Completely Arbortrary

A portal to other worlds, the home of faeries, or the flower that sparks a little twinkle in your eye, the common hawthorn is a tree that is as understated as it is revered. This spring bloomer is planted all over the world as a street tree, and grows commonly in the forests and hedgerows of Europe and the UK. Ushering in the season of productivity and all the fun of warming weather, this is surel...

Kon'nichiwa! This week we jet over to Japan to discuss a gorgeous, renowned, and cultivated-like-heck tree, the Japanese cherry (Prunus serrulata). Dive deep into cultivar(ism) with us while we talk about Shinto, picnics, and painting with nature. As always, we finish the whole shebang with a listener question. Completely Arbortrary is produced and hosted by Casey Clapp and Alex Crowson Support th...

The first episode of the Spring 2021 Collection: a Global Traverse. This week we travel to the southern hemisphere to dive into what makes the monkey puzzle tree so dang interesting. From ancient roots to endemic speciation, we chat about this relic from another time. Then we play a new game. Welcome back! Completely Arbortrary is produced and hosted by Casey Clapp and Alex Crowson Support the pod...

It's season 2 of Completely Arbortrary! They (Alex) said we couldn't make it! This season we're globetrotting to talk about a smattering of international trees. Support the pod and become a Treemium Member See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

It’s the end of our first season and, to celebrate, we’re talking about a blooming beauty with a perfect flower, the Southern magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora). Mr. Bean beetles, ancient sex organs, and one intelligent flower that knows how to get it done. Then we play a fun game about ancient Greek gods and answer a listener question. See you next season! Completely Arbortrary is produced and hoste...

This week we head out west and marvel at the orange-clad giants of the pine world, the ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa). We dive into one of the most interesting weather phenomena in the world, the rain shadow effect, and chat about how seemingly unrelated patterns of geology and weather change who grows where. Then, you guessed it, we ruminate on the nature of sasquatch. Completely Arbortrary is...

Welcome to Vermont, sugar! This week we're charging headlong into the snowy forests of the Northeast United States to tap one of the sweetest trees in the game, the Sugar Maple! Sap, syrup and sugar... this one goes out to the sweet tooths. Completely Arbortrary is produced and hosted by Casey Clapp and Alex Crowson Support the pod and become a Treemium Member Follow along on Instagram Find Arbort...

The tree that does it all. This week we dive into what makes the black willow ( Salix nigra ), and willows more broadly, such revered trees. From curing your dysentery or soothing an aching tooth to restoring wetlands and always putting out new roots and new shoots, this tree has something for everyone. Completely Arbortrary is produced and hosted by Casey Clapp and Alex Crowson Support the pod an...

This week we're talking about the tragic tale of the Lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta). Human greed, voracious beetles, and graveyard forests... it's our most depressing episode yet! Completely Arbortrary is produced and hosted by Casey Clapp and Alex Crowson Support the pod and become a Treemium Member Follow along on Instagram Find Arbortrary merch on our store Find additional reading on our websi...

This week we're taking it to the streets to discuss the European Hornbeam (Carpinus betulus). Casey waxes poetic about his great interest and love for urban forests, which includes explaining to Alex what an urban forest actually is. Then we answer a question from a listener about trees and climate change. Completely Arbortrary is produced and hosted by Casey Clapp and Alex Crowson Support the pod...

A sleeping giant awakens! Enter dawn redwood ( Metasequoia glyptostroboides ). The deciduous conifer (gasp!) dominated the Northern hemisphere for thousands of millenia before Mother Nature spirited it away entirely… or so we thought. Then, we take a journey through time and space as we journey The Cone Zone. Completely Arbortrary is produced and hosted by Casey Clapp and Alex Crowson Support the...

What smells like barf, lived with dinosaurs, and makes for a great tattoo? This tree! Ginkgo ( Ginkgo biloba ) is a living fossil; a tree so old it lived among prehistoric monsters, and so long-lived that it lives among modern humans. A true survivor, this tree spent thousands of millenia hermitting in its little corner of China. But today we've all got Ginkgo fever, and this ancient species is no...

Villainous arboreal poisoner, or misunderstood forest benefactor? Despite its bipinnately gorgeous appearance and emotional significance to the general public, the black walnut (Juglans nigra) has spent decades under the critical gaze of tree lovers for its allegedly allelopathic behavior. But when new studies come to light, this cold case turns red hot! Misophonia warning: candied nuts will be mu...

Gather 'round to hear the unfortunate tale of the arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis), a tree that's truly less than the sum of its parts. A mass-produced hedge tree in the Cypress family that's exploited on west coast surbuban streets, this tree has plenty of faults and makes for good gossip. But can a tree be inherently bad, or is a tree made bad by the people who plant it? Then stick around for our...

SQUIRRELS! Today we burrow head first into a discussion of the Oregon white oak (Quercus garryana), another house favorite tree named by David Douglas, and our first broadleaf species. Most years these mighty acorn-makers supply local squirrel populations with plenty of food for winter. But what happens when an oak takes the year off, and how does that affect the squirrel world (or, Squirrorld ™)?...

What's up, Fungal Associates! Welcome to Completely Arbortrary, the podcast about trees and other related topics. In our inaugural episode, we discuss the crown jewel of the Great Pacific Northwest, the Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii). Named after botanist David Douglas, this false fir is a house favorite and a perfect choice for Christmas trees. While we're at it, what is a fungal associate?...

Tree zealot Casey Clapp and tree agnostic Alex Crowson review and rate your favorite arboreal friends. A semi-educational, basically pleasant, and fully unnecessary romp through the annals of treedom. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/arbortrarypod/support This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spre...