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TH: Hands across the water ...
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This isn't going to be as well thought-out as I would have liked,
but I just read some off-list correspondence from Rob in the UK
which reminded me of this old question.
When the Europeans first colonized the Americas (according to
history), some 500 years ago or so, they quickly discovered (ahem)
that they and the Native American Peoples / the Indians were all
varieties of the same species, that they were in fact closely
related on evolutionary time. But what about the other fauna &
flora? Our American Beech tree closely resembles its beautiful
European cousin, and the widely-planted 'London Plane Tree' is
a cross between UK and US Sycamores. The birds migrate North &
South, but the greater aquatic mammals have probably migrated the
oceans for millenia. Are there same-species trees native to both
continents, and how come -- do they have more sophisticated modes
of transport, or maybe do they 'evolve' more slowly (like sharks?)
Apologies for bringing up such complicated issues in such a sloppy
posting. Your thoughts will be much appreciated ...
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Richard Tryzno Ellsberry | [http://flora.com] | Baltimore / USDA Zone 7
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