes 🙂
very interesting – thank you
My pleasure 🙂
Especially interesting about the eucalyptus in India. Where I used to live in California, eucalyptus trees planted in 1908 (government subsidy of $1 per tree) still thrive in nearly pure stands. It’s thought that they far outcompete other species for water. They were planted to provide hardwood, but turned out to be poor quality wood, warping and splitting.
Interesting – I can imagine the wood would be awkward, just by looking at the sinewy trunks. Better off left in Australia to enhance the scenery!
All the best 🙂