In article , Mike Lyle
writes
Absolutely. But, the most extraordinary thing: in the children's
playground near me, some swine stripped the bark off the whole trunk
of a handsome purple sycamore-thing about twenty years old. (I could
have wept, sworn, done physical violence.) This was, I think, in May
or possibly even in April; but all the leaves are still on, and it's
seeding. There must have been enough moisture left in the branches to
keep it going all this time.

No, it's the other way around. The water goes up the middle (mainly).
It's the food that's transported up in a thin layer just under the bark.
So if the tree is barked all round, there's enough water to keep it
going a long while, and it dies of slow starvation.
--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"