Why does an oak grow more crooked than a birch?

Answer

Dear Jacob,

An interesting question! The tree species that exist have all developed a growth habit through evolution that is good for their location. But there is still room for different options within a Flemish forest. A birch has the ‘positive’ side that it grows upwards very quickly (and therefore fairly straight) by making less heavy branches and less dense wood. This is useful for quickly capturing an open space in a forest. But birches don’t get that old, because the tree isn’t really strong. An oak grows slower and makes very strong wood, with heavy branches, and the trunk then follows the direction of the branches, and can also have a slightly different growth direction every year. A large oak will not immediately grow on a new clearing, but in the end the oak will live longer and that is just as useful.