News Plants

Leonardo da Vinci’s rule for how trees branch was close, but wrong

It’s the surface area, not the thickness, of a limb that determines how it branches

southern live oak

The branching structure of virtually every leafy tree — such as this southern live oak in Charleston, S.C., dubbed the Angel Oak — is dictated by the surface area of its limbs, a new study finds.

Michael Ver Sprill/iStock/Getty Images Plus

By James R. Riordon

- More than 2 years ago

Leonardo da Vinci was wrong about trees.