A message from the trees. (Clippings).

Ever felt like a tree "spoke" to you? A pair of cottonwoods in Omaha, Nebraska, is a little less subtle in communicating its message.

Nicknamed the "Hi Cottonwoods," these two hardwoods have been nominated to the National Register of Historic Trees by the North Omaha Commercial Club. The Register, compiled by AMERICAN FORESTS' Historic Tree Nursery, showcases trees that have witnessed important local and historical events.

So what makes these "Hi" trees? The cottonwoods are joined by a fused horizontal limb that makes them appear to form the word "hi." The quirky trees are located in Omaha's oldest community, historic Florence, where they've been a neighborhood oddity for generations.

The Register of Historic Trees is an attempt to show that trees do not have to have "witnessed" national events to be important; locally known trees can factor large in the life and history of a community as well.

Meyer's Historic Tree Nursery grows and sells the progeny of trees connected with famous places. people, and events. Individuals, historic societies, civic groups, and students are invited to nominate trees to the National Register of Historic Trees. You can find out more information at www.historictrees.org or request a nomination form from 800 /320-8733.

"We now recognize that trees are also historians of a sort," project director Jeff Meyer says, the last living witnesses of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address; the flight of the Wright brothers, and the birth of the Constitution."

A complimentary catalog is available by calling the 800-number or online at http://www.historictrees.org. Each tree purchase aids efforts to reforest ecosystems and habitats across the United States and around the world.