Nature and Nurture
Would you believe that these trees belong to the same species? Both are Jeffrey pines (Pinus jeffreyi), but they have been exposed to dramatically different environmental pressures. Jeffrey pines typically reach 80 to 130 feet. The tree on the left appears to be growing in fertile soil in a thriving forest, whereas the one on the right has virtually sprung from a slab of rock on an 8,122-foot peak in Yosemite National Park (St. John, 2003, August 19). A testament to the power of nurture.

Left: Kent and Donna Dannen/Science Source; right: Bob Gibbons/Science Source