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Why is this tree "doing the twist?

What is it? Staples

Explain this Foresters have discovered that the grain of conifer conifer (kŏn`ĭfûr) [Lat.,=cone-bearing], tree or shrub of the order Coniferales, e.g., the pine, monkey-puzzle tree, cypress, and sequoia. Most conifers bear cones and most are evergreens, though a few, such as the larch, are deciduous.  trees in the northern hemisphere tend to twist upward to the right, while trees in the southern hemisphere spiral to the left. Scientists aren't sure why, but they think this protects trees from breaking in the wind. Inn the northern hemisphere, more branches and needles grow on the south side of a tree, where it's sunny. (In the southern hemisphere, more foliage grows on the north side.) Wind tends to blow from the west. In the northern hemisphere, westerly Westerly, town (1990 pop. 21,605), Washington co., extreme SW R.I., between the Pawcatuck River and Block Island Sound; inc. 1669. Its textile industry dates from 1814, and granite has been quarried there since c.1850.  winds hitting branches push trees in a clockwise clock·wise  
adv. & adj. Abbr. cw.
In the same direction as the rotating hands of a clock.


clockwise
Adverb, adj

in the direction in which the hands of a clock rotate
 direction--the same direction as the spiral. That helps keep the trees from snapping in the wind. The same principle applies in the southern hemisphere.

Tease tease (tez) to pull apart gently with fine needles to permit microscopic examination.

tease
v.
 Your Brain

Can you create three squares by moving just four pencils?

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Title Annotation:how conifer trees are shaped by the wind
Publication:Science World
Date:Feb 8, 1999
Words:149
Previous Article:HOLOGRAMS GO FUTURISTIC.(future of animated billboards)
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