Completely Arbortrary

In the second of our “odd Pine family distant cousins” we talk Keteleeria ( Keteleeria davidiana ), and the perfect pocket of China where this and many other species call home. 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 C...

In this episode, we explore the golden-larch ( Pseudolarix amabilis ), a unique member of the pine family that feels a bit like the “weird cousin at the Pine family picnic.” Once native to the Arctic, this deciduous conifer now grows exclusively in specific regions of China, adapting over millennia to its new home. We also dive into a listener question about variegated leaves and why some plants s...

WARNING: This is not a mango. Do not eat this non-mango, this Lord of Lies, this Great Deceiver, for it is the sea-mango ( Cerbera manghas ) and it absolutely will kill you. The story is a little more complicated, however, as this tree provides an undeniably invaluable resource... but is it worth the risk? Completely Arbortrary is produced and hosted by Casey Clapp and Alex Crowson Support the pod...

In this episode, we explore Australia’s infamous giant stinging tree ( Dendrocnide moroides ) and its neurotoxic hairs that cause agonizing pain. How fun(?)! 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...

Join us as we get weird with the Boojum tree ( Fouquieria columnaris ), a quirky desert oddball with some fascinating parenchyma. Plus, Casey reads an interminably long Lewis Carroll poem that gave this tree its name. 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...

Join us on a mysterious journey through time to discuss the Munz oak ( Quercus x munzii ), a curious hybrid of UNKNOWN ORIGIN! 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 Music by Aves and The...

Join us for an afternoon chat under this gorgeous Western sycamore ( Platanus racemosa ) and hear about what Casey and Alex and reflecting on lately. 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 Barthol...

Dam! Let’s talk about them, and about the China-fir ( Cunninghamia lanceolata ) and the ingenious agroforestry methods of the Kam people of China. 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 M...

The Fabulous, Funny, Smart, and Warm woman we all love, ALIE WARD graces the podcast today. We can hardly believe it. Alie was a very important part of the early success of Completely Arbortrary and we forever admire her! Among many other job titles, Alie is the host and creator of Ologies ! Please enjoy. Completely Arbortrary is produced and hosted by Casey Clapp and Alex Crowson Support the pod...

“I’d rather see a smoke tree than a tree smoking.” Enter the American smoketree ( Cotinus obovatus ), a beautiful little tree that was nearly used to extinction. 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 Jil...

Welcome to the Alternative Sex Experience, featuring the striped maple ( Acer pensylvanicum ). In our continued discussion on dioecy, this one takes a curiously sexual turn. 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 Cove...

It’s beginning to look a lot like… an invasive pokey nightmare, with the English holly ( Ilex aquafolium ). Learn all about dioeciousness, and what makes this hot new sexual fad so successful! 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...

Just another arborvitae, the Leyland cypress ( Cupressus × leylandii et al) has to be one of the most deplorable species we’ve investigated on Completely Arbortrary. Learn all about this tree’s poorest qualities, then join us for a segment of Slang Game! Completely Arbortrary is produced and hosted by Casey Clapp and Alex Crowson Support the pod and become a Treemium Member Follow along on Instagr...

The Great Fire of 1910 greatly changed the (literal) landscape of northern Idaho, as well as the continent’s population of western white pine ( Pinus monitcola ). What followed was one of the most successful and dangerous marketing campaigns in US history. Completely Arbortrary is produced and hosted by Casey Clapp and Alex Crowson Support the pod and become a Treemium Member Follow along on Insta...

A fascinating tree with no shortage of fun facts, the Chinese-nutmeg ( Torreya grandis) is a cornerstone of Chinese history and traditional medicine. And man, is it yummy (we think)! 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 web...

We continue our plant-based diet with a giant of the culinary world, the tamarind ( Tamarindus indica ). Whether in chamoy or pad thai, this sweet pea is the darling of many a regional cuisine, worldwide! 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 additio...

You think ice cream grows on trees?! The ice-cream bean ( Inga edulis) is one of nature’s greatest gifts to humanity. This agroforestry behemoth is South America’s fruity answer to sweet-toothed nature enthusiasts. And what is a fruit, anyway? 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 Arb...

This is Plant-Based Diet: Part Chew, a new series from Completely Arbortrary all about trees that give us food! In this episode, we discuss the sapodilla ( Manilkara zapota ) a tree that gives us not one, but TWO delicious treats: fruit and gum. 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...

Did ants invent agriculture? Kind of, yes! Learn how in this itchy episode on South America’s own almécega ( Protium heptaphyllum ). 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 Music by Aves a...

Hardship strikes the house of Arbortrary, so please enjoy this bonus episode all about our favorite process in nature, photosynthesis! 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 Music by Aves...

No, it's not a Tree. But, it is a tree. The black tree fern has some incredible qualities, not least of which is the way it creates more ferns. Get ready to hear about some FREAKY stuff. 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...

About 1600 years ago, a group of refugees settled on a mucky swath of land that would one day be known as Venice. What followed is one of the greatest marvels of human engineering: a city built entirely on trees in water. Enter European alder ( Alnus glutinosa ), an ordinary tree with an extraordinary role in history. Completely Arbortrary is produced and hosted by Casey Clapp and Alex Crowson Sup...

In this bonus episode, hear all about how Casey became Casey. His schooling, career trajectory, and the fated beginning of Completely Arbortrary. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Sorry, it’s a fir thing. The white fir ( Abies concolor ) is no simple tree. It’s a part of broader complex of trees. What does this mean for in the context of its taxonomy? Well… it’s complex. 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...

A tower of clouds in the forests of Chile, and the center of a dendrochronological scandal, the Alerce ( Fitzroya cupressoides ) is a monolithic beauty and officially the giant sequoia of the south. 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 re...