But it could find a future claim to fame in birch syrup, a nontraditional but increasingly popular product pulled from New Hampshire's state tree.

WSJ: Birch syrup explored as add-on to maple industry

But if iPod's sales ultimately disappoint, it's because Apple's industry-leading marketing expertise makes every product launch like Christmas morning, but the presents under the tree never quite measure up to the ones in your imagination.

FORBES: Apple Unwraps IPod

It may simply be that each tree, like each person, is an individual, and has a personality that's a product of both nature and nurture.

NPR: Excerpt: 'A Splintered History Of Wood'