 The Mystery of the H-Tree
The H-Tree in autumn and winter. Photos courtesy of Nature Note reader and friend Judy Heininger-Walsh.
A few years ago I was walking through a woodland with a friend when she mentioned a tree that, with the tree next to it, formed an H. We both took photos and pondered about how it formed. And, as sometimes happens, this curiosity and my photos were buried by more pressing concerns of daily life. Thankfully Judy did not forget the H-Tree as we dubbed it, and recently sent me the answer to the mystery of its formation. Inosculation!
Inosculation is a natural process that occurs when two trees abrade each other enough to rub off the bark and expose the cambium layer of both trees. In response to the wound, each tree produces scar tissue (callus tissue) to cover and protect their cambium layer. Over time the scar tissue of each meets and develops into normal wood tissue with xylem, phloem, and cambium that connects the two trees.
- Xylem transports water up from the roots.
- Phloem transports the food made in the leaves downward.
- Cambium is the growth tissue of the tree that divides in to xylem and phloem.
In this case a branch of one tree abraded the trunk of the other, or a branch from each tree abraded each other... I do not know for sure.
Learn more about Inosculation and other forms when trees grow together:
Thank you Judy! I will be on the lookout to add to my tree alphabet.
And readers, please send your photos of trees you find making amazing shapes through inosculation.
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