Crooked Trees
{{Short description|Mutated trees in Saskatchewan, Canada}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=March 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox tree
| name = Crooked Trees
| image = Twisted aspen tree (Crooked Bush, Saskatchewan, 2008).jpg
| image_caption = Crooked Trees
| image_size = 250px
| map_caption = Location in Saskatchewan
| map = Saskatchewan#Canada
| map_size = 250px
| location = RM of Douglas No. 436, Saskatchewan, Canada
| relief = 1
| species = Aspen
| binomial = Populus tremuloides
| coordinates = {{coord|52.8711|-107.5370|region:CA_type:landmark|display=inline,title|format=dms}}
| height = {{cvt|6|m}}
| diameter =
| volume =
| seeded = 1940s
}}
The Crooked Trees, Crooked Bush, Twisted Trees, or the Crooked Trees of Alticane are a {{convert|3|acre|adj=on}}{{cite web |title=Unique Places to visit in Saskatchewan |url=https://www.todocanada.ca/unusual-places-visit-saskatchewan/ |publisher=To Do Canada |access-date=28 March 2024 |date=21 July 2023}} grove of deformed trembling aspen trees of type Populus tremuloides Michx. found in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. They are approximately {{convert|20|km}} north-northwest of the town of Hafford and just over {{convert|5|km}} south-west of Alticane in the Rural Municipality of Douglas No. 436. The trees are on the southern slopes of the Thickwood Hills{{cite web |title=Thickwood Hills |url=https://toponymes.rncan.gc.ca/search-place-names/unique/HANBU|website=Canadian Geographical Names Database |publisher=Government of Canada |access-date=29 March 2024}} and within the Redberry Lake Biosphere Reserve.
Description
The Crooked Trees, prominent in Saskatchewan folklore, are dramatically different from the un-twisted aspens just across the road. Explanations have been offered which include various paranormal factors. However, cuttings from these trees, propagated in Manitoba, exhibit the same pattern of twisted growth, suggesting that the cause is rooted in genetics, possibly the result of a mutation.{{cite web|url = http://www.saskbiz.ca/communityprofiles/CommunityProfile.Asp?CommunityID=266|title = Community Profiles - Hafford|work = SaskBiz|publisher = Saskatchewan Ministry of the Economy|accessdate = 2008-10-10|url-status = dead|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20120209040430/http://www.saskbiz.ca/communityprofiles/CommunityProfile.Asp?CommunityID=266|archivedate = 2012-02-09}}{{cite web|url=http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~remphre/crooked.shtml |title=Crooked Aspen|last=Remphrey|first=Bill |publisher=University of Manitoba - Extended Education Division |date=2008-05-17 |accessdate=2008-10-10|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160506211205/http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~remphre/crooked.shtml|archivedate=2016-05-06 |url-status=dead }}
The trees' unusual appearance was noticed in the 1940s and has attracted the attention of tourists for decades, but more so since the proliferation of websites and blogs that mention them. A wooden walkway was constructed through the grove to keep visitors from trampling any new growth.{{cite news
|url = http://globalnews.ca/news/1239300/saskatchewan-trees-draw-visitors-from-afar-thanks-to-their-bizarre-appearance/|title = Mysteries of Crooked Bush drawing tourists to Saskatchewan farm|last = Maharaj|first = Shallima|publisher = Global News|date = 2014-03-30|accessdate = 2014-10-06}}
Because the deformity is likely genetic and aspens propagate by root suckers, it is likely that all the crooked trees in the grove are clones that originated from a single mutated tree. The grove is currently bounded on all sides by the grid road and a perimeter access road, so the size of the grove is static and is unlikely to continue spreading.{{cite web |title=The Crooked Bush |url=https://www.tourismsaskatchewan.com/listings/51/the-crooked-bush |website=Tourism Saskatchewan |publisher=Government of Saskatchewan |access-date=28 March 2024}}
The grove can be seen in the Disney true life adventure/fantasy film Perri (1957).{{citation needed|date=August 2018}}
Gallery
File:Crooked Bush Sign.JPG|Sign at the site of the Crooked Trees
File:Crooked Trees 1 (16110700003).jpg
File:Crooked Trees 4 (15321981941).jpg
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{cite thesis |url=https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk3/MWU/TC-MWU-223.pdf |title=An Investigation into Mechanisms of Shoot Bending in a Clone of Populus tremuloides Exhibiting 'Crooked' Architecture |last=Linden |first=Ashely Wade |language=en |date=2005 |publisher=University of Manitoba |place=Winnipeg |format=PDF |accessdate=2018-08-17}}
- [https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/crooked-trees-alticane Twisted Trees]
- [https://www.virtualsk.com/current_issue/crooked_trees.html Crooked Trees]
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Category:Culture of Saskatchewan