cactus as a tree?

[Eric Nielsen]

Thanks, I'll definitely look that up.
Eric
On Sun, Mar 11, 2012 at 12:20 PM, Michael Newman <michael.newman at qc.cuny.edu
> wrote:

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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Michael Newman <michael.newman at QC.CUNY.EDU>
> Subject:      Re: cactus as a tree?
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> isn't all this discussion really just a perfect example of Wittgenstein's
> Family Resemblance theory of word meaning?
>
>
>
> Michael Newman
> Associate Professor of Linguistics
> Queens College/CUNY
> michael.newman at qc.cuny.edu
>
>
>
> On Mar 11, 2012, at 5:06 PM, Eric Nielsen wrote:
>
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> > Poster:       Eric Nielsen <ericbarnak at GMAIL.COM>
> > Subject:      Re: cactus as a tree?
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
>  > I think you make a good point. "Tree" is not absolutely defined:
> >
> > "There is no set definition regarding minimum size, though most authors
> > cite a tree species as being one which regularly reaches 6 m (20 ft)
> tall."
> >
> > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trees_of_Britain_and_Ireland
> >
> > "Trees are woody plants at least 15 feet tall at maturity, with a
> > well-developed crown and a single stem, or trunk, at least several inches
> > in diameter."
> >
> > Brockman, C. Frank
> > "Trees of North America"
> > Golden Press, New York, 1968
> >
> > Size--and single vs. multiple stems--seem to be the more important
> > characteristics for distinguishing a tree from a bush:
> >
> > "A *shrub* or *bush* is distinguished from a
> > tree<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tree>by its multiple stems and
> > shorter
> > height <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Height>, usually under 5=966 m
> (15=962=
> > 0
> > ft) tall."
> > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrub
> >
> > Many species may be a tree or a bush at maturity. This could be due to
> > environment or cultivation or....
> >
> > In fact, in my neck of the woods, Sassafras (*Sassafras albidum)* can
> often
> > occur as a bush and a tree--even within a few feet of each other. I seem
> to
> > remember coming upon the phrase "may occur as a tree in southern regions"
> > (or some such) when reading plant descriptions many years ago. I think it
> > may be a similar case with mulberries: sometimes they are a bush;
> sometimes
> > a tree. A search of "mulberry bush" in Google Images will give some
> > examples:
> >
> > http://tiny.cc/n9j0aw
> >
> > Eric
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > On Sat, Mar 10, 2012 at 3:28 PM, Michael McKernan <mckernan51 at gmail.com
> >wro=
> > te:
> >
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> >> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> >> Poster:       Michael McKernan <mckernan51 at GMAIL.COM>
> >> Subject:      Re: cactus as a tree?
> >>
> >>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------=
> > ------
> >>
> >> I believe that botanists do not use the term "tree" as a technical
> term, =
> > so
> >> you're barking up the wrong tree if you want to be botanically technical
> >> about what "tree" means.
> >>
> >> Michael McKernan
> >> Benson, Arizona (just a few miles from the Saguaros of the Sonoran
> Desert=
> > ).
> >>
> >>
> >
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