While hiking around in the woods of Ponderosa pines, I notice that trees can look perfectly symmetrical or have curious shapes. Some examples of curious are odd growths, bent like an arc, twisted bark, or trees fused together. A tree that has developed a rounded outgrowth is called a burl. This can be created by an injury (lightning), virus, or fungus, which causes the grain to grow in a deformed manner. A tree that has developed a burl can still be healthy and go on to live for many years. Others trees that devlop a burl which is large and heavy, create additional stress on the tree and can kill it. A krummolz is German for crooked, bent or twisted wood. This happens while a tree grows at high elevations, exposed to freezing temperatures, where conditions can be pretty harsh with strong winds. As the tree grows, in order to survive, it becomes twisted or bent in its attempt to combat these temperatures or winds. The direction, speed, or wind pattern can be cause in how a tree develops. The types of trees that generally do this are conifers such as fir, pine, or spruce. Inosculation is when trees grow together. Initially they grow separately until they touch, then bark is worn away as the tree is moved by the wind, once certain layers touch, they self-graft and grow together. Ponderosa pines are very resilient trees. These pictues are a few examples of some odd and funky looking trees.