As an unrepentant logophile (lover of words), I’ve assembled a list of unusual, obscure, or simply charming-to-me words. Ludic is defined as “playful, in an aimless way,” and that’s my plan for approaching this a-to-z challenge—keeping my feet on the joy trail and meandering wherever the daily word takes me.
C is for…
crown shyness
I’m particularly charmed by words that seem to suggest something entirely different than their true meaning. Today’s word (well, actually, two-word description) is just such a delight. It doesn’t mean a reticence to wear a tiara-like head adornment but rather is a phenomenon in which the crowns of trees do not touch each other but form a canopy with channel-like gaps. If that seems a bit unclear, hopefully, this photo (sourced in the public domain) will clarify.
While this phenomenon has been studied and written about since the 1920s, the reasons for its occurrence are not definitively understood. Speculation includes trees keeping their distance in order to prevent harmful insect infestation, attempts to avoid branch entanglement, which allows greater safety in high winds, or perhaps as a method of optimizing light penetration, which prevents trees from overshadowing each other and also allows light to reach the forest floor and keep that environment healthy and supportive.
Trees are amazing and magical, and I refuse to entertain any contrary opinions about them. I literally swooned when I discovered the Sanskrit word for tree, padapa, means the one drinking with its foot. Knowing that, will you ever be able to look at a tree in the same way?
I’m definitely a tree lover and tree hugger; I feel such kinship with trees and am always looking for ways to connect and deepen my relationship.
Years ago, I came upon some words from Jen Delyth, a Welsh artist and author, and they exponentially deepened my connection and exploration of the magic of trees. She holds that there is three-fold wisdom in trees – the leaf wisdom of change and ever releasing; the wisdom of the branches, which is of growth and ever reaching; and the wisdom of the roots, which is of endurance and ever-deepening.
Given the slightest bit of thought, the wisdom is apparent. But that’s exactly my point. There is so much wisdom, so much magic, so much beauty available if we only keep our eyes open. If we look. If we see. There is depth and change, whispers and shouts, and we only need to enter into dialog with our world and all the co-conspirators sharing this space and time with us. The trees, the wind blowing in the trees, the birds and squirrels nesting in the trees, the light shining on leaves, the kite wondering if the tree would be a good place to land. All of it. A conspiracy of blessings – proof positive of pronoia’s existence.
One of the things I most love about Spring is taking walks and watching the trees as they change day by day, week by week. I never cease to be amazed and filled with delight when the trees start budding, and then tiny little leaves start unfurling – in that magical seen-only-briefly-only-in-early-Spring color, that luminous yellow-light-infused green.
Although I live in a major metropolitan area in a neighborhood with tiny property lots without room for backyard trees, almost every house on our block has a street-side tree. Every day, I think of their benevolent presence watching over our neighborhood, holding branch hands across the block. Mostly, they’re silent and observant, perhaps frequently in deep meditation, but they whisper in the breeze and dance in the wind, and all of it, all of it, makes me very happy.
Hermann Hesse, poet, novelist, and painter, was constantly exploring one’s authentic nature, self-knowledge, and spiritual issues. He had a deep love for trees, and I think what he said about them is both beautiful and powerful.
“Trees are sanctuaries. Whoever knows how to speak to them, whoever knows how to listen to them, can learn the truth. They do not preach learning and precepts, they preach, undeterred by particulars, the ancient law of life.”
Speaking of sanctuaries, I’ve spent a great deal of time in awed contemplation of all the goodness held within this book – Tree: Exploring the Arboreal World published by Phaidon Press. It’s a treasure house of almost 400 pages and 300 photos/illustrations exploring the tree through cultures and history. This is the kind of book that makes me wish there were a million hours in every day so I could spend more time poring through it. It’s truly that fabulous.
Let me end my musings with one final note that relates perhaps a bit more directly to crown shyness and one of the suspected reasons for it – optimizing light penetration. There are trees called “ghost” trees, which appear white because they lack chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is needed to produce energy via photosynthesis, so in theory, the “ghost” trees shouldn’t be able to exist. Yet they do, with as many as 50 or so in the redwood forest in California’s Humbolt State Park. How do they do it? They weave their root systems into that of the redwoods and basically steal resources. Vampire ghosts in the tree community – who knew?
What about you? Are you a tree lover? Wish you had a crown? Are a bit shy perhaps? If you were to go outside today and whisper to a tree, what would you say? What would the tree say back? Do tell – you know I love to hear.
LOVE IT… And I am wearing my fave necklace today… I AM AT HOME AMONG THE TREES. The MIGHTY OAK is my fave tree, although we live in the woods with many, many others, some that have come down in the recent storms. Thankfully not on the house! But the fallen ASH does make good firewood!
Oh yay you, Vicki! And to be surrounded by so many of the tree tribes – sounds glorious. I never made the connection between Ash and firewood before, and now I’m wondering if that’s how it got its name.
