© Shutterstock

Visually stunning -

The crowns form a canopy with channel-like gaps similar to natural fractals.

© Shutterstock

A mystery - Crown shyness was first documented in scientific literature in the 1920s, but since then researchers have still not been able to reach a consensus about what causes it. 

© Shutterstock

Competing theories - That's not to say that there aren't theories however. Just that none of them have been 100% proven without a shadow of a doubt.

© Shutterstock

Striking appearance - The organization and synchronization makes crown shyness such an awe-inspiring phenomenon.

© Shutterstock

Not all trees are shy - The effect usually occurs between trees of the same species, but it's also been observed between trees of different species.

© Shutterstock

Adaptive behavior theories - Australian forester M.R. Jacobs wrote in his 1955 book 'Growth Habits of the Eucalypts' that the growing tips of the trees are sensitive to abrasion, which he believed resulted in the canopy gaps, or crown shyness.

© Shutterstock

Adaptive behavior theories - In 1986, this theory was also supported by Dr Miguel Franco, who noticed that when the branches of Sitka spruce and Larix kaempferi trees suffered physical damage from abrasion, the leading branches died, stunting their growth.

© Shutterstock

"Reciprocal pruning" - Many scientists supported the belief that physical contact between the branches, caused by strong winds, are what made the trees shrink away from each other.

© Shutterstock

They can put themselves out there with some help - Some experiments have shown that if you stop trees which display crown shyness from swaying and colliding with each other, they actually grow into the gaps between them.

© Shutterstock

There are many more theories - Other scientists have suggested that crown shyness is a way to stop leaf-eating insects from spreading. 

© Shutterstock

Targeted timidity - Many leaf-munching pests can work together and create small structures to get them from the branch of one tree to another, so gaps may be trees' natural defense mechanism.

© Shutterstock

Contrary to the adaptive behavior theory - Malaysian scholar Francis S.P. Ng studied crown shyness in Dryobalanops aromatica trees in 1977, but found no traces of abrasion. That means it was something else causing their unique growth patterns.

© Shutterstock

Shy and sensitive - Instead, Ng suggested that the trees' growing tips were sensitive to light levels and stopped growing when they got too close to other trees.

© Shutterstock

Detecting red light - Science has backed this up as plants are proven to be able to sense how close they are to other plants by detecting far-red light frequency.

© Shutterstock

Shying away from stimulus - Far-red light detection allows plants to compete with their neighbors over sunlight. When detected, many species of plants respond by directing growth away from the stimulus.

© Shutterstock

Avoiding shade - In a similar fashion, blue light is used by plants to induce their shade-avoidance response, which also plays a role in staying away from their neighbors. 

© Shutterstock

Or it could be something else entirely - One nature guide explains that the leaves of the Borneo camphor tree, prone to crown shyness, release ethanol to stop other trees from growing too close.

© Shutterstock

Allelopathy - In botany, allelopathy is any effect, positive or negative, that one plant transmits to another through different chemical compounds. It's essentially a way for plants to communicate with each other using chemical signals.

© Shutterstock

What to make of all the theories? - Some conclude that the variety of hypotheses and experimental results suggest that there are multiple mechanisms working across different species to create the phenomenon, which is an example of convergent evolution.

© Shutterstock

A breathtaking wonder - The mystery is almost satisfying because these images, which look like paintings, can only confirm the truly incomprehensible power of mother nature.

© Shutterstock

Not just visually beneficial - Crown shyness allows more light (and consequently more efficient photosynthesis) into the forest, and it also helps trees avoids damage, prevent disease, and ward off pests.

© Shutterstock

It looks almost like a map - Or like neuron pathways. Nature is all connected! 

© Shutterstock

Highly relatable - You know when you don’t want anyone to enter your personal bubble? These trees get it.

© Shutterstock

Plants are way smarter than we think -

They’re highly sophisticated, collaborative, and they have feelings too.

Check out some tips and tricks to care for your intelligent indoor plants.

© Shutterstock