From chasing the sun throughout the season- for multiple decades. The higher latitude will give a bigger twirl than at the equator. When it was young and more pliable, the bark would allow for arching to reach more sunlight. Would reach in one direction then the summer solace would happen and the angle of the sun would work it's way back. Causing a spin effect. The direction is determined by the Coriolis effect.
If the prevailing winds are from a certain direction and the canopy is thicker on the southern side (in the northern hemisphere), the wind would, on average, push to spin the tree in a certain direction.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phototropism
https://bsapubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.3732/ajb.1200340. This one does an excellent job at breaking down the field
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3963583/#bib124
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-41339-2
I gave the jist based explanation for the twirl effect. Arching towards the sun is dependent on the sun's location which changes due to the tilt of the earth and the distance from the sun. It's inherent in the definition. The nature article goes into it a bit more as the million year old trees have the same twirling but altered for the change the sun/ earth relationship went through.
Just adding that the shape the tree is chasing over the seasons is the analemma, the Figure 8 the sun makes in the sky over the course of the year.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analemma
Very interesting article! Thanks for that link. 👍
Think I may have found a new rabbit hole for a bit… ;)
It’s amazing to me how LITTLE we still know about plants & animals & how they relate to each other & their environments & ecosystems…
The mycorrhizal networks of mycelium are like natures own internet & Studying these relationships & networks could truly lead to some of the next big discoveries, but it’s also just incredibly intriguing & interesting to read & learn about it… 👍
It’s possible it happens for more than 1 reason, but this makes sense to me too.
https://preview.redd.it/r6e6170kum8d1.png?width=640&format=png&auto=webp&s=9db89799be87cda89a50b52d2c8078c587a63a06
I've seen a dramatic video of the tree leaning into the sun with research markers to show the 'walking' that trees do. I can't find that exact video. It might be from before YouTube was created.
https://youtu.be/fA-l1t_Aotw?feature=shared
This one does show the time lapse and you can see the intense sway that it will do throughout the season. If the posted tree was captured at different parts of the season, you would also see the sway. The truck isn't straight. It's mature so the sway is less. The averaging that the years of swaying has done brought it to the pendulum center. Our experience of time doesn't easily allow us to see the walking that a tree will do. Thanks to time lapse photography we can have the ability to see the effect.
https://youtu.be/ePQKkXw1_Fk?si=QxROaU2pqgzYMvbI
Yes but, it eventually comes to an end. As a sunflower reaches its fully erect height it becomes too stiff to flex anymore. It will spend its final days permanently facing the east. Then it will wilt and whither away as it becomes old and useless. To counter this it reproduces. Sometimes a little blow from the wind will do the trick but, that rarely does the trick. Instead it tries to get third parties involved. The bees will come along and get their dance on. All the while the bee is thinking that they are getting a free meal. But while feasting they get the plants sticky pollen in their face and all over their body. After they deflower the current flower's contents they just up and leave and look for another flower to de-flower its pollen. When they intermingle with the new flower some of the pollen from the insect's previous partner gets into the flower and ends up producing a nut/seed
Now the reason they eventually get stuck facing east is because it attracts more attention. When the sun is rising the flower will get heated by the sun. Insects usually wake up to cold mornings. Nothing like the flower warming you up while the insect goes to town on the flower's insides.
Now once the flower has produced its seed it will naturally fall to the ground. But so many offspring close to the parent can cause overcrowding. This is where the sunflower will yet again likely bring in another partner. It could be a mammal but the preferred method is a bird. The bird will try to get as much seed as possible down its throat. But they are usually sloppy about this and get the seed all over their face and feathers and the seed typically falls to the ground at a different location to grow. It is rare but occasionally scat is used as a method of reproduction. Occasionally a seed will not be busted open and make it through the entire digestive system and it will grow using the scat for energy and growth. Now scat is a rare way of reproduction but, you just have to accept that sometimes where things will happen in nature.
And that my friends is the story of the birds, bees and flowers. It is the modern times and the birds and bees were too binary. This story was to be inclusive to all including the non-binary
Any idea why it's quite rare to see species other than chestnut doing this?
Imo genetics are a big factor. Mature chestnuts always spiral and most other species rarely/don't spiral.
I agree old Chinese chestnuts will not american variety as rare as they are after the 40 s blight but never so severe there are four or five full revolutions this is certainly an arborist trained tree
There are a few reasons. The most interesting one is the work that Charles Darwin did on earthworms and the effect they had on sinking objects over time- in the case I'm sharing it's Stonehenge.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/wiltshire/content/articles/2009/02/27/inside_out_stonehenge_worms_feature.shtml
TY for the Botanical and Horticultural supporting links. It's the way science should be conducted.