Hari OM
I am a tree hugger and tree lover and am currently parked in the woods, listening to all the birds and squirrels sharing this space…
I beg to differ on “padapa”: although it does occur on occasion in Sanskrit, it is more commonly used in Hindi. The main word in Sanskrit is “vrukshaH”, with “taruH” and “drumaH” being concomitants. That said, the romantic descriptiveness of padapa is definitely to be admired! YAM xx
How fun to know you were in the woods! And thank you for the correction on padapa – it is indeed lovely no matter what, but its good to correct about such things.
What beautiful musings! Thank you for teaching me a new word: “Ludic” and a new phrase: “crown shyness.”
My tree whispers, “Climb me.” It is not a vampire tree, but I think maybe it has tales to tell.
Thanks for stopping by Holly. And, yes indeed, I bet your tree has tales to tell!
Thank you for such a wonderful letter C post! I love that trees look out for one another, work together. Before I moved, I used to spend a lot of time at the Norton Simon Museum, in Pasadena. I loved it there. They had a perpetual Van Gogh exhibit room. One of my most favorite works of his is Mulberry Tree. I love the exuberance of the leaves.
One of the many reasons I love where I’m living now is the abundance of trees. We have
600+ trees in my little one block neighborhood tucked into open space. Most of them are very large oaks, some that are evergreen and some that are deciduous. We also have pines and sycamores that have been here for a very long time. We have a variety of others that were planted in 1980. They all provide wonderful cover for our owls, hawks and so many other kinds of birds.
You’ve inspired me to reread The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben, Colin Tudge’s The Secret Life of Trees and one I’ve not read yet, The Overstory by Richard Powers.
Oh, Pattie, I’d forgotten about Van Gogh’s Mulberry Tree! I’ve never seen the original (lucky you!) but I never fail to delight when I see images of it. It’s like being lit on fire with leaf light.
I’m glad your nestled amidst so many glorious trees and all their inhabitants, and I wish you happy reading.
“I love a tree more than I love a man.” Ludwig van Beethoven
My own affinity for nature began with my parents. We used to go camping all over and I loved hiking along trails with my family. My father was particularly fond of trees and he would often touch an old tree fondly and talk about how long it must have stood there and how many people, long since gone, would have seen it, touched it and marveled at it over the years, the decades and even centuries.
What a lovely introduction to nature, Jeff!
Absolute tree lover here! I’ll have to look for that book. Also, I wish I could drink with my feet.
https://nydamprintsblackandwhite.blogspot.com/2025/03/c-is-for-cooperation.html
I suspect you’ll like the book, Anne. It’s a hefty collection of wonderfulness.
I have heard of this! I didn’t know it had a word though.
A delightful word, no less. Thanks for stopping by Sonia.
I am a tree lover and surrounded by a wide variety of them. Just recently my boyfriend and I were driving to the coast and went through a tree canopy, almost but not quite like a tunnel. We were entranced!
Oh that’s fabulous, Margaret. I don’t think can help but feel awed when literally amongst a community of trees.
I’m excited by your theme, and I loved this post. Thank you. I’ll be back tomorrow.
Thank you, Maria!
Another interesting post! Of course, I love trees. and I am familiar with crown shyness: such a unique tree behavior,
I have a recurring post in my Milepebbles blog as a blog challenge called Thursday Tree Love, where the bloggers share a tree image and description every other week.
I also really like the definition of padapa: how clever!
I admire Herman Hesse and particularly enjoyed Siddharta.
Hesse was such an interesting man, and I enjoyed Siddharta too. I love that you do a regular Tree Love challenge, and I’ll certainly be checking it out and playing along – how fabulous!
I love your musings, Deborah, and learning so much by reading your lovely written posts. I do love trees!
Thank you for your kind words, Brenda.
As to crown shyness, a similar gap exists between corals but time lapse photography has shown that it is because they attack each other (presumably for lebensraum) literally extruding their stomachs onto the neighbour to digest them – and I was going to say that trees seemed much more peaceable but then you brought in ghost vampire trees…
Perhaps the ghosts are just reserves ready to fill the space if disaster befalls their neighbours and perhaps the neighbours are giving them sustenance in the meantime…
I like your musing about the ghosts. I didn’t know about coral’s ruthlessness in carving out its living space. It rather makes me want to step slowly and carefully away from my neighbors.
That’s lovely. I learned a lot about trees several years ago when I volunteered for the conservation department but I never learned about crown shyness.
What a wonderful way to learn about trees, Joy!
Such a cool definition.
Ronel visiting for A-Z Challenge Cavorting Cupid & My Languishing TBR: C #AtoZChallenge2025 #Books #Bookreview
Isn’t it? I love that was the term chosen – it feels tender and respectful somehow. Especially when I think a term like crown “standoffishness” might have been adopted instead.