Tree with a twist

Any idea what might cause this type of bark development? I think this is an apple tree of some sort, but not really sure. It looks to be about 15-20' tall, and grows on a small residential lot in what I would describe as being moderately protected site. I think its rather striking and was wondering if there is some way to promote this type of development, or is this just a genetic fluke. I've seen other trees (Norway Maple comes to mind) where the bark has a noticeable twist, but nothing close to this look.

Foliage pic

It seems trees in the Rosaceae have some proclivity for this, though your foliage pic is a bit too unclear to discern exactly what you've got. And, no, I don't know why this occurs but I bet Guy does. It probably has something to do with how the xylem/phloem develop.

I've seen old crabapples around with some twist to them, and certainly a number of hawthorns. A friend up in Louisville has planted Crataegus spathulata, which has quite a bit of twist happening as a young plant.

Don't let any woodcarvers near that tree; it'll be a mantle or a bowl before your back is "turned".

Look at the twist on this trunk. It is the "St. John Cathedral Oak" in Lafayette, Louisiana, and it is one of the vice-president's of the Live Oak Society.

Live Oaks are just incredible trees. I'm somewhat ashamed to say I've never been to the deep south to see one up close and personal. How far north do they range? I've got several hundred Northern Pin Oak I'd be happy to part with in exchange for a specimen like that. I'm more impressed with spread than height (being 5'6" might have something to do with that), and the only other tree I can think of that would rival LO would be Bur Oak. Oddly enough, in the 2006-2007 listing of The National Register of Big Trees, Q. coccinea (Middlesboro, KY) has the greatest spread of any tree listed (179'). The champion Q. virginiana (Lewisburg, LA) is only 55' tall, but has a spread of 132'.

It's fairly common in very old trees - the older they get, the more spiral the wood grain tends to get. Don't know why it happens, but it occurs in a wide range of species - I've seen it in pines, junipers, chestnuts, and many more, so it isn't restricted to any particular family.

Resin

Your tree has more the look of a pear or hawthorn than an apple, to me. Anyway, I don't know why it happens either, but perhaps it's related to the helixical phyllotaxis of the original young twig. I agree that it seems to be a reliable indicator of age on many species. However, conversely, lack of twist is not a reliable indicator of youth. Go figure!

Guy S.

Crataegus crusgalli 'Chubby Checker' it is then.

Harkening back into the dusty memory bank...there are more than a few Catalpa around that have that character, too.

Now I wish I had knocked on the door and asked how old this tree is. As a northerner dressed in shorts and sandals in a small southern mountain town, I thought the better of it. Is that banjo music I hear?

As long as you weren't wearing the Cheddar Wedge hat and leading with something like Leinenkügel's, you were probably OK.

And, maybe if you just used sign language so's they didn't catch your accent...then you'd notice it when the pig started squealing.

Have a look at this contorted/serpentine black walnut

And here's a closer shot.

So no one has an answer to this incredibly important and thought provoking question? Personally, I was initially thinking it had to do with helixical phyllotaxis, as Guy alluded to. Then I realized that I know more about String Theory than I do about helixical phyllotaxis. I guess I have no choice at this critical juncture except to take this inquiry over to GW, where I'm sure RonBBoy will satisfy my curiosity. :)

As long as you use current ICBN taxonomic terminology correctly spelled, or if it's in Jacobson.

Oh, please -- I just ate dinner. Don't take that left turn!

But if you do, try to track down a couple more of our old favorites like Saccharum TreeDoc, and drag them back here by the hair!

Guy S.

Actually, 'pinetree30' (Ron Lanner) is the person you want for this one - he'd give you chapter and verse on the subject (and likely say that much less is known about it than we might think we like to know!)

Resin

Could it have been caused by a vine growing around it at a younger age that was removed?

Maackia.........where might this small southern mountain town be? I've been known to drive thru these "quant" little towns just looking for oddities!!!!!

conifer50

I found this one in Bryson City, NC. Its just off main street downtown--look for a big red barn-like structure. Have you been to Bryson City?

BTW, this is what Ron Lanner had to say about it:

RE: One for Pinetree30
Posted by: pinetree30 Sierra Westside (My Page) on Thu, Jun 1, 06 at 23:21

I think this is a tree (hawthorn or ?) that has three things going on. First, it is highly sectorial in its architecture. In other words there is a strong identity of sectors, each made up of a root, a stem sector, and the branches coming out of that stem sector. The tree is, in effect, a composite of sectors each of which has its own vascular pathway.
Second, it has a strongly spiralled grain. Thus beneath the bark, the wood elements are spirally oriented and sap flow within a sector is spiral. Third, each sector is growing in diameter a little bit faster in its middle than on its edges where it butts up against neighboring sectors. This gives it the rope-like effect.
I am willing to bet that you can reach up to a small branch and trace it downward as a swelling all the way to the lower trunk.

OK, it's curmudgeon time. First, I hope one of our Kentucky participants will go re-measure that tree and set the record straight. It might be the sum of the two required measurements of the crown, but I will bet two donuts it's not the true crown spread. Go out into your front yard and pace off 170 feet -- when you finish and find yourself three houses down the block, you'll agree that no scarlet oak would have such a spread. For comparison, the largest oaks of any species I've seen anywhere in the world have not been broader than about 150 feet.

Regarding Ron's comments, there's nothing there that we didn't already know. Many trees display sectorial development, with or without straight grain. The original question was what causes helical (not really spiral) grain, and that question remains unanswered. Note: a true spiral, sensu stricto, develops in a plain, like a nebula; a helix develops vertically, like threads of a screw. Twisty trees more precisely fit the latter pattern, albeit with slight taper. (Of course, anyone familiar with American football might say that "spiral" has been expanded by common usage to include nearly any rotating pattern, even a wobbly one thrown by a quarterback from that disgusting place, Notre Dame!)

Guy S.

Maackia........thanks for enlightening me on your recent "whereabouts".
I think of that area as part of my "extended backyard" and frequent that area routinely.........My first encounter with Larix decidua was on a city street on west side of the river.......also some nice specimens of Carolina Hemlocks at an older residence on the east side of the north/south oriented "main" street.

conifer50