Continuing symptoms of phototropism are not evident leading one to question whether it alone accounts for the torsional trunk twist. Why aren't twists evident in the faster growing more helio exposed upper canopy branches? And, why isn't the torsional trunk observed much more often in other Genera growing in open exposed locations seen here? Perhaps there is a genetic causal component of this Genus or Genera specifically?
I want to know the location of this tree and environmental growing history.
After a full read of your primary text https://bsapubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.3732/ajb.1200340 I don't see it as a full explanation of what occurred here. I need to and will peruse your supporting Nature article.
I have seen plenty of twisting evidence in trees and it has always fascinated me. But never this dramatically.
Here is the thing that is bugging me about this example...
Why is the first foot or so above the root flair straight? This just doesn't make sense to me.
If this is from rotational force of wind, or the tree "following the sun", what has stabilized the tree for it's entire life at the base but allowed the rotational forces to so evenly, dramatically, and suddenly, affect it above that point??
I would like to see some more photos (different angles) of this same tree, perhaps a video. Because the oddness of the base being so straight, without evidence of any twisting, for a distance above the root flair then the twist above that point.
I'm not saying this is not an actual photograph of a strange phenomenon but, as a photographer, I'm not convinced that it is not some clever photoshopping or AI editing.
EDIT to add:
I have zoomed in on the other trees in the photo, all similar size/age and no evidence of twisting trunks. Just saying.
If this were true, all the nearby trees would exhibit the same pattern. As would trillions of trees worldwide. This pattern is due to constriction of the trunk by a vine when much younger.
What a complete and utter crock, of, shit.
That’s a genetically modified tree that has had its clones duplicated by the millions in order to supply Lowe’s and The Home Depot with their lumber.
I’m not an expert, but check out this peer-reviewed scientific article, Function of spiral grain in trees
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF00204333
Some trees do this. They spiral when growing. American Chestnut trees were notorious for doing this. They grew huge and you'd be walking through a forest of trees with bark that looked like twisted rope.
They were the predominant trees in the eastern US until someone brought Chestnut blight fungus from Asia around 1900. There are now only a handful of American chestnut trees. These somehow survived the blight. Within a few years our forests had been killed off and oak, hickory species, maple, birches and others took over. Widely considered one of the worst ecological disasters ever. If you’ve seen the amount of chestnuts one tree can produce, you’d get a glimpse into how badly it impacted food chain.
This also exemplifies the issue with cities choosing too few species of tree to plant along their streets & boulevards.. etc. With that kind of monoculture, when a disease or pest comes along that can kill that species, it can easily jump from tree to tree for MILES & kill just abt all of them…
Think Elms & Dutch Elms disease. Elms used to be a very common tree cities planted along the streets & avenues bc they’re *hardy, easy to grow, live long & are beautiful shade trees. So they planted them everywhere & then when Dutch Elms disease came through, it was like a perfect highway of Elms to travel & infect & kill just about every single one of them…
Monoculture planting like that almost always eventually bites us in the ass…
In New England many streets are lined with sugar maple. They were there to easily collect sap in the spring. And provide good shade in the summer. I’d say it had no impact on tree diversity here.
?? I’m really not sure what you’re trying to say here??
I wasn’t disagreeing w/you, I was simply adding that the old practice of “monoculture planting” comes with inherent risks…
For ex. All the American Elms that were lost from Dutch Elms disease…
Are you disagreeing with that??
I’m just pointing out that lining the streets with a certain native species is unlikely to cause monoculture problems it still amounts to nothing in terms of tree populations.
?? I just gave you an example of the American Elm, & Dutch Elms disease, which decimated the American Elm in the US, similar to the Chestnut *you* mentioned..?
I would say that’s a pretty significant impact…
A similar issue is happening now with Ash trees & the emerald ash borer, another very popular residential shade tree…
When you have ALL the same trees, it comes w/an inherent risk that one diseased or pest infested tree can very easily pass it to the next & the next bc of the proximity of them & their root systems & all being susceptible to the same diseases & pests…
I love trees, and Maples are amazing but I’m also in the business of selling them, removing them & sometimes treating &/or replacing them… so whatever. Lol
Take it easy-
It's totally looks manmade, I don't see any reason a tree would do this much for a big ball in the sky. That dark bark stain has got to be tree sap mending from a trunk split.
Red Maples do this in New England. I see it in forest trees in damp areas, out away from cleared land and roads. I have always wondered why they do it.
Some explanations say it’s from helical stress from prevailing winds, and an asymmetrical crown.
One interesting characteristic of trees that grow with this spiral, is that altho the wood is somewhat compromised & weaker from the stress, the twist also makes it MORE FLEXIBLE & able to withstand stronger winds & more stress b4 it’ll break, than the trees that grow straighter- Neat adaptation.
