Self-Healing Power of Trees

And if it fails...
a woodpecker chisels the dead heart,
an abode for her young's need;
home of the owl, roost to a passing lark,
sweet is benevolence indeed.

Dr Abe V Rotor

    Black-rumped Flameback Dinopium benghalense in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
JM Gang, Internet

  
New shoots emerge to eventually replace the lost crown 
of a mahogany tree (Swietenia macrophylla). A lone shoot 
rises from a cut branch of a fire tree (Delonix regia), UST
Manila

Rot starts at the center on an old cut, while
healing takes place peripherally in a camphor
tree. Annual rings show that the branch was
five years old when it was cut.

Normal healing process showing actively dividing cambium
layer which will completely cover the wound. Note numerous
dots on the newly formed layer. These are breathing pores
called lenticles, counterpart of stomata on the leaves.

   

Completely healed wound. Scars of vandalism. Law prohibits 

posting of advertisements on trees, so with other destructive means

Delayed healing exposes the wood to rot and
eventually form a hollow - the result of a
typhoon which ripped off a major branch
from the trunk.