How evergreen trees shaped human history

By Beth Saulnier - Cornellians 

In the early 1770s, American colonists furious over British meddling in their trade of a key agricultural product finally had enough and rose up – an act of rebellion that would ultimately spark a revolution.

But this wasn’t the Boston Tea Party.

It was the Pine Tree Riot – a bit of rural lawbreaking by some New Hampshire residents that would inspire their Massachusetts brethren a year later. And it’s just one of the myriad ways that evergreens have played a transformative role in human history – chronicled in “Evergreen,” a new book by Trent Preszler, M.S. ’02, Ph.D. ’12, a professor of practice in the Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, in the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business.

 “It’s like the courtroom drama that would unfold if you brought evergreens onto the witness stand and swore them in,” Preszler said. “They kept the receipts about everything, from world wars to religion to construction booms. I basically just wrote down everything that they’ve been trying to tell us for 365 million years.”

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UPDATE: Fremont Cottonwood (Populis Fremontii)

"the Fremont" seems to have fully-recovered from what ever was causing his leaves to blacken & die. In fact, he is growing a bit & "putting-on-some-weight" as he is beginning to build a canopy of side-branches & shoots, although he will never grow much taller than he is, right now.

But no one told him that this is December, when deciduous trees are supposed to change colors & lose their leaves..I wonder if this California native observes the seasonal changes like his Eastern cousins? Perhaps someone out there can answer that question?

If you're interested in learning more about this tree, you can access his Photos/History page here.

UPDATE: Madagascar Dragon Tree (Dracaena Marginata)

Dec. 11 -Update: "the Dragon" was looking a little scruffy, having been beaten-up by the wind & exposure, over time, so I decided to give him a fresh start by cutting-back his foliage. Winter weather is yet to come & he will handle it better with less foliage to get damaged.

Am also looking ahead to when his brachts won't all be at the same height. I initially trimmed each shoot to 4" from growing base to tip as this photo shows.

  But, in the end, I gave-in & trimmed him evenly, as it may be the last time it will be possible for him to grow a unified "fan"..foliage that looks like a single plume.

What I did was to even-out the 4 shoots, leaving 'the Dragon' with a "flat-top'.(for those of you too young to know what a "flat-top" was, ask your grandpa)

If you want to know more about this tree, you can access his Photos/History page.

A New Project: Creeping Fig (Ficus pumila)

I stumbled across this Ficus a couple of days ago, on the "1/2-OFF" table at a major Home & Garden Center, while looking for "a new project"..He didn't look well..but he didn't look sick, either..just neglected

Acquired: Dec 10, 2025 - Home & Garden Center - $7.50 + tax

Once I got him home (the patio), I was able to get a good look & what I saw reinforced my opinion that this was a viable plant & could become a candidate for my collection.  

As I "unpacked" this tree & cleaned him up, it struck me that this had been someone else's project, that had either failed or been abandoned. If you'd like to see the steps in-between, you can see the process & access the Photos/History page here.