Salt pruning is the process by which saline mists generated by seawater

Seawater

Seawater is water from a sea or ocean. On average, seawater in the world's oceans has a salinity of about 3.5% . This means that every kilogram of seawater has approximately of dissolved salts . The average density of seawater at the ocean surface is 1.025 g/ml...

 are driven ashore by winds to alter the shape of trees or shrubs over considerable times throughout the growth cycle of the affected plant. The process of salt pruning selectively degrades foliage and branches on the windward side of the plant facing the body of saline water. The resultant growth form is an asymmetrical plant form, swept back away from the ocean.

Examples

There are numerous examples worldwide of this phenomenon. In the eastern United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 on Long Island

Long Island

Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...

 occurrences of salt pruned Quercus stellata are observed in Flax Marsh. In San Diego County, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 a colony of Pinus torreyana is found where salt spray driven mist from the Pacific Ocean

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

has shaped many Torrey Pines via salt pruning.