These arched stone beams extend from upper exterior walls, transferring the weight of the roof and walls to the ground.
Well, tall tropical trees, such as figs, jackfruit and kapok trees, support themselves in exactly the same way. But instead of stone arches, trees depend on their buttresses — wide, plank-like roots that extend from their bases, like giant fins.
Tree buttresses are thought to provide structural stability, especially for tall emergent trees, whose canopies are exposed to high winds. What’s the evidence for this?
First, root imaging studies document that buttresses distribute the mechanical load of the tree, spreading the forces of wind and weight, which reduces the probability that trees will topple.
Second, in areas of shallow soils, trees with buttresses survive better and grow faster compared to trees without buttresses.
Buttresses have other uses. People have used these thin wooden fins to make drums, war-shields and boats. Chimpanzees drum on them, generating low-frequency sounds for long-distance communication that can be detected half a mile away.
No one knows if trees were the inspiration for Gothic architects to lift the eyes and spirits of their congregants heavenward, but we do know that trees evolved their buttresses first.
