Here is my final round-up of tree news articles from around the world in 2019. Click on each of the pictures if you would like to read the full stories.
Frankincense trees are being tapped out
The National Geographic reports on a threat to supplies of fragrant Frankincense resin in Somaliland…
Appeal supports tree eco-therapy
As part of Trees for Life’s Rewild and Recover programme, refugees as well as people coping with poor mental health or homelessness can plant native saplings, helping the charity to rewild 10,000 acres of the Highlands. This is one of the charities supported by a Guardian appeal…
Did Ethiopia plant four billion trees this year?
Ethiopia undertook a major national reforestation programme this year, with the ambitious target of planting four billion trees in just three months, says the BBC – but is that even possible?
Replanting Britain: The right tree in the right place
Less than £1 per person a year is spent on planting English trees, but past mistakes loom large, reports the Guardian…
Homes from Hawaii’s invasive trees
A University of Hawaii architect graduate has designed prefabricated and low-cost housing units made entirely from invasive albizia trees on the island of Oahu, according to Dezeen…
King of the eucalypts falls
In Australia’s island state of Tasmania, many of the world’s biggest flowering trees lie in ruins after this year’s bushfires, reports the Guardian…
Fears that fire has destroyed ancient pines
Also in Australia, there are fears that roughly 250 Wollemi pine trees, sometimes called ‘Jurassic trees’, may have burned to the ground after a blaze ripped through Wollemi National Park near Sydney, says the Mail Online…
Oldest fossil trees found
The earliest fossilised trees, dating back 386 million years, have been found at an abandoned quarry in New York, reports the BBC…
Trees do better planted in square holes
James Wong explains in the Guardian the science behind a different way of planting saplings…
Measuring the cost of an invasive killer
For the first time, a study has attempted to assess the devastation caused by the emerald ash borer in US forests that shape river systems, reports the BBC…
Eucalyptus – weed or scapegoat?
A comic strip in the Guardian is a clever way of highlighting the fight over a celebrated exotic plant in California…
Treesisters supports Tropical planting projects
How a women-only tree-planting charity is helping businesses reforest the planet, reports the i…
A new forest fit for foraging
The Hackney Gazette reports on an edible planting on Hackney marshes…
How to talk to a tree – a phrasebook
The Mail Online suggests that different trees make different sounds…
Trees that shaped four authors
Also from the Mail Online, four authors share their magical memories of trees…
A plantation is not a forest
As the world scrambles to combat deforestation, experts warn our efforts could have far fewer benefits than we think, reports Scientific American…
The apple seeds of destruction
Scientists are warning that throwing apple cores out of the car window risks obliterating Britain’s wild fruit trees, according to Mail Online…
Bringing back the forgotten elms
The BBC reports that the lost elms of Britain may be making a comeback…
Oaks fail in Virginia
Foresters in Virginia are being faced with a sudden surge in oak deaths, says phys.org…
Rare tree held back by its troublesome seeds
‘Recalcitrant’ seeds hold the secret to saving a critically endangered Indian tree, Madhuca insignis, reports Scientific American…
Villagers fear the worst from new mine
Over a span of few days, thousands of trees from the forests in India’s Odisha state have been cut down for an open-cast coal mining project, reports Mongabay…
Karachi street tree survey
Karachi University researchers have carried out a survey of street trees, according to Dawn…
£60,000 fine for tree damage
An Essex man has been fined £60,000 after wrecking a cedar tree in his garden, reports the Metro…
Most original Xmas ‘trees’ of 2019
Christmas is so last week but here is an inspiring look at some unusual 2019 tree designs, featured in Dezeen…
And finally…
As soothing as desert snow
A seasonal treat – Gizmodo shares images of Joshua trees in snow…
You can read all my previous tree news posts here…
The Squirrelbasket 
Very interesting selection, the graphic article about eucalyptus was terrific! I grew up close to a big ‘euc’ plantation in Calif. We considered it a stupid mistake and ecological disaster. I enjoyed the more thoughtful discussion of what can and should be done.
Thanks for the positive response – I thought it was a bit unusual, too 🙂
Some nice links you have here.
My aunt lives in Joshua tree half the year.
… why is snow on a desert so, so beautiful?
I guess because we always think deserts are hot!
All the best 🙂
I so much enjoy browsing your tree stories – but it is too much at once. Would you maybe consider sharing fewer articles more often? Then I might manage to enjoy them ALL.
A good point!
Lack of time is my current problem but I will try to do it monthly and with fewer stories from now on…
All the best 🙂
One for next time?
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/what-happened-to-moon-trees
Nice one!
I will be sure to include that in my first bulletin of the year 🙂