The Crooked Trees, Crooked Bush, Twisted Trees, or the Crooked Trees of Alticane are a grove of deformed
trembling aspen trees of type ''
Populus tremuloides
''Populus tremuloides'' is a deciduous tree native to cooler areas of North America, one of several species referred to by the common name aspen. It is commonly called quaking aspen, trembling aspen, American aspen, mountain or golden aspen, tr ...
Michx.'' found in the
Canadian province of
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dak ...
. They are approximately north-northwest of the town of
Hafford
Hafford is a town in the RM of Redberry, Saskatchewan, Canada, consisting of 414 residents at the 2021 Canadian census. It is located near Redberry Lake, which consists of only salt water.
History
The first overseer was T.G. Bavin for the ...
and just over south-west of
Alticane in the
Rural Municipality of Douglas No. 436. The trees are on the southern slopes of the Thickwood Hills and within the
Redberry Lake Biosphere Reserve
The Redberry Lake Biosphere Region was established in 2000 as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve covering in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada. In 2019, the reserve expanded to become a region including the Redberry Lake watershed and surrounding ...
.
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
Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Not ...
factors. However,
cuttings from these trees, propagated in Manitoba, exhibit the same pattern of twisted growth, suggesting that the cause is rooted in
genetics
Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinian friar wor ...
, possibly the result of a
mutation
In biology, a mutation is an alteration in the nucleic acid sequence of the genome of an organism, virus, or extrachromosomal DNA. Viral genomes contain either DNA or RNA. Mutations result from errors during DNA replication, DNA or viral repl ...
.
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.
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.
The grove can be seen in the Disney true life adventure/fantasy film ''
Perri'' (1957).
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
*
List of individual trees
*
Tourism in Saskatchewan There are numerous heritages and cultural attractions in the province of Saskatchewan. Museums, dinosaur digs, aboriginal cultural and heritage sites, art galleries, professional sport venues, spas, handcraft, antique and tea shops, agricultural t ...
References
External links
*
Twisted Trees
{{Authority control
Canadian folklore
Culture of Saskatchewan
Douglas No. 436, Saskatchewan
Division No. 16, Saskatchewan