Ron Clark, Fish Hoek
The Cape Arboriculture Association, which is an informal group of arborists in the Western Cape, noted with interest the article, “No risk of ‘Leany’ falling over,” dated January 20.
Some of the more knowledgeable members on the group commented that Leany is not a Norfolk Island pine but a Cook’s pine (Araucaria columnaris) endemic to New Caledonia.
A simple comparison with the trees within Fish Hoek Primary shows it is different to the Norfolk Island pine.
The most interesting phenomenon about Cook’s pine is that the lean is not a risk factor but actually a characteristic feature of the species.
More interesting is the fact that a 2017 study found that all these trees lean towards the equator. So trees in the northern hemisphere lean towards the south and in the southern hemisphere to the north, and researchers are not sure why, but it’s not related to wind direction.
There are a number of Cook’s pine trees in Fish Hoek, and they all lean in the same direction. Most notably the multi-stemmed one opposite The Calders Hotel at the entrance to the beach but also near 10th Avenue circle in Recreation Road.
