BobSmith - Dec 24, 2011 10:28 pm - Voted 10/10
Another one...from my youth. Not far from where I went to high school.
Normally, I'd say this was what's known as a "walking tree". That is, grown up from a nursery log which has since rotted away, leaving the tree "walking" in air when in fact it's just straddling the space once occupied by its rotted-away nursery log.
In this case, though, some other process entirely seems to be at work. I'll have to show this photo to some of my Phd pals at the Native Tree Society.
Sarah Simon - Dec 24, 2011 10:56 pm - Hasn't voted
Re: Another one...Bob,
Are you serious that you remember this exact tree? Whoa!
Do tell me what your NTS buddies have to say about this. I like the Walking Tree explanation, but I agree it looks like something strange was going on here.
Very cool stuff!
Sarah
BobSmith - Dec 25, 2011 8:40 am - Voted 10/10
Re: Another one...No. I don't recall the tree. But I do remember Poor Mountain from my youth. It's another one that I don't think I've hiked on since I was maybe seventeen or eighteen years old. We're talking 36 years ago.
Sarah Simon - Dec 25, 2011 7:22 pm - Hasn't voted
Re: Another one...Thanks, Bob. I posted your "variation of the walking tree" information to the details for this photo and its companion photo!
Sarah
BobSmith - Dec 25, 2011 7:27 pm - Voted 10/10
Re: Another one...And here's the latest, and to me the most obvious answer to the question of the tree's strange appearance. It's from Steve Galehouse at the Native Tree Society:
"I don't think it started on a nurse log or stump, since the column of the trunk is intact on both the left and right sides. I think the tree had a trauma that led to heart rot of a portion of the trunk, without losing the bark associated with that area. Roots eventually began to form from the wood above the damaged area beneath the bark no longer attached to live wood. Eventually the loose bark sloughed away, revealing the "adventitious" roots in the center."
BobSmith - Dec 25, 2011 11:51 pm - Voted 10/10
Re: Another one...And one more explanation. This one from Jess Riddle, a man who can best be described as a tree expert's tree expert:
"Looks to me like the tree was a twin, and the roots grew into the rot associated with the tightly appressed trunks."
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