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See that white tree there amongst the green ones? I'm not certain, but I think it's an albino.
Like animals, some tress are born as albinos, devoid of pigments due to a genetic mutation. Without photosynthetic pigments, a tree cannot harvest energy from sunlight and normally wouldn't survive. But in a rainforest, any tree will be nurtured by the rest of its community, sharing resources through their roots. Even a tree unable to give anything back.
Image credit: Paulo Whitaker/Reuters
In North America, albino redwood trees are quite well known. Unable to support themselves, they survive purely through the help of the other trees which surround them. In a forest, those with more always give to those with less, so that all can survive.
That's an example for all of us to learn from.
The Albino Code, a bond more sacred than his loyalty to Saint Cloud.
@InvaderXan Suddenly imagining a world where humans behave as well as trees.
@tdorey What a lovely world that would be. We could learn a lot of things from trees.
@InvaderXan I still think about this all the time.
@InvaderXan I was reading about this, apparently it’s specifically true of redwoods, which are the only trees (citation needed) who share a root network with neighboring trees. It might be the only photosynthetic organism on the planet capable of surviving as an albino. https://curiosity.com/topics/albino-ghost-trees-shouldnt-exist-but-they-do-curiosity/
@cy
Redwoods do share nutrients directly, bypassing mycorrhizal networks, it's true. Though redwoods don't grow in the Amazon, so this can't explain that first image I posted.
@InvaderXan I am crying a bit, this is wonderful, thank you for sharing it!
@variance
The intricacies of nature and the way life is so deeply interconnected makes me emotional too 
@InvaderXan our mother showed us a paper about this resource-sharing thing! apparently, the symbiotic fungus all forest trees have in their roots is in a large part responsible for it, especially the process of sequestering carbon from dying and dead trees. forest fungus is really really cool.
@diodelass
Mycorrhizal fungi networks. They're fascinating. The underground wiring which connects an entire forest and shares its resources.
They don't just sequester carbon from dying and dead trees – young trees in a forest receive far more nutrients from these networks than they give. While the old trees can connect to hundreds of smaller ones nearby.
The whole thing amazes me!
@InvaderXan I thought you were making this up as a long-winded political metaphor but they're fucking real
@InvaderXan Is the photo yours?
@Sylvhem
No, sadly, not mine.
@Sylvhem
Sorry. Forgot to include the actual source.
The second image is by Cole Shatto/Wikimedia Commons.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Albino_redwood.jpg