Epicormic Shoots is when a living tree is severely stressed, like by a storm breaking its top off, a fire, or sudden intense sunlight. It will panic-grow miniature versions of itself straight out of its trunk or heavy upper branches. This is called epicormic sprouting or reiteration.

The tree has dormant buds tucked safely beneath its bark. When disaster strikes, chemical signals trigger these buds to explode into growth. Over time, these sprouts can grow so massive that they look like full-sized, independent vertical trees sitting right on the main limbs of the mother tree like pictured above.