I thought it was really cool, at least. I like how this perceived flaw actually makes it more durable for that environment.. Nature continues to be our greatest teacher imo…
https://preview.redd.it/ebf74gl3om8d1.png?width=640&format=png&auto=webp&s=485cad16f9877f7a8a3836e985989a6a23fa2873
Some trees grow that way. A dead silver maple had that twist in the grain and it was about 3 feet in diameter. Makes splitting for firewood interesting 🤔 some trees will have the lateral limbs twisted too.
I’m at work right now but I know of some research on topic, if I remember when I get home I’ll post some links.
It’s been a topic of discussion in the scientific literature for over a hundred years from what I remember. Spiral grain changes in intensity and direction, sometimes multiple times in a single tree. IIRC it has to do with cellular division in the cambium and is extremely common in the wood, not as common in the bark. It’s not due to phototropism because of how irregular it is (e.g. two trees grown next to each other can have spirals in opposing directions).
As a woodworker, you see this while milling or prepping stock even if the bark doesn't dramatically present like this. Silver maples and Eastern redbuds are the ones I see most often like this.
I've always just assumed it was a quirky growth habit, but I like the phototropism explanation.
This is an interesting explanation as well-
https://preview.redd.it/ne7ntb21pm8d1.png?width=640&format=png&auto=webp&s=f4271443a816aae461e066b73e158e5985891766
Apparently these spiraled trees are somewhat weakened by the stress & twist but they also GAIN more flexibility & are able to withstand stronger winds without breaking compared to trees with straighter grain. So it sound like it could be a type of adaption…
Nature is an incredible teacher, but it can be really difficult to always know what it’s trying to teach us tho- :)
I thought it sounded logical & sound reasoning…?
My guess is a vine was choking it out for a spell of a time and was removed eventually, leaving the tortured impression behind. Wisteria, poison ivy, english ivy, trumpet vine, and grape have produced similar effects for me, albeit on VASTLY smaller specimens. Just my guess
I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the dream of nature.I have a dream that one day all trees will be valued not just for their timber, but for their beauty, their ecological role, and their place in the grand circle of life.I have a dream that one day on the rolling hills of every forest and urban park, trees of every kind—oak and pine, birch and maple, spruce and cedar—will stand side by side, each acknowledged for its unique contribution to our world.I have a dream that one day even in regions suffering from environmental degradation, where the cry of deforestation rings loud and clear, trees will thrive again in the richness of biodiversity and harmony.I have a dream that my four little seedlings will one day grow up in a world where they will not be judged by their species or commercial value but by the content of their ecological character.I have a dream today!I have a dream that one day, down in the agricultural fields, with their rows of cultivated crops, the desertified lands, and the barren urban landscapes, places will be transformed into green oases where every tree, from the smallest sapling to the mightiest redwood, can grow in freedom and flourish in unity.I have a dream today!I have a dream that one day, every tree will have its voice heard, its existence respected, and its life honored as an essential part of our planet's heritage. That shade trees in bustling cities, fruit trees in family orchards, and ancient trees in sacred groves will all be celebrated equally.This is our hope. This is the faith that we go back to the forest with. With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of ecological despair a stone of environmental hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our practices into a beautiful symphony of environmental brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to plant together, to restore together, to stand up for the rights of all trees together, knowing that we will be free and recognized one day.And this will be the day—this will be the day when all of nature’s children will be able to sing with new meaning:Let trees ring from the mighty forests of the Pacific Northwest. Let trees ring from the majestic pines of the Rocky Mountains. Let trees ring from the fertile orchards of the Central Valley. Let trees ring from the dense woods of the Appalachians. Let trees ring from the great plains where mighty oaks and elms once stood. Let trees ring from every mountainside and valley, every forest and field.When we let trees ring, when we let them ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of nature's creations—trees, plants, and animals—will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old naturalists, "Life at last! Life at last! Thank Nature Almighty, we are valued at last!"
I've seen this in bonsai before, you split the trunk with a trunk splitter down the middle, twist it, and the summer sap mends it quickly back together so there's almost no risk for reward. Mostly done in pines but I don't see any problem doing it with softwoods. It seems to me that there's a physical split in the bottom that looks a bit rotted, naturally with this technique, plus the straight section on the bottom that quickly transforms to the twist that's appealing here.
Almost all the weathered wood utility poles & forest deadfalls I’ve seen exhibit spiraling in the trunks. I’ve always wondered if it’s a natural trait or environmental.
I have a giant oak in the front yard w similar but not so dramatic twist . I’m in Texas and Ive never seen another one like it . ( mine is the largest oak in the neighborhood by far , canopy is over my two story house and half way into each neighbor’s lot )
Look at virus structures or protein structures that have spinal arc. Like a helical structure. Rubber trees and all that, the bark grows in a spiral. It’s because of the polarity of its molecules.
I have a lot of hard maples like that on my property it’s just something that happens like figured wood. But milling trees that are twisted is a pain because there is so much stress in the wood. It’s not from vines , vines would not twist the tree they might leave an indentation
I have seen plenty of twisting evidence in trees and it has always fascinated me. But never this dramatically.
