The World’s Strangest Trees Always Lean In The Same Direction (& Scientists Discovered What They Point To)

Nature is one of the best archives of the Earth’s past and future. From incredible mysteries beneath the polar ice to an underwater discovery between Greenland and Iceland that could predict catastrophic future conditions around the world, scientists often use nature as a guide to better understand our planet.

Among many topics, trees are some of the most widely studied parts of nature. For example, University of Arizona researchers recently discovered ancient trees that revealed a devastating solar storm before our time. On the other hand, the world’s largest pine tree in Yosemite National Park shows the resilience of Earth’s life forms.

However, not all trees grow tall or upright. In some parts of the world, groups of trees lean sideways in the same direction, a phenomenon that has baffled scientists for years. In this article, we’ll explore a new study that uncovered theories on why the weirdest trees in the world lean and what they point to, which scientists believe they’ve uncovered.

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Where Does The Story Of The World’s Strangest Trees Begin?

A famous 18th-century explorer brought the seeds from a small island in the South Pacific

The bizarre tree in question is the Cook pine, a species native to New Caledonia, a small-town island in the South Pacific known for its Isle of Pines. The tree is named after Captain James Cook, who discovered the species in the 18th century. Today, Cook pines can be found around the world, including in Australia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, and the United States.

Cook pines can grow up to 197 feet tall and have short branches, giving the tree a unique, narrow appearance. But what differentiates these trees even more from other pines is their noticeable lean, a mysterious trait that has intrigued scientists for years.

Among the scientists to study these trees was Matt Ritter, a biology professor specializing in trees at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. After noticing the leaning Cook pines on campus for the first time, he set out to discover where they pointed to and why.

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What Do Cook Pines, The World’s Strangest Trees, Point To?

Research across five continents proved one theory and yielded an unexpected discovery

Cook pines in Nepal Garden in Rajapruek Park in Chiang Mai, Thailand

According to his initial observations in California, Ritter believed Cook pines leaned toward the south. However, he wasn’t sure about this theory since there was no other proof to back it up.

“This has never before been seen in plants, and I thought, you know, that’s weird. No trees lean to the south. It doesn’t make sense.”

Suspecting something was missing from his theory, Ritter contacted his colleague, arborist Dean Nicolle, in Australia to ask which direction Cook pines leaned in. Nicolle responded that the trees lean to the north.

With the new realization that Cook pines in the Northern Hemisphere leaned to the south while ones in the Southern Hemisphere leaned to the north, Ritter began pondering a new theory. Cook pines may all be leaning toward the equator.

To prove this, Ritter and three colleagues, including Nicolle, studied 256 trees from 18 regions across five continents. Through their research, they not only discovered evidence that the equator theory was true but also found that Cook pines further from the equator had more pronounced slants.

Although these results excited Ritter and his team, they still sought to learn the reason for the Cook pine phenomenon.

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Why Do Cook Pines Lean In The Same Direction?

Scientists have come up with several compelling theories

Cook pines in Oro Bay, Isle of Pines, New Caledonia

There are several running theories on why Cook pines lean toward the equator. One hypothesis suggests that explorer James Cook somehow only brought back seeds from leaning trees, creating a genetic bottleneck in which the species’ genetic diversity is limited. More dramatic leaning in locations further from the equator in this theory could indicate that the trees had trouble adapting to their new habitats.

According to another theory, gravity may be the reason why Cook pines lean toward the equator. As most trees first begin to grow, they may lean toward the sun. However, upon reaching full maturity, they continuously grow upright by detecting Earth’s gravity in a process called gravitropism. Scientists believe it is possible that Cook pines don’t have this ability.

A third possible theory involves a magnetic force that produces outcomes similar to the Coriolis effect, in which air currents move in opposite directions in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.

“The mechanisms underlying directional lean of
A. columnaris
may be related to an adaptive tropic response to the incidence angles of annual sunlight, gravity, magnetism, or any combination of these.”

The exact cause of the leaning Cook pines is still unclear, but Ritter and his team plan to continue researching and testing the trees to reveal more answers.

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