Happy Thought for 18 September 2026

Have a Happy Thought:

One of the best things about learning about nature is coming to understand that there is so much more going on than we can see. Sometimes it’s because things are too small for our eyes to pick up. Sometimes it’s methods of communication that are simply beyond human senses.

Sometimes, it’s because so much is happening under the surface.

Like with plants – root systems are often much more extensive than one would think.

Which is why when they are drawn out for us, it becomes something that I had to share.

Take, for example, this illustration of plants native to the North American Great Plains. It utterly fascinates me that a plant that seems so small above surface has 2-3 times the depth and biomass underground.

Image: Root Systems of Prairie Plants

 

This seems to hold fairly true around the world – see this drawing of a kōwhai (Sophora tetraptera) tree and its root system:

Image: Marden, M., Lambie, S. & Rowan, D. Root system attributes of 12 juvenile indigenous early colonising shrub and tree species with potential for mitigating erosion in New Zealand. N.Z. j. of For. Sci. 48, 11 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40490-018-0115-9

Or this of a cabbage tree (Cordyline australis):

Image: same as above

 

The University of Wageningen in the Netherlands has recently published online a series of root system drawings done by a pair of biologists – in other words, people who just absolutely loved studying plants and root systems. And it shows:

Here is a sketch of a field maple (Acer campestre):

Image: Erwin Lichtenegger and Lore Kutschera Acer campestre - Root System Drawings - Wageningen University & Research - Image Collections

 

Or this of sea thrift (Armeria maritima)

Armeria maritima - Root System Drawings - Wageningen University & Research - Image Collections

 

Or the bog cranberry (Vaccinium oxycoccos) that has roots that just seem to go sideways:

Vaccinium oxycoccos - Root System Drawings - Wageningen University & Research - Image Collections

 

This is of course skipping over the incredible feats of the Pando quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides), effectively a single tree that covers 42.8 ha (106 acres); or the colony of the seagrass Posidonia oceanica that spreads across 8 kilometres (5 mi) of the Mediterranean; or the honey fungus (Armillaria ostoyae) that is spread across 8.9 km2 (3.4 sq mi) of the Malheur National Forest in eastern Oregon (it’s also estimated to be 2,400 years old!).

Follow those root systems – or rabbit holes – at your pleasure: Largest organisms - Wikipedia

 

 

Thanks to Root System Drawings - Wageningen University & Research - Image Collections.