Trees use a "muscle", tension wood, to correct their posture
Recorded: Sept. 9, 2026, 3 a.m.
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Trees use a 'muscle' to correct their posture—a newly discovered role for tension wood Topics Week's top Latest news Unread news Subscribe Science X Account Sign In Sign in with Forget Password? Not a member? Learn more Nanotechnology Physics Astronomy & Space Earth Chemistry Biology Other Sciences Medicine Technology share this! Share Tweet Share Home Biology Plants & Animals Home Biology Agriculture September 2, 2026 Trees use a 'muscle' to correct their posture—a newly discovered role for tension wood by INRAE edited by Editors' notes This article has been reviewed according to Science X's fact-checked peer-reviewed publication trusted source proofread The GIST Add as preferred source Forest in Alps. Credit: INRAE—Hervé Cochard A research team from INRAE and the University Clermont Auvergne has shown that trees are capable of correcting a curvature they detect in their stems through a specific biological process. In the study, young trees with bent stems were placed in an experimental set-up that prevented them from sensing their orientation relative to light and gravity. The only sense remaining to the trees was the perception of their own curvature. Under these conditions, the scientists observed the formation of a particular type of wood, known as tension wood, which acts like a muscle to correct the curvature of the stem, allowing it to realign within a few weeks. Published in New Phytologist, the findings show how plants—under natural conditions—finely perceive their own shape and combine this information with signals relating to their orientation to adjust their posture. This ability plays an important role in their resilience when faced with extreme events such as storms or landslides. Clinostat : specially designed experimental set-up to study trees' proprioception. Credit: INRAE—Bruno Moulia Tension wood: A 'muscle' that can both bend and straighten plants Discover the latest in science, tech, and space with over 100,000 subscribers who rely on Phys.org for daily insights. Subscribe These results show that plants combine fine perceptions of their environment (such as light and gravity) with an awareness of their own shape. They integrate and process this information to activate tension wood in different directions, thereby achieving or maintaining the most appropriate posture. These key abilities contribute to the resilience of trees when faced with extreme events that can alter their position, such as storms or landslides, a trait of particular importance in the context of climate change. Publication details Journal information: Key concepts Provided by Who's behind this story? Gaby Clark MA in English, copy editor since 2021 with experience in higher education and health content. Dedicated to trustworthy science news. Robert Egan Bachelor's in mathematical biology, Master's in creative writing. Well-traveled with unique perspectives on science and language. Citation: This document is subject to copyright. 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A research team from INRAE and the University Clermont Auvergne investigated how trees correct their posture by uncovering the role of tension wood, which functions analogously to a muscle. The study demonstrated that plants possess proprioception, the ability to sense the position of their body parts, which allows them to perceive their own shape in response to environmental cues such as light and gravity. To isolate this innate sense, the scientists placed young poplar trees in a specialized experimental environment designed to eliminate external sensory inputs like gravity and light direction, leaving only the perception of their own curvature as the primary reference. Under these controlled conditions, the plants exhibited a mechanism whereby they could modulate their shape based on proprioception. When placed in a horizontal position, the trees curved upward, a movement driven by the formation of tension wood. This tissue acted as a muscular element, exerting pulling forces on the upper side of the stem to facilitate this upward bending. After achieving a sufficient degree of curvature, the experimenters transferred the trees to the sensing device. During this phase, the stems gradually straightened and returned to a rectilinear shape due to the formation of wood on the opposite side, which functioned as an antagonistic muscle. This opposing tissue generated pulling forces in the reverse direction, progressively restoring the stem to its straight form. The text details that the formation of tension wood is a complex biological process regulated at the cellular level and governed by the plant's proprioception. Prior understanding suggested that this wood formed only on the top side of a stem, causing upward curvature. However, this research reveals that tension wood can perform antagonistic roles, mirroring the function of muscles in animals that maintain posture and enable movement. The successful straightening demonstrated that plants integrate fine environmental perceptions, such as light and gravity, with their awareness of their own shape to activate tension wood in different directions, thereby achieving or maintaining an appropriate posture. These findings suggest that trees utilize a genuine sensorimotor loop within their woody parts to manage postural control. The coordination of successive activation of tension wood is crucial, as poor coordination can lead to excessive internal tension that negatively affects wood quality. This inherent ability to sense position and correct curvature is vital for the resilience of trees when confronting extreme environmental events like storms or landslides, a trait of increasing importance in the context of climate change. Furthermore, these discoveries open potential avenues for applied research, including the selection of cultivated plants based on their proprioceptive capabilities, aiming to promote straight and relaxed growth necessary to combat issues such as lodging in cereal crops. Researchers emphasize that achieving this understanding required an interdisciplinary approach combining knowledge from various fields. |