00:00we often think of forest as predictable places leaves that catch the sunlight roots
00:05drink from the soils and branches grow outward in perfect orderly pattern but if you look closely
00:12enough into the treetops you will find that nature sometime break its own rules next time
00:18you take a walk through the woods look up into the highest branches scattered throughout the canopy
00:23you might notice something that looks like an old abandoned bird's nest it is a tense messy ball
00:30of tangled twigs wedge tightly into the tree your first instinct is to think a bird built it to
00:37protect its egg but look a little closer and you will find that no animal ever touches this strange
00:44structure is entirely grown by the tree itself it is a botanical mystery known as which is broom so
00:51how does a tree end up growing a broom it's all comes down to a glitch in its biology normally
00:58a
00:58tree branches grow outward in an organized beautiful pattern but sometimes that regular growth gets
01:05completely disrupted instead of a long straight branch dozens or even hundreds of tiny shoots
01:11suddenly sprout out from a single point all at once they crowd together creating a thick bushy clump
01:18that looks like the bristles of an old broom so what causes this suddenly cellular chaos the culprits
01:25are usually tiny invisible invaders fungi are the most common troublemakers they infect the hood and
01:32literally hijack the tree's growth hormones for example a specific fungus called teraphena bitulina who
01:40loves to target purge trees creating massive spectacular broom but it is not just fungi
01:47viruses bacteria tiny mites and even parasitic plants like dew of mistletoe can mess up with the
01:55tree's internal coding sometimes it is just a simple random genetic mutation even though these massive
02:03wooden knots look scary and traumatic they are not always a death sentence for the tree many which is
02:10broom stay small and completely harmless for the decades however when they are caused by aggressive
02:17parasites they can start draining the tree's energy weakening branches and stunting its overall growth
02:24but humans have actually find a brilliant use for these bizarre growth plant experts called
02:30horticulturists often take cutting from these ultra dense clusters because the wood has been programmed
02:36to grow short and thick these cuttings can be used to breed beautiful miniature devolved trees
02:43those small decorative evergreens you see in the backyard gardens many of them actually started their
02:50ancestry as a glitch high up in a wild forest canopy so the next time you spot a dark tangled
02:57mess
02:58high up in the green branches do not just assume it is a home for the chicks or eggs take
03:04a moment to
03:04appreciate what you are actually looking at it is not a nest at all it is one of the nature's
03:10most fascinating
03:11living accidents it is a reminder that even in the quietest forest nature is full of secrets surprises
03:19and brilliant accidents you just have to remember to look up
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