In north-western Poland lies the Crooked Forest (Krzyża Las), a protected grove of about 400 Scots pines (Pinus sylvestris) that grow in a way that is not in harmony with nature. The trees were planted around 1930, and have a sharp 90-degree turn at the base of each tree, all of which face directly north, with most of them then turning skyward. Local folklore attributes the shape of the trees to ice storms or the passing of World War II tanks, but researchers at the Griffino Forest District and the University of Pennsylvania point to human intervention as the cause of the trees’ curvature and/or design. A leading theory among scientists is that local foresters systematically manipulated the plants to produce wood with ‘natural curves’ for shipbuilding or furniture. This industrial use of the trees was probably abandoned when the Nazis invaded Poland in 1939; However, leaving this ‘J-shaped’ mystery behind.
Why has nature been denied for these 400 trees?
According to the Griffino Forest District, natural forces such as wind or soil sliding will cause chaotic and irregular bends in different directions and not all trees will bend in the same direction. The complete uniformity of this northward direction in the 0.3-hectare grove points to deliberate mechanical intervention rather than random environmental factors, meaning that systematic mechanical intervention has occurred throughout the 0.3-hectare grove.According to an analysis by the Center for Russian and East European Studies (REES) at the University of Pennsylvania, the characteristic ‘J’ shape of the trees indicates that they were being pressed down by either man-made stakes or weights over many years while growing horizontally to 1–3 meters tall before turning back towards the sky.
Why was the mystery of the crooked forest lost?
According to the prevailing scientific hypothesis, these trees were created through the use of turned wood techniques for use as part of an industrial system rather than as a result of nature.Before the development of synthetic materials and products, foresters manipulated trees to give them a predetermined curvature as they reached maturity (i.e. size). This ‘bentwood’ wood had extreme structural integrity for the manufacture of ship’s ribs, runners for sleds, barrels and curved furniture such as rocking chairs.A historical spotlight published by the University of Pennsylvania regarding this area of the forest indicates that as a result of the invasion of Poland in 1939, the project was likely abandoned. When the local population of Griffino was displaced or killed during World War II, the specific knowledge and tools used to shape this grove disappeared with them.
Why didn’t nature and war shape the crooked forest?
A popular urban legend states that World War II tanks tore down young saplings during the battle, but the Griffino Forest District indicates that no evidence of traumatic bark marks exists and there is no sign of mechanical damage to the trees, leading one to believe that tanks broke the trunks of the trees. Additionally, the tanks would not have left 400 trees alive and all would fall to the north.As far as the snow theory is concerned, while heavy snow can ‘bend’ young trees, it usually results in a ‘corkscrew’ or chaotic pattern. It cannot account for an entire grove of trees uniformly inclined at 90 degrees from top to bottom, consistent with natural phenomena, and cannot simultaneously account for an entire grove reaching the same developmental milestone (7–10 years) to produce such synchronous curvature.
biology of survival, gravitropism
Scientists study how these Scots pines use gravity. During periods of physical repression, they produced ‘compression wood’ on the bottom of their trunks, reorienting themselves vertically through phototropism after each restraint was removed or decayed.The entire grove is now protected as a natural monument, and the Griffino Forest District has initiated a reforestation program to re-establish a ‘new’ Crooked Forest in an area adjacent to the original Crooked Forest to continue studying this phenomenon.