On my walk down a street in Kirkwood, MO, I approached this tree (or maybe trees) intertwined. It appears the branches have grown into and around each other. How do you think this happened? It looks like a pretzel tree! As your children or students what they think, and then scroll below the photos for more information. Look for other examples of inosculation on your journeys.

“This phenomenon is known as inosculation, which occurs when two individual trees growing in close proximity become morphologically joined. It’s important to note that inosculation is different from grafting in that it is a naturally occurring phenomenon.  In contrast, grafting is a horticultural technique used to cultivate a variety of plants, including fruit and ornamental trees. ” Click here to read the entire article.