MORPHOLOGY AND ARCHITECTURE OF TWISTED BE ECHES (FAGUS-SYLVATICA VAR TORTUOSA) IN VERZY

Growth is analysed both in ordinary and twisted beeches located in Ver zy near Reims, France. Most variables of annual and multiannual growth are the same in the two types of trees. Stems in the twisted tree are markedly sinuous from the moment they begin to develop and remain so, whereas in the ordinary tree the sinuosities are attenuated and then the stems are straightened, right from the first years of development. In the ordinary tree, the straightening of the stems is regulated at the level of the ramified branches and the crown; this regulation esta blishes a strict hierarchy among the stems according to the order of t he stems in the ramification. However, in the twisted beech, this regu lation is absent and consequently sinuous stems are riot straightened, lateral stems stand up, and reiterations start. Therefore, the frame of the ordinary tree is simple and only composed of one morphogenetic sequence before metamorphosis whereas frame development in the twisted tree consists of several sequences.