Both subjects are interesting. Maybe more specific questions will help the rest of us answer. How about the question of moss growing on the north side of trees, for instance. My answer is I don't believe a word of it. Done some of that, too.
Barrel cactus tends to lean toward the south too.
Again with the same caveats as the moss. The Tahitians that first sailed to Hawaii used stars and wave motion. You all get serious, I'm gonna have to do some reading. Some of the best pics of the stick and shell charts they used that I've found. I have seen moss growing on many sides of trees, very unreliable.