Trees spend a lot of time absorbing wind energy - it's all usually dissipated (I suppose) as heat within the mass of the leaves, stems, branches and trunk.

Lace a system of small-bore flexible pipes along the branches, fill them with water and incorporating one-way valves. Lead all of these to one main inlet and one main outlet. As the tree flexes in the wind, the pipes get longer and shorter and will pump the water one way. This uses the otherwise wasted energy.
-- Harry Mudd, Oct 11 2003

Pump it up. http://www.wonderquest.com/Redwood.htm
Trees and capillary action. [Amos Kito, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 06 2004]

Piezoelectric Trees http://www.halfbake...ezoelectric_20Trees
also trees charging in the wind [FarmerJohn, Oct 04 2004]

The tree could water itself from a reservoir.
-- FarmerJohn, Oct 11 2003


don't trees already pump up water by capillary action ? xyleums or somethin' ?
-- neilp, Oct 11 2003


If a TreePump falls in the forest, and nobody is there to hear it, does it make a mess?
-- Amos Kito, Oct 11 2003


[neilp] - do you mean xylems?
-- jonthegeologist, Oct 11 2003


Nice first idea, welcome to the bakery, Harcourt.
-- krelnik, Oct 11 2003


Its high time those lazy assed trees started contributing to the cause. Full points.
-- bungston, Oct 11 2003


I believe I've seen a diagram of a (possibly Indian) simple piston pump, powered by a rope tied to a high branch.
-- BunsenHoneydew, May 24 2004


But, if this process robs the trees of their usual supply of heat energy, will their leaves fall of in the summer?
-- ye_river_xiv, Jul 11 2007



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