Inosculation

Inosculation is a natural phenomenon in which trunks, branches or roots of two trees grow together in a manner biologically similar to the artificial process of grafting.

The term inosculation is also used in the context of plastic surgery, as one of the three mechanisms by which skin grafts take at the host site.

Blood vessels from the recipient site are believed to connect with those of the graft in order to restore vascularity.

There may be a degree of religious intent, as some cults are organized around beliefs that trees contain a hidden or sacred power to cure or to enhance fertility, or that they contain the souls of ancestors or of the unborn.

At Doonholm near Ayr an ancient sycamore maple (Acer pseudoplatanus) was famous for the multiple fusion of its boughs that gave it a unique appearance and greatly strengthened it.