What follows is a brief description of my Leaf Cloud Theory of Trees.
Perhaps through some sinister government conspiracy, or perhaps only through commonplace institutional dullness, schools in America have taught students for many generations that trees come about through deposition of seeds (such as acorns or pine cones) into suitable soil. The seeds, it is said, then sprout and grow into (sometimes quite large) trees, which, of course, yield canopies of leaves.
New evidence, however, suggests that this model may be inaccurate. Without getting bogged down in details and proofs, the intent of this brief article is simply to present the basics of the Leaf Cloud Theory.
Leaf Clouds
A leaf cloud of moderate proportion.
Nearly everyone has stopped at some point to admire a tree, but very few actually understand how trees get there in the first place. To complicate matters, as fewer and fewer people spend time outdoors in each successive generation, long-understood phenomena become more scarcely understood until what remains is mistakenly considered to be mere fable. Perhaps there is no better example of this than the leaf cloud.
Living leaves, because they are strongly social beings, tend to form themselves into societies numbering from just a few to a few hundred thousand. In such numbers, and under the right conditions, electromagnetic anomalies occur and leaves in societies of sufficient size will levitate in cloud-like formations. Hence, the name “leaf cloud”. (See artist’s rendition above.) The greater the number of leaves, the higher the levitation, as a general rule. Most single leaves, especially when they are brown, are unable to levitate, while green leaf groupings of as few as two to four have sometimes been witnessed to levitate within mere centimeters of the ground. Larger leaf clouds are rarely witnessed to levitate more than a few hundred feet above the ground.
The Need for Water
Early Trunk Line Formation
Leaves in such cloud societies are still limited by their need for water. Once the society has decided on a promising location (such decision is believed to be by popular vote), its separate leaves begin to emit single, twig-like appendages, one per leaf. These join together, attaching the various leaves together and growing in length, in search of similar appendages from other groupings of leaves within the cloud.
The effect of this corporate joining together is that the appendages nearer the earth are considerably thicker, as if by some additive effect. They dangle downward as they continue to grow and join together.
“Trunk” Formation
Half-Formed Trunk Line Thickening and Approaching the Ground
Once all the leaves have integrated themselves into the collective, the water channels so formed will join themselves into a single “trunk” line reaching ever closer to the ground.
At this point, the forming trunk line begins to form a crusty outer layer (commonly referred to as “bark”) in order to protect the interior water lines from evaporation.
The amount of energy expended by the leaf cloud to form a trunk line sufficient to reach the ground is considerable. It is believed that this is the reason that leaf clouds of lesser population remain low to the ground, while tall trunk lines are only ever formed by large leaf clouds—those having sufficient energy for it. Once the trunk line has reached half way to the ground, the individual leaves are short on energy and are in danger of death should any complications occur.
Grounding
Fully Grounded Leaf Cloud
The process of grounding with a suitable trunk line moves very quickly, and this is crucial for the survival of the leaf cloud. In their energy-starved state, normal occurrences such as full sunlight can prove deadly. This is why it is believed that almost all leaf cloud trunk line installations occur at night, as it not only minimizes the threat of death from exhaustion of the weaker leaves in the cloud, but also tends to hide the installation from more particular species who may object to a trunk line being installed in any given location.
Well, that’s enough detail for now. You’ll likely have questions, but you know how to reach me. In the meantime, I’ll be busy overturning all the world’s ignorance and scientific hogwash.
