Windswept Trees
Various things will cause a growth response in plants. A plant will often grow towards the light, for example, and this is called phototropism. If you look at a windswept tree, it seems that the branches are growing away from the wind. And if you think that the plant is directly responding to the wind, then the treeologists have a fancy name for you: negative thigmotropism.
But other treeologists suspect that anything with a name like “negative thigmotropism” cannot possibly be correct, and that it is something about the wood itself that explains the windswept appearance. According to Amanda, one idea is that the salt picked up by the wind from the bay is the real cause. The salt keeps the branches on the windward side of the trees from growing. If you again look carefully at a windswept tree, you can see that, well, maybe.
The Bumblebee believes that his own theory is actually the best one: windswept trees are the result of wind sweeping over the trees, and that’s all you need to know.
Windswept Trees
Various things will cause a growth response in plants. A plant will often grow towards the light, for example, and this is called phototropism. If you look at a windswept tree, it seems that the branches are growing away from the wind. And if you think that the plant is directly responding to the wind, then the treeologists have a fancy name for you: negative thigmotropism.
But other treeologists suspect that anything with a name like “negative thigmotropism” cannot possibly be correct, and that it is something about the wood itself that explains the windswept appearance. According to Amanda, one idea is that the salt picked up by the wind from the bay is the real cause. The salt keeps the branches on the windward side of the trees from growing. If you again look carefully at a windswept tree, you can see that, well, maybe.
The Bumblebee believes that his own theory is actually the best one: windswept trees are the result of wind sweeping over the trees, and that’s all you need to know.