Remember, We're All Related

 

August 19, 2020

 

A few years ago I learned that aspen trees reproduce by having sprouts grow from tree roots that are near the surface. So one aspen tree can become a grove of trees—but they’re all the same tree. They’re genetically identical—clones, as it were.*

Willow trees do something similar, but a willow frond can float downstream and plant itself elsewhere, moving the genes around. One writer claims that all the weeping willows in the world are genetically identical.

Since we’re all the same species, I wish people acted like we all shared the same root system, and took care of each other accordingly.

 

I should get a T-shirt printed that says, “Be a willow.”**

 

 

*(On a less elevated note, crab grass propagates the same way. But it’s not as charming an image.)

 

 **(“Be an aspen” would sum up my feelings more accurately, but “Be a willow” sounds better.)