Completely Arbortrary

Due to a host of circumstances, our regularly scheduled programming has been postponed to next week! HOWEVER, we're taking this opportunity to tell you all about our Patreon revamp! And to share a Patreon episode - What is Phenology! We hope you enjoy it and we'll see you next week with the Sweetgum! Completely Arbortrary is produced and hosted by Casey Clapp and Alex Crowson Support the pod and b...

Close your eyes and imagine a maple leaf. What is it that defines the quintessential maple leaf? Well today, we chat about the bigleaf maple ( Acer macrophyllum ) and dive into how that standard image of a maple leaf is as accurate as you may think. Then we chat about the biggest news of the day with another edition of the Fungal Associated Press. Completely Arbortrary is produced and hosted by Ca...

A tree that has made no enemies, a tree that doesn't rock the boat, today's tree is the Canadian serviceberry, also knowns as the shad-blow, the shadbush, the bilberry, the juneberry ( Amelanchier canadensis ). This episode we have a classic fireside chat about this tree that has something for everyone, and on top of that we collaborated with Amanda Spinosa on a delicious recipe to show off the fr...

Alex and Casey go on a walkabout in the Overlook neighborhood of Portland to gander at some of the city's most gorgeous arboreal specimens. 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 website Cover art by Jillian Barthold Mu...

Today's story has us wondering who's the real victim. The Indian sandalwood ( Santalum album ) is a tree that has been used for millennia for cultural practices across the world, but it's also a tree that has its fair share of using other organisms for its own purposes. Completely Arbortrary is produced and hosted by Casey Clapp and Alex Crowson Support the pod and become a  Treemium Member F...

The grand finale in our symbiosis 4 Act play. In this special episode of Completely Arbortrary, we discuss the much beloved Whitebark pine ( Pinus albicaulis ). We’re joined by Peri Sasnett from the Glacier National Park Headwaters podcast to discuss where these trees are and where they’re headed. Completely Arbortrary is produced and hosted by Casey Clapp and Alex Crowson Support the pod and beco...

In our penultimate episode about the topic, we explore symbiosis across kingdoms, and dive into the relationship between the trumpet tree ( Cercopia obtusifolia ) and its evolutionary partners, Azteca ants. Then we reveal a new game! 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 Arbortr...

What happens when the guy who makes you pizza moves in and makes you pizza in your own kitchen--forever? Today, we get at that question and how it relates to cells in cells in cells in a tree that looks like parasols in parasols in parasols, the Japanese umbrella-pine ( Sciadopitys verticillata ). Buckle up. Completely Arbortrary is produced and hosted by Casey Clapp and Alex Crowson Support the p...

How many characters can one introduce in one episode? Today we find out. The Andean alder ( Alnus acuminata ) takes us on a journey through time and space as we take on our first foray into a series dedicated to symbiosis and all its manifestations. Completely Arbortrary is produced and hosted by Casey Clapp and Alex Crowson Support the pod and become a  Treemium Member Follow along on Instag...

What does the purpleleaf plum ( Prunus cerasifera 'Thundercloud') represent for you? For Casey and Alex, it's the suburbs, and boy do they despise it. This week, we get a little snippet of American History and hear about how the suburbs came to be, and how this tree has come to represent them in the worst way. Completely Arbortrary is produced and hosted by Casey Clapp and Alex Crowson Support the...

There are more than 20 species of Polylepis shrubs and trees. At the highest altitudes (upwards of 16,000 feet, they grow as small shrubs. Lower, they can grow up 120 feet. So this forest is a bit unique, and we need to get to the bottom of it: IS it a forest? Or is it a shrubland? When does it become such? Completely Arbortrary is produced and hosted by Casey Clapp and Alex Crowson Support the po...

Should Man hold dominion over nature? And where did this idea come from? What got us in our current environmental mess in the first place. Today we talk the Judas Tree ( Cercis siliquastrum ) and tackle some BIG picture stuff too. 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...

