In general almost all the upright portions of trees curve somewhat turning the convexity towards the South; and their branches are longer and thicker and more abundant towards the South than towards the North. And this occurs because the sun draws the sap towards that surface of the tree which is nearest to it.
And this may be observed if the sun is not screened off by other plants.
Taken from The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci edited by Jean Paul Richter, 1880.