Plants colonized earth first and are responsible for creating and maintaining our planet's favorable environment, including the oxygen in air. Plants magically (excuse me, scientifically ) turn energy into matter and animals exist by returning the material to energy. In addition, trees have played a material role in civilization; lumber for buildings and vehicles, wood for furniture and tools, fire for cooking and heating and pulp for paper. And for no reason at all trees graphically record their history which is caught in the material and made visible in color and figure.