Completely Arbortrary

An American legend whose time was cut too short, this week we discuss the American elm and its momentous rise and historic fall in the mean city streets across North America. But, we learn an important lesson that feels all too true across the board. Completely Arbortrary is produced and hosted by Casey Clapp and Alex Crowson Support the pod and become a Treemium Member Follow along on Instagram F...

A tree that didn’t ask for the praise, but certainly earns it, this week it’s the Japanese maple and we chat about the undergods of the forest, the understory trees. Then we check in with the Fungal Associated Press. 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...

What is it to be a tree? What is a trees? What are a tree? The quaking aspen