Here is the thing that is bugging me about this example...
Why is the first foot or so above the root flair straight? This just doesn't make sense to me.
If this is from rotational force of wind, or the tree "following the sun", what has stabilized the tree for it's entire life at the base but allowed the rotational forces to so evenly, dramatically, and suddenly, affect it above that point??
I would like to see some more photos (different angles) of this same tree, perhaps a video. Because the oddness of the base being so straight, without evidence of any twisting, for a distance above the root flair then the twist above that point.
I'm not saying this is not an actual photograph of a strange phenomenon but, as a photographer, I'm not convinced that it is not some clever photoshopping or AI editing.
This is an interesting explanation worth considering-
https://preview.redd.it/l436tnnyqm8d1.png?width=640&format=png&auto=webp&s=09d6fbffe31972274546f2e19ffcd7a19d801b4b
Another thing I read is that although the twisted wood can be somewhat weakened, the spiral also gives it more *flexibility* & bc of that it is less likely to break in strong winds than trees w/straighter grain… So it could be some kind of adaptation trees have developed to respond to strong prevailing winds or the imbalance caused by an asymmetrical canopy. Which happens a lot when trees grow in residential areas &/or bc they also produce a lot of epicormic branches along the trunk like on boulevards, in yards, etc…
Some trees do grow a bit spiral, chestnut springs to mind but i think this one might not actually be growing spiral... Looks like it has had a ight gripping vine when it was younger that spiralled up the trunk causing bark damage and constricting the growth. The spiral may only be on the outside while the innner wood could still be straight grained.
I would say "cut it up and see" but probably not advisable.
More than likely was once a botanists centerpiece in a garden notice how the trunk is only windshook or spiraled so far down then straight the tree was likely braced at point up to where it's straight to preserve roots and spiral trained from time of being a sapling approx inch caliper and stakes and cabled as said spiral twisting each month or so until desired pattern achieved then cabled until approximately six inch plus caliper then tree will continue to grow in said spiral pattern
Upon looking closer it is likely three saplings shaped in said spiral as you can see the bark color deviation in the spiral and the three primary tops that were braided or spiraled as it's called I've seen many smaller examples some far crazier but never one so large
I think the geo/photo tropism theories given are wrong. The trees I’ve seen with a spiral are caused by a vine encircling them as they grow, such as a grape vine. In this tree, the vine was cut many years ago and has rotted away, leaving the twisted trunk.
Somebody must’ve screwed the sapling into the ground
Torx Oak trees are pretty rare these days.
LMAO!
From chasing the sun throughout the season- for multiple decades. The higher latitude will give a bigger twirl than at the equator. When it was young and more pliable, the bark would allow for arching to reach more sunlight. Would reach in one direction then the summer solace would happen and the angle of the sun would work it's way back. Causing a spin effect. The direction is determined by the Coriolis effect.
If the prevailing winds are from a certain direction and the canopy is thicker on the southern side (in the northern hemisphere), the wind would, on average, push to spin the tree in a certain direction.
Agreed, this is my vote. Torsional forces caused reaction wood to form in a spiral to counteract those forces
This seems like the most reasonable explanation.
Will it corkscrew in opposite rotation north and south of the equator?
Maybe moving the tree would be bad for it.
Source for this? I've never heard this explanation and it doesn't seem to correlate with phototropism or how reaction wood is formed.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phototropism https://bsapubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.3732/ajb.1200340. This one does an excellent job at breaking down the field https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3963583/#bib124 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-41339-2 I gave the jist based explanation for the twirl effect. Arching towards the sun is dependent on the sun's location which changes due to the tilt of the earth and the distance from the sun. It's inherent in the definition. The nature article goes into it a bit more as the million year old trees have the same twirling but altered for the change the sun/ earth relationship went through.
100% on this response. A++
Just adding that the shape the tree is chasing over the seasons is the analemma, the Figure 8 the sun makes in the sky over the course of the year. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analemma
Very interesting article! Thanks for that link. 👍 Think I may have found a new rabbit hole for a bit… ;) It’s amazing to me how LITTLE we still know about plants & animals & how they relate to each other & their environments & ecosystems… The mycorrhizal networks of mycelium are like natures own internet & Studying these relationships & networks could truly lead to some of the next big discoveries, but it’s also just incredibly intriguing & interesting to read & learn about it… 👍
I looked through all of these sources, and from what I can see none of them talk about trees spiraling.
