David Rance wrote:
In message , Nick Maclaren
writes
While out for a drive on Sunday in the beautiful Norman countryside we
came across an unusual oak quite close to the town of Bagnoles de
l'Orne. At about head height the main trunk splits into six and is known
as the Chęne des Six Frčres. Struck by the strangeness of this
phenomenon we wondered whether it was a freak of nature or whether it
had been persuaded to grow in this way for some reason. ...
Can anyone tell me how it's possible to persuade an oak to divide its
main trunk in this way? It is certainly an arresting sight. Also are
there any similar examples in the UK? Third question: why do people do
it?
Thanks, Nick and Sacha, for your replies. I don't think that it's
pollarding and the theory of cutting off the leader to provide
side-shoots had also occurred to us. But there does seem to be more to
it than that. The six branches don't grow out at an angle which is what
you would normally expect when the leader is damaged in some way, they
grow straight up rather like the columns of a classical temple.
Some years ago I had the pleasure of producing illustrations for English
Nature's _Veteran Trees: a guide to good management_. The list of
veteran tree types includes 'bundle planting', trees grown from two or
more seedlings/plants (often, but not always, the same spp) grown in
very close proximity. What you describe could have developed from a
bundle of six -- apparently the trunks become semi-fused and it may be
very difficult indeed to work out precisely how many trees were in the
group to start with.
"Reasons for planting bundles are not always known, but broadly speaking
three main types can probably be distinguished:
+ a naturally occurring bundle, the result of an accident of seed fall
or an animal burying a cache of seeds that then germinate.
+ a forester planting trees who slips several in a hole together to
finish the task quicker [sic]
+ the result of a planned decision to create a bundle or multi-stemmed
tree. This can be for several reasons, for example:
- for landscape purposes, often in designed landscapes to create a wide
spreading crown more quickly. For example it was recommended by Evelyn
in the 17th century and is a technique known to landscapers.
- for agricultural purposes. In some wood-apstrues a few bundles can be
found. This may of course be accidental but it has been suggested that
they might have been deliberately managed to confer distinct benefits,
eg produce seed (when all the other trees around them were pollarded
regularly and did not)."
I'd add the obvious one that EN missed: a commemorative planting.
regards
sarah
--
Think of it as evolution in action.
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