20 Examples Of “Crown Shyness”, A Phenomenon Where Trees Don’t Touch

Admire these amazing nature photography shots and see the naturally occurring phenomenon is called “crown shyness” because the highest branches of some tree species don’t like to touch one another. The interesting behavior was first seen in the 1920s, and various hypotheses have been introduced since then in an effort to explain it. Some believe it occurs to decrease the spread of dangerous insects. Others believe that trees are trying to protect one another’s branches from getting cracked and broken in the wind, and it’s also been proposed that “crown shyness” happens so that trees can optimize light exposure to maximize the process of photosynthesis which is done by the tree leaves. Despite these many theories, however, nobody knows for sure why this phenomenon happens, but it helps to remind us of just how beautiful nature can be. Check out the photos below.