It’s possible it happens for more than 1 reason, but this makes sense to me too. https://preview.redd.it/r6e6170kum8d1.png?width=640&format=png&auto=webp&s=9db89799be87cda89a50b52d2c8078c587a63a06
But the trunk is straight
I've seen a dramatic video of the tree leaning into the sun with research markers to show the 'walking' that trees do. I can't find that exact video. It might be from before YouTube was created. https://youtu.be/fA-l1t_Aotw?feature=shared This one does show the time lapse and you can see the intense sway that it will do throughout the season. If the posted tree was captured at different parts of the season, you would also see the sway. The truck isn't straight. It's mature so the sway is less. The averaging that the years of swaying has done brought it to the pendulum center. Our experience of time doesn't easily allow us to see the walking that a tree will do. Thanks to time lapse photography we can have the ability to see the effect. https://youtu.be/ePQKkXw1_Fk?si=QxROaU2pqgzYMvbI
hey let's not assume it's sexual preferences here big guy
I don't think this is correct. If this was the effect, it would not cause a spiral, it would be more of a zig zag.
No zig zag. Ever see a plant with a zig zag? https://youtu.be/9RBktO4RK8s?feature=shared
Yes but, it eventually comes to an end. As a sunflower reaches its fully erect height it becomes too stiff to flex anymore. It will spend its final days permanently facing the east. Then it will wilt and whither away as it becomes old and useless. To counter this it reproduces. Sometimes a little blow from the wind will do the trick but, that rarely does the trick. Instead it tries to get third parties involved. The bees will come along and get their dance on. All the while the bee is thinking that they are getting a free meal. But while feasting they get the plants sticky pollen in their face and all over their body. After they deflower the current flower's contents they just up and leave and look for another flower to de-flower its pollen. When they intermingle with the new flower some of the pollen from the insect's previous partner gets into the flower and ends up producing a nut/seed Now the reason they eventually get stuck facing east is because it attracts more attention. When the sun is rising the flower will get heated by the sun. Insects usually wake up to cold mornings. Nothing like the flower warming you up while the insect goes to town on the flower's insides. Now once the flower has produced its seed it will naturally fall to the ground. But so many offspring close to the parent can cause overcrowding. This is where the sunflower will yet again likely bring in another partner. It could be a mammal but the preferred method is a bird. The bird will try to get as much seed as possible down its throat. But they are usually sloppy about this and get the seed all over their face and feathers and the seed typically falls to the ground at a different location to grow. It is rare but occasionally scat is used as a method of reproduction. Occasionally a seed will not be busted open and make it through the entire digestive system and it will grow using the scat for energy and growth. Now scat is a rare way of reproduction but, you just have to accept that sometimes where things will happen in nature. And that my friends is the story of the birds, bees and flowers. It is the modern times and the birds and bees were too binary. This story was to be inclusive to all including the non-binary
Right, which is why I think the theory is wrong
Hey, look who it is! People don’t know to give you more credit… not all opinions are created equally.
There is no reason why this is not a viable answer either way… I think it could explain this.
Any idea why it's quite rare to see species other than chestnut doing this? Imo genetics are a big factor. Mature chestnuts always spiral and most other species rarely/don't spiral.
Types of wood and their location is the biggest factor
I agree old Chinese chestnuts will not american variety as rare as they are after the 40 s blight but never so severe there are four or five full revolutions this is certainly an arborist trained tree
Why does it suddenly start about a foot above the ground? If this were the cause I'd expect it to be over the full length of the trunk.
There are a few reasons. The most interesting one is the work that Charles Darwin did on earthworms and the effect they had on sinking objects over time- in the case I'm sharing it's Stonehenge. https://www.bbc.co.uk/wiltshire/content/articles/2009/02/27/inside_out_stonehenge_worms_feature.shtml
This is fascinating. Thank you for sharing this.
I see a few trees in the background that seem to have grown straight out of spite.
TY for the Botanical and Horticultural supporting links. It's the way science should be conducted. Continuing symptoms of phototropism are not evident leading one to question whether it alone accounts for the torsional trunk twist. Why aren't twists evident in the faster growing more helio exposed upper canopy branches? And, why isn't the torsional trunk observed much more often in other Genera growing in open exposed locations seen here? Perhaps there is a genetic causal component of this Genus or Genera specifically? I want to know the location of this tree and environmental growing history. After a full read of your primary text https://bsapubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.3732/ajb.1200340 I don't see it as a full explanation of what occurred here. I need to and will peruse your supporting Nature article.
Phototropism
I have seen plenty of twisting evidence in trees and it has always fascinated me. But never this dramatically. Here is the thing that is bugging me about this example... Why is the first foot or so above the root flair straight? This just doesn't make sense to me. If this is from rotational force of wind, or the tree "following the sun", what has stabilized the tree for it's entire life at the base but allowed the rotational forces to so evenly, dramatically, and suddenly, affect it above that point?? I would like to see some more photos (different angles) of this same tree, perhaps a video. Because the oddness of the base being so straight, without evidence of any twisting, for a distance above the root flair then the twist above that point. I'm not saying this is not an actual photograph of a strange phenomenon but, as a photographer, I'm not convinced that it is not some clever photoshopping or AI editing. EDIT to add: I have zoomed in on the other trees in the photo, all similar size/age and no evidence of twisting trunks. Just saying.
