Bole (noun): the trunk of a tree. The part of the tree between the roots and the main branching area is called the "bole". The bole itself is made up of 5 parts: outer bark, inner bark, cambium, sapwood, and heartwood. A bole serves many roles in an ecosystem:

• a site of tree cavities for animals;
• a source of food for bark beetles;
• a shield for squirrels trying to escape a hawk;
• the best back-scratcher ever for bears (or humans!);
• a future source of food for wood-decomposing fungi and arthropods;
• shade for any number of creatures in the summer;
• support for upholding branches, and
• a passageway for moving sugars, nutrients and water between the leaves and roots of a tree.

We think boles are incredible!