Exploding tree

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Exploding trees are a phenomenon mostly observed in the northeastern United States and Canadian wilderness, and usually involve maple trees. On April 1, 2005, this was the subject of an April Fools' Day hoax covered by National Public Radio, stating that maple trees in New England had been exploding due to a failure to collect their sap, causing pressure to build from the inside. [1]

In the Canadian wilderness, however, maple trees actually have been known to explode due to the extreme cold causing the wood to contract, applying tremendous pressure on the sap inside. This often leads to a sound similar to a gunshot when the tree explodes.

When a tree is struck by lightning it may also explode [2], [3]. The strong electric current is carried mostly by the water-conducting sapwood below the bark, heating it up and boiling the water. The pressure of the steam can make the trunk burst.

In Australia, the native eucalyptus trees are also known to explode during bush fires due to the high flammability of vapourised eucalyptus oil produced by the tree naturally. [4] [5]

[edit] Exploding trees in fiction

In Larry Niven's fictional setting of Known Space, an alien race called the Tnuctipun used genetic engineering to create the stage tree, a tree which produces solid rocket fuel. Stage trees spread their seeds only when they are ignited.
The Integral Trees and The Smoke Ring, also by Niven, feature enormous inhabited trees in orbit around a neutron star. The tidal force keeps them under strong tension, and if they drift out of the habitable zone of the gas ring, they split in half with explosive force, sacrificing one half of the tree to save the other half.
In the book Brian's Winter by Gary Paulsen the main character believes he is hearing gunshots, and walks toward them, and finds out that sound is made by exploding trees.
In the Super Nintendo video game, EarthBound, there is an enemy in the Peaceful Rest Valley called the Territorial Oak which explodes when defeated and causes a great deal of damage to party members.