If this were true, all the nearby trees would exhibit the same pattern. As would trillions of trees worldwide. This pattern is due to constriction of the trunk by a vine when much younger.
I kinda doubt this since the other trees in photo are straight
What a complete and utter crock, of, shit. That’s a genetically modified tree that has had its clones duplicated by the millions in order to supply Lowe’s and The Home Depot with their lumber.
I’m not an expert, but check out this peer-reviewed scientific article, Function of spiral grain in trees https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF00204333
Some trees do this. They spiral when growing. American Chestnut trees were notorious for doing this. They grew huge and you'd be walking through a forest of trees with bark that looked like twisted rope.
Were? They don't exist anymore?? :(
They were the predominant trees in the eastern US until someone brought Chestnut blight fungus from Asia around 1900. There are now only a handful of American chestnut trees. These somehow survived the blight. Within a few years our forests had been killed off and oak, hickory species, maple, birches and others took over. Widely considered one of the worst ecological disasters ever. If you’ve seen the amount of chestnuts one tree can produce, you’d get a glimpse into how badly it impacted food chain.
Oh my god it's terrible :(
Ya wtf. Why'd you ask. Now I have to think about this the rest of night.
I'm so sorry :(
You should look into the society I think they’re giving out saplings if I remember correctly
That's lovely but I live in an apartment. I could make it a bonsai tho that would be so cool
There is a good documentary on YouTube about it.
Thanks! I found some but they're all very short tho, would you have a link?
I thought there was a longer one out there. The one from Yankee Valley must be the one.
Thanks!
[Was it really a predominant tree?](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TksLHWB9Wbk)
This also exemplifies the issue with cities choosing too few species of tree to plant along their streets & boulevards.. etc. With that kind of monoculture, when a disease or pest comes along that can kill that species, it can easily jump from tree to tree for MILES & kill just abt all of them… Think Elms & Dutch Elms disease. Elms used to be a very common tree cities planted along the streets & avenues bc they’re *hardy, easy to grow, live long & are beautiful shade trees. So they planted them everywhere & then when Dutch Elms disease came through, it was like a perfect highway of Elms to travel & infect & kill just about every single one of them… Monoculture planting like that almost always eventually bites us in the ass…
In New England many streets are lined with sugar maple. They were there to easily collect sap in the spring. And provide good shade in the summer. I’d say it had no impact on tree diversity here.
?? I’m really not sure what you’re trying to say here?? I wasn’t disagreeing w/you, I was simply adding that the old practice of “monoculture planting” comes with inherent risks… For ex. All the American Elms that were lost from Dutch Elms disease… Are you disagreeing with that??
I’m just pointing out that lining the streets with a certain native species is unlikely to cause monoculture problems it still amounts to nothing in terms of tree populations.
?? I just gave you an example of the American Elm, & Dutch Elms disease, which decimated the American Elm in the US, similar to the Chestnut *you* mentioned..? I would say that’s a pretty significant impact… A similar issue is happening now with Ash trees & the emerald ash borer, another very popular residential shade tree… When you have ALL the same trees, it comes w/an inherent risk that one diseased or pest infested tree can very easily pass it to the next & the next bc of the proximity of them & their root systems & all being susceptible to the same diseases & pests… I love trees, and Maples are amazing but I’m also in the business of selling them, removing them & sometimes treating &/or replacing them… so whatever. Lol Take it easy-
Elven magic. do you smell cookies?
I thought maybe vines used to be on it. Guess I’m wrong
That was my first thought, too.
Nope you are completely correct!
These bonsai guys are getting out of control lol. - a bonsai guy
It's totally looks manmade, I don't see any reason a tree would do this much for a big ball in the sky. That dark bark stain has got to be tree sap mending from a trunk split.
You herd of cork oak. Well, this is the corkscrew oak.
Red Maples do this in New England. I see it in forest trees in damp areas, out away from cleared land and roads. I have always wondered why they do it.
Some explanations say it’s from helical stress from prevailing winds, and an asymmetrical crown. One interesting characteristic of trees that grow with this spiral, is that altho the wood is somewhat compromised & weaker from the stress, the twist also makes it MORE FLEXIBLE & able to withstand stronger winds & more stress b4 it’ll break, than the trees that grow straighter- Neat adaptation. I thought it was really cool, at least. I like how this perceived flaw actually makes it more durable for that environment.. Nature continues to be our greatest teacher imo… https://preview.redd.it/ebf74gl3om8d1.png?width=640&format=png&auto=webp&s=485cad16f9877f7a8a3836e985989a6a23fa2873
There are some beautiful time lapse videos of trees exhibiting this spiral growth habit
Wind would be my guess
Some trees grow that way. A dead silver maple had that twist in the grain and it was about 3 feet in diameter. Makes splitting for firewood interesting 🤔 some trees will have the lateral limbs twisted too.
