Having lived in a very hurricane-prone area of the southeastern US for most of my life, I can verify that tree roots are not a mirror of the above-ground portion.
I believe the point of this rabbit trail was to correct that notion that root formations are mirrors (or otherwise similar) of the tree trunks/canopies. At least, that's what I was hoping to show.
That's true in grasses, but not in trees. In grasses, if the aboveground leaves get shortened/killed, from fire or mowing, the belowground roots die back, then both regrow in a similar manner.
