Once youcut the tree down, it is dead correct? The process of going from green to brown and needles falling off is simply decay. My wife says "since it is drinking water, it is still alive, even though we cut it down.
2006-12-06 07:20:42 · 22 answers · asked by Chris B 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Botany
It's dead. Just doesn't t know it.
2006-12-06 07:29:24 · answer #1 · answered by Jack430 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
It would depend upon your definitions of dead and living. The tree is still pulling up water thru capillary action, since the xylem and phloem have not dehydrated. As the water is pulled up, the tree is allowing the water to evaporate from the needles, so parts of the tree are still alive. However, since it can no longer feed itself, and it can not again grow roots, the tree will not 'survive" much past a few weeks. The tree itself is indeed dead, but parts of it will remain alive. Just as people do not die all at once, either. If you are "killed", your kidneys are still able to filter blood, as long as blood circulates thru them. Bone tissue can be transplanted for many days, or even weeks if maintained properly. The heart can be transplanted if done so within four hours or so..... That person is indeed dead, just as the tree is indeed dead in that that person can no longer move, think etc., and as that tree can no longer feed itself.....but parts of that persons are still very much alive, just as that tree has parts that are very much alive....
Helpful?
2006-12-06 11:36:07 · answer #2 · answered by April 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think this is a problem in semantics. Plants don't have the same kind of "death" that people do--once a person is brain dead, the body starts decaying quite quickly (this decay occurs at a somewhat slower pace even if the body is on a ventilator, and the heart continues to beat). However, with plants, the cells are more independent of each other, and can continue to function as living cells for quite a long time even after the connection to the roots has been severed, as long as they are hydrated.
2006-12-06 17:36:50 · answer #3 · answered by Marcella S 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
She is correct. Although the roots have been cut, with proper watering and care, you would be able to plant it again. It may not live too long without soil and water, it is still living. That is why the needles don't turn brown and fall off right away, it is still alive.
2006-12-06 07:27:58 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The tree is DEAD!!!
It is not "drinking water". It is sucking up water that is being actively evaporated from its needles and trunk. No matter how much water you provide for it, the tree is DEAD regardless of what your wife thinks. In fact, prove it to her....dig a hole in the back yard and plant it. If it survives, then it was alive.
2006-12-06 07:30:13 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Neither of you
The tree is dead but it still can drink water to prevent drying out....
If someone cut off your head , you would be dead even if your heart continued to beat for a little bit.
The tree is like that only its system to circulate water can last a long time after it is really "dead"
2006-12-06 07:29:46 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well it's future isn't long but.....your wife is right. It's still feeding off the water within it. To keep it living and fresher looking you need to keep adding water into the stand. By the way, it's fruitless to try and plant it again as suggested earlier. It will not grow roots and live. It IS dying. It's just not dead yet.
2006-12-06 07:29:11 · answer #7 · answered by LedAstray 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
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2016-10-17 21:58:57 · answer #8 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's alive. Unfortunately, it's not going to stay that way long, because a pan of water is not a good substitute for the root system it once had.
You could "clone" your tree from the still-living meristematic tissue.
2006-12-06 08:18:31 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm going with alive - if you took a cutting (and knew what you were doing) you could keep it alive and keep it alive as a tree. But it is in the process of dying.
2006-12-06 07:53:49 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's on life support. The tree is separated from its roots in the ground so it's dying, the water is slowing down the dying process.
2006-12-07 08:52:12 · answer #11 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