Torsion

[igeektrees]

I am curious as to the cause of this phenomonon. I have talked with several learned people and they all tell me it's caused by the wind. I don't buy that. Does anyone have a different idea?

 

[igeektrees]

No takers?
How about viral? Genetic? Enviromental (NOT WIND)?
C'mon, I need some help here. It's drivin' me crazy.
You've all seen rope that's been twisted to add strength, same thing with cabling. Does the same thing apply to the trunks of trees? Not necessarily the branch union areas but the trunk itself?

 

[rfwoodvt]

I assume you mean the spiral growth of some trees?

Some say it is due to the Coriolis effect...the rotation of the earth or the way the sun travels across the sky.

 

[sean_freeman]

What you are thinking about is called Thigmomorphogenesis, and NO I did not make it up....there is plenty of published research out there.

 

[southsoundtree]

spiral growth explained, to some degree:
http://www.fathom.com/course/21701736/session4.html

An interesting and short intro to the concept. I just internet searched it and looked through a few found items. I'd wondered about this for a while.

Anybody have any contradictory info, or does this sound close to accurate?