Igneous Ligneous Inosculations
Intimate relations between stone and wood occur through natural processes. Petrified wood is probably the best known example. This spectacular log in the Petrified Forest formed from a fallen tree buried in river sediment rich in silicon. This preserved the tree from decay, and then, as the silicon-rich water percolated through the log, the silicon combined with oxygen to form quartz crystals in the spaces in the tree tissues, forming permineralized fossils with minerals including amethyst, smoky quartz, rose quartz, and rock crystal quartz.
An urge to merge entangles trees and stones in sweet embraces, made manifest when trees grow on or around rocks in remarkable ways.
A tree can grow roots in a porous rock like limestone, as displayed in this tree growing out of a Taihu stone in the Summer Palace in Beijing.
A tree can mold itself around stones, as seen in this amazing instance of a giant sequoia growing around a glacial erratic boulder in Sequoia National Park in California.
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- In the beginning ... a Word Paul A. Harris
