There are a lot of quirky green products out there in eco-land. Some of them are dismissible. Others actually grow on you. Take, for example, the Life Box, a line of packaging products invented by mycologist Paul Stamets. (A mycologist is a botanist who works with fungi.) Life Box products are just like any other recycled-content corrugated packaging, except that at end-of-life, you can tear them apart and plant them to grow trees. Really. Stamets has developed a process that infuses tree seeds together with symbiotic mycorrhizal fungal spores into the corrugated flute. When pieces of the corrugated are planted and waters, the fungi germinate (“sprout”) to form an attachment with root cells. These extend into the soil with a network of fine cobweb of cells called mycelium. In essence, the mycelium “mothers” the sprouting tree seeds, providing nutrients and water, and protecting the seedlings from disease. The first products in the Life Box series contain a mix of tree seeds, a blend that, depending on the batch, can include Douglas-fir, blue spruce, lodgepole pine, Arizona cypress, American sycamore, American sweetgum, river birch and red birch, among others. All of the tree species used in Life Box packaging are indigenous to the continental US or Canada, though the mixes are not tailored on a regional level. Under normal outdoor planting conditions, natural selection factors (including the species’ tolerance for heat, cold, and moisture levels) tend to support the growth of a given type of seedlings, while others fail. For the curious, a lot number printed on each box can be used to identify the specific mix from a list on the Life Box website. Life Box states that it has obtained the necessary permits and clearances to distribute its product throughout the continental US (so don’t try shipping anything in a Life Box to your customers in Hawaii) and to export it into Canada. Box recipients can plant their deconstructed Life Boxes at any time within a year or two after receiving it, though planting within the first six to eight months ends to produce better results. Stratifying the seeds by moistening the cardboard and refrigerating or freezing the pieces for six weeks or so before planting (simulating winter) also fosters better growth in some of the species. For those not inclined to plant their Life Boxes, the packaging can be recycled conventionally in the corrugated paper waste stream. Life Box operates a retail website for consumers and other small orders, and handles commercial-scale manufacturing, including custom printing, through Planted Planet Productions. The Life Box may seem “niche” or “boutique” at first. And maybe a little gimmicky. But Life Box says that commercial interest in this quirky green product is growing in sectors that use a lot of corrugated boxes and want to improve their green personas – one of them being the wine industry. Maybe “Corrugated Grows Trees” will soon take the place of the tried-and-true (and tiresome) “Corrugated Recycles” on the next case of wine you buy.