Malaysian scholar Francis S.P. Ng studied crown shyness in Dryobalanops aromatica trees in 1977, but found no traces of abrasion. That means it was something else causing their unique growth patterns.

But Putz's team published research in 1984 showing that in some cases, crown shyness may simply be the product of a battle between windblown trees, each racing to sprout new branches and parry ...