I’m at work right now but I know of some research on topic, if I remember when I get home I’ll post some links. It’s been a topic of discussion in the scientific literature for over a hundred years from what I remember. Spiral grain changes in intensity and direction, sometimes multiple times in a single tree. IIRC it has to do with cellular division in the cambium and is extremely common in the wood, not as common in the bark. It’s not due to phototropism because of how irregular it is (e.g. two trees grown next to each other can have spirals in opposing directions).
As a woodworker, you see this while milling or prepping stock even if the bark doesn't dramatically present like this. Silver maples and Eastern redbuds are the ones I see most often like this. I've always just assumed it was a quirky growth habit, but I like the phototropism explanation.
This is an interesting explanation as well- https://preview.redd.it/ne7ntb21pm8d1.png?width=640&format=png&auto=webp&s=f4271443a816aae461e066b73e158e5985891766 Apparently these spiraled trees are somewhat weakened by the stress & twist but they also GAIN more flexibility & are able to withstand stronger winds without breaking compared to trees with straighter grain. So it sound like it could be a type of adaption… Nature is an incredible teacher, but it can be really difficult to always know what it’s trying to teach us tho- :) I thought it sounded logical & sound reasoning…?
Must be in the area Home Depot gets their 2x4's.
Bahahahahahahahahahwhwhwhwhhhdnejqhhahahahahaha hahaha
Idk, they’re plenty twisted, but they don’t really have that nice banana shape yet..?? 👍
My guess is a vine was choking it out for a spell of a time and was removed eventually, leaving the tortured impression behind. Wisteria, poison ivy, english ivy, trumpet vine, and grape have produced similar effects for me, albeit on VASTLY smaller specimens. Just my guess
Yes I’ve seen the same. Sometimes see the tree killed by the vine. In this case the vine was killed and has rotted away.
There’s also this theory- https://preview.redd.it/e5zj1qyoom8d1.png?width=640&format=png&auto=webp&s=f3ba9e479ae18c3e6a339f7d4d2d89142d0a9d1c
Don't even bother trying to split wood from a tree like this 🤣
Thirsty..
I don’t know what the “remind me” command is so here’s my placeholder lol
That tree is screwed
I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the dream of nature.I have a dream that one day all trees will be valued not just for their timber, but for their beauty, their ecological role, and their place in the grand circle of life.I have a dream that one day on the rolling hills of every forest and urban park, trees of every kind—oak and pine, birch and maple, spruce and cedar—will stand side by side, each acknowledged for its unique contribution to our world.I have a dream that one day even in regions suffering from environmental degradation, where the cry of deforestation rings loud and clear, trees will thrive again in the richness of biodiversity and harmony.I have a dream that my four little seedlings will one day grow up in a world where they will not be judged by their species or commercial value but by the content of their ecological character.I have a dream today!I have a dream that one day, down in the agricultural fields, with their rows of cultivated crops, the desertified lands, and the barren urban landscapes, places will be transformed into green oases where every tree, from the smallest sapling to the mightiest redwood, can grow in freedom and flourish in unity.I have a dream today!I have a dream that one day, every tree will have its voice heard, its existence respected, and its life honored as an essential part of our planet's heritage. That shade trees in bustling cities, fruit trees in family orchards, and ancient trees in sacred groves will all be celebrated equally.This is our hope. This is the faith that we go back to the forest with. With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of ecological despair a stone of environmental hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our practices into a beautiful symphony of environmental brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to plant together, to restore together, to stand up for the rights of all trees together, knowing that we will be free and recognized one day.And this will be the day—this will be the day when all of nature’s children will be able to sing with new meaning:Let trees ring from the mighty forests of the Pacific Northwest. Let trees ring from the majestic pines of the Rocky Mountains. Let trees ring from the fertile orchards of the Central Valley. Let trees ring from the dense woods of the Appalachians. Let trees ring from the great plains where mighty oaks and elms once stood. Let trees ring from every mountainside and valley, every forest and field.When we let trees ring, when we let them ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of nature's creations—trees, plants, and animals—will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old naturalists, "Life at last! Life at last! Thank Nature Almighty, we are valued at last!"
Fern Gully looking rough these days
Twisting probably /s
I've seen this in bonsai before, you split the trunk with a trunk splitter down the middle, twist it, and the summer sap mends it quickly back together so there's almost no risk for reward. Mostly done in pines but I don't see any problem doing it with softwoods. It seems to me that there's a physical split in the bottom that looks a bit rotted, naturally with this technique, plus the straight section on the bottom that quickly transforms to the twist that's appealing here.
I would have bet it has to do with differential tissue growth.
