Salt pruning is the process by which saline mists generated by

seawater Seawater, or sea water, is water from a sea or ocean. On average, seawater in the world's oceans has a salinity of about 3.5% (35 g/L, 35 ppt, 600 mM). This means that every kilogram (roughly one liter by volume) of seawater has approximat ...

are driven ashore by winds and thus over time alter the shape of trees or shrubs. The process degrades foliage and branches on the windward side of the plant that faces the body of saline water, more than it does the foliage on the landward side. The resultant growth form is asymmetrical, appearing "swept back" away from the ocean.

Examples

There are numerous examples worldwide of this phenomenon, though it usually appears on coasts near saline water. In the eastern

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

, occurrences of salt-pruned ''

Quercus stellata ''Quercus stellata'', the post oak or iron oak, is a North American species of oak in the white oak section. It is a slow-growing oak that lives in dry areas on the edges of fields, tops of ridges, and also grows in poor soils, and is resistan ...

'' are observable in Flax Marsh. In

San Diego County San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwest corner of the U.S. state of California, north to its border with Mexico. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634; it is the second-most populous ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, a colony of '' Pinus torreyana'' has been salt-pruned by spray from the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

. The logo of

Torrey Pines Golf Course Torrey Pines Golf Course is a 36-hole municipal golf facility in University City, a community of San Diego, California. The course sits on the coastal cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean, just south of Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve. Opened ...

La Jolla, California La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood in San Diego, California, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781. The climate is mild, with an average daily temperature o ...

, features a salt-pruned Torrey pine. In the case of

Fire Island Fire Island is the large center island of the outer barrier islands parallel to the South Shore of Long Island in the U.S. state of New York. In 2012, Hurricane Sandy once again divided Fire Island into two islands. Together, these two isl ...

's Sunken Forest, the saline mists prevent new oak shoots from growing above the impacted area. These oaks grow "pruned" by the wind with bundles of bushes and stems at the top to keep it top-heavy. They also grow much shorter than regular oaks due to the salt keeping them below or around the height of the hill.

History

The first known record of salt pruning was in 1805, though it was called a "storm of salt" by British botanist

Richard Anthony Salisbury Richard Anthony Salisbury (born Richard Anthony Markham; 2 May 1761 – 23 March 1829) was a British botanist. While he carried out valuable work in horticultural and botanical sciences, several bitter disputes caused him to be ostracised by hi ...

. Much later, Bertram Whittier Wells discovered a similar effect at Cape Fear, though he described the oak tree's bent form to be the "Salt Spray Climax." Later research done in Cape Fear by Stephen G. Boyce between the years 1951-52 found the oaks were not experiencing necrosis due to the abrasion from the salt content and pressure, but instead had grown accustomed to it. The plant life in the Cape Cod area showed similar salt pruning. While the leaves did not experience necrosis, they did appear to curl in on themselves.

References

Additional sources

* {{cite web , url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-135358970.html , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160125104914/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-135358970.html , url-status=dead , archive-date=January 25, 2016 , title=Salt, storms stimulate trees and vegetation , publisher=Northwest Florida Daily News , date=August 22, 2005 , access-date=August 2, 2012 , author=Brooks, Robbyn Physiological plant disorders

Examples

History

See also

References

Additional sources