My vote goes to olive trees and holm oaks, in my Mediterranean climate they are very tough and wind proof. I have both growing on my very exposed rooftop, they don't care at all about the wind.

Hard to say. My trees, perhaps osage orange. You can bend its wood in a circle (if you have the strength) and it won't crack.

what does feeling the bark have to do with it?

I wonder if there is actually a study based on a widely compiled database of the most wind resistant trees.

I cannot be sure but I suspect Taxodium and Metasequoias are hard to damage other than by the direct hit of a tornado, which no tree is going to survive if sufficiently strong. Their shape and the low drag of their foliage would seem to be make them hard to destroy in all but the worst conditions.

I feel like any tree that is grown in consistent wind will end up being very strong.

^^^ And that Midwesterner would win a prize!! 😁 Palms have an ability to flex in high winds, which is why they have a high survival rate in hurricane prone areas compared to many other tree types.

Have you Googled this topic? There are a surprising number of lists that rate trees by wind resistance, typically defined by their ability to withstand hurricane force winds. Others that appear repeatedly are live oaks, Magnolia grandiflora and Taxodiums.

From the above posts, I am thinking there are two ways trees go about being wind resistant.

Metasequoia is flexible like these palms I hear about apparently are.

Other trees do it with harder to chainsaw wood.

Perhaps branch structure and even how good the foliage is at catching wind counts for something?

I'm in Osage Orange country with several on my hedgerow (we call them Hedge Apple trees here) bordering my pasture. I rarely see wind damage but occasionally ice damage on this very hard wood tree. They are even a bit chainsaw resistant lol.

Magnolia grandiflora do seem wind resistant here but can be damaged by heavy wet snow and ice storms.

I believe the OP narrowed down their expectations to wind resistance......first sentence of the thread.

Did you mean "tough " lol? I think the original author meant wind resistance.

Well, I am growing at least three species of trees on the wind-resistant list; M. grandiflora,, Taxodium, and Metasequoia.

Can't believe I saw Crape Myrtles on some list for wind resistance as they seem to have issues with heavy rains.

"Magnolia grandiflora do seem wind resistant here but can be damaged by heavy wet snow and ice storms."

Some cultivars are MUCH more resistant to heavy, wet snows and ice loads, some surprisingly vulnerable. Have seen this in my yard over the years.

That is a bit of a loaded question. Under what conditions? In Florida, Live Oaks are considered very resistant to hurricanes, but maybe not necessarily for the reason you might think. Under strong wind conditions, they more easily lose their leaves, thereby sparing the tree. OTOH, a storm where there is a ton of rain may loosen the sandy rootball enough to topple the tree, even though the branches or trunk never snapped.