A tree that truly grows its own way, the Pacific madrone ( Arbutus menziesii) is a prolific grower and a gorgeous shower. Listen along as we discuss this curious beauty and the special place it’s found in the world. 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 s...

Can a tree help you be smarter? This week we dive into that question and discuss how air pollution effects our brains, and how trees can help keep us operating at our top level. After our rating, we head LIVE to the Grand Finale of the Tournament of Champion Trees with Tobin Mitnick (@jewslovetrees). Completely Arbortrary is produced and hosted by Casey Clapp and Alex Crowson Support the pod and b...

This week we have our work cut out for us. The black cottonwood (Populus trichocarpa) is our tree of topic, and there's no getting around it: it's an emotional roller coaster that pulls us in every direction at once. Listen in and make your own opinions on this complicated tree, and stick around for the second round of the Tournament of Champion Trees, with Tobin Mitnik as our guest. Completely Ar...

Join us this week where the trees have no name. But this one does! It’s Joshua! Learn all about yuccas on our last of three monocotic adventures. 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 website Cover art by Jillian Barth...

Our quest to further define "tree" continues with the STUNNING Socotra Dragon Blood Tree (Dracaena cinnabari). We talk all about this unique, altruistic "tree" and all the curious strategies it takes to get where it's going. Then we answer a question about tree albinoism! Completely Arbortrary is produced and hosted by Casey Clapp and Alex Crowson Support the pod and become a  Treemium Member...

What exactly isn't a tree? This week we cover the other side of the controversy coin with a discussion on the Chinese windmill palm (Trachycarpus fortunei). We get into the thick of it and find out just what a palm is if it's not a "tree". 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 A...

One of the biggest trees around, the tuliptree is an ancient species and a champion of the people. Learn all about the arbitrary intricacies of measuring Champion Trees and select who you think will make it to the end! 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 ou...

The fruit that went ‘round the world, and the fruit that we both like the best, this week we are covering the peach tree (Prunus persica). However, we go one step further and Casey tries to convince Alex that it's not just the peach, but everything like a peach that reigns supreme in a world full of fruit! Completely Arbortrary is produced and hosted by Casey Clapp and Alex Crowson Support the pod...

A fruit tree that has been in all the right places with all the right stuff, the pawpaw (Asimina triloba) is a folk hero among fruits. But that's not all to the story. This week we chat about the pawpaw and it's slow, methodical march to success from the tropics to Canada. Completely Arbortrary is produced and hosted by Casey Clapp and Alex Crowson Support the pod and become a  Treemium Membe...

What is a penny worth? This is the philosophical question we grapple with today as we debate the merits of the dogwood (Cornus spp.). This episode is a little different than our normal shows because we're covering three different dogwoods all at once, but we assure you that's not where the controversy ends. Completely Arbortrary is produced and hosted by Casey Clapp and Alex Crowson Support the po...

A cosmopolitan tree that has humble roots, the white mulberry (Morus alba) has been transported across the world to support our insatiable appetite for silk. This week we discuss this relationship and how it's brought both the worms and the trees to every corner of the globe. Completely Arbortrary is produced and hosted by Casey Clapp and Alex Crowson Support the pod and become a  Treemium Me...

This week we chat about the famous southern live oak (Quercus virginiana) of the southeastern United States. A tree that has had many different identities, we discuss how this tree was the base of naval power during the height of colonialism and beyond, and how it's both gorgeous yet also fraught with imagery of a sordid past. Completely Arbortrary is produced and hosted by Casey Clapp and Alex Cr...

On this BONUS EPISODE, we sit down with Lizzie Falconer and Jen Thomas from the podcast Shorts. to discuss the Ursula K. Le Guin short story Direction of the Road. Find Lizzie and Jen's podcast at shortsthepodcast.com or any your podcast platform of choice! Completely Arbortrary is produced and hosted by Casey Clapp and Alex Crowson Support the pod and become a  Treemium Member Follow along o...