Branches Survive Intense Wind

Biological Strategy

Live oak

AskNature Team

Image: Kristen Bobo / Flickr / Some rights reserved

Protect From Wind

Wind subjects living systems to various forces, such as compression, twisting, turbulence, and tension. These forces put living systems at risk of losing the ability to perform life-essential functions, such as when a plant becomes uprooted. Wind can result from weather phenomena or rapid movement through the air, as when flying. Wind is typically not a constant or predictable force, so living systems must be able to function both with and without its presence by adjusting to its direction and speed. A good example is how plants’ leaves and stems are flexible so that they can align with the wind, rather than being battered by it.

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Flowering Plants

Clade Angiosperms (“receptacle seed”): Dandelions, oaks, grasses, cacti, apples

With 416 families containing some 300,000 known species, angiosperms are the most diverse group of plants, and they can be found around the globe in a wide variety of habitats. They are characterized by seeds that grow enclosed in ovaries, which are enclosed in flowers. The floral organs then develop into fruits of myriad kinds and dimensions, from simple seed casings on maples to elaborate fleshy growths like papayas. The oldest flower known from fossils, Montsechia vidalii, appeared during the Jurassic Period 130 million years ago. They are the primary food source for herbivorous animals, which in turn makes them the indirect food source for carnivores as well.

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Live oaks survive strong winds because of high wood strength and a low canopy that branches out in multiple subdivisions without a main axis.

Image: slp1 / Wikimedia commons /

Live oaks at Wormsloe

Image: Larry D. Moore / Wikipedia /

Large live oak, called the Big Tree, found in Goose Island State Park in Rockport, Texas. The Big Tree is estimated to be over 1000 years old and has a trunk circumference over 35 feet.

“The resistance of live oak has been related to the low deliquescent canopy and high wood strength and resilience … The crowns of the larger live oaks were level with or below crowns of associated laurel and water oaks.” (Gresham 1991:425)