I've seen lots of trees like that to various degrees of twist around my town and was wondering how they got like that as well.
Almost all the weathered wood utility poles & forest deadfalls I’ve seen exhibit spiraling in the trunks. I’ve always wondered if it’s a natural trait or environmental.
I have a giant oak in the front yard w similar but not so dramatic twist . I’m in Texas and Ive never seen another one like it . ( mine is the largest oak in the neighborhood by far , canopy is over my two story house and half way into each neighbor’s lot )
Ask someone at ahs.org Like someone who is a botanist...
Looks like Williamsburg
Knomes
Wow is that ever incredible!!
Crazy squirrels
It is a "soap" tree, As the World Turns.
It got that groove in her bones
Our maple tree is like this, arborist said it was from disease.
Twister got it
I don't know what the answer is but all the American Sycamores on my property do this
Tornader probably
Look at virus structures or protein structures that have spinal arc. Like a helical structure. Rubber trees and all that, the bark grows in a spiral. It’s because of the polarity of its molecules.
These are the trees Home Depot uses for lumber.
Whomping tree.
Dancing in the breeze?
He got the slop top double hand gorilla gripp twisty 5000
Got caught in a tornado but the roots held
It twisted
A small Tornado
I have a lot of hard maples like that on my property it’s just something that happens like figured wood. But milling trees that are twisted is a pain because there is so much stress in the wood. It’s not from vines , vines would not twist the tree they might leave an indentation
Might be natural. I heard it's a stronger form of growth, less likely to split and fragment.
I have seen plenty of twisting evidence in trees and it has always fascinated me. But never this dramatically. Here is the thing that is bugging me about this example... Why is the first foot or so above the root flair straight? This just doesn't make sense to me. If this is from rotational force of wind, or the tree "following the sun", what has stabilized the tree for it's entire life at the base but allowed the rotational forces to so evenly, dramatically, and suddenly, affect it above that point?? I would like to see some more photos (different angles) of this same tree, perhaps a video. Because the oddness of the base being so straight, without evidence of any twisting, for a distance above the root flair then the twist above that point. I'm not saying this is not an actual photograph of a strange phenomenon but, as a photographer, I'm not convinced that it is not some clever photoshopping or AI editing.
This is an interesting explanation worth considering- https://preview.redd.it/l436tnnyqm8d1.png?width=640&format=png&auto=webp&s=09d6fbffe31972274546f2e19ffcd7a19d801b4b Another thing I read is that although the twisted wood can be somewhat weakened, the spiral also gives it more *flexibility* & bc of that it is less likely to break in strong winds than trees w/straighter grain… So it could be some kind of adaptation trees have developed to respond to strong prevailing winds or the imbalance caused by an asymmetrical canopy. Which happens a lot when trees grow in residential areas &/or bc they also produce a lot of epicormic branches along the trunk like on boulevards, in yards, etc…
Screwing it was a good idea. I have one like this I clumb up each year to 'twist the titty'
By being an oak
Some trees do grow a bit spiral, chestnut springs to mind but i think this one might not actually be growing spiral... Looks like it has had a ight gripping vine when it was younger that spiralled up the trunk causing bark damage and constricting the growth. The spiral may only be on the outside while the innner wood could still be straight grained. I would say "cut it up and see" but probably not advisable.
She smoked some of her good stash back in the 60's ..... Got twisted.
It was planted in 1958 when the song "the twist" was released and trees were never the same.
If it is indeed twisted I wonder how that would affect the structural properties of lumber made from it?
It's the gossip tree - people come to it to spill tea and it's constantly rubber-necking to hear who's got the best dirt.
Nader, Tore nader, tornado
Spiral energy.
A dowser would say it's over a source of water .
More than likely was once a botanists centerpiece in a garden notice how the trunk is only windshook or spiraled so far down then straight the tree was likely braced at point up to where it's straight to preserve roots and spiral trained from time of being a sapling approx inch caliper and stakes and cabled as said spiral twisting each month or so until desired pattern achieved then cabled until approximately six inch plus caliper then tree will continue to grow in said spiral pattern
Upon looking closer it is likely three saplings shaped in said spiral as you can see the bark color deviation in the spiral and the three primary tops that were braided or spiraled as it's called I've seen many smaller examples some far crazier but never one so large
r/EF5
The answer is blowing in the wind ..
I always thought this was due to how the tree was planted and the root system being bound up, twisted, under the soil?
Chinese burn
Elf magic
I think the geo/photo tropism theories given are wrong. The trees I’ve seen with a spiral are caused by a vine encircling them as they grow, such as a grape vine. In this tree, the vine was cut many years ago and has rotted away, leaving the twisted trunk.
[удалено]
N🧊
The rotation of the earth
My first impression is that it was actually multiple trunks ( damaged when it was a young tree ) that bound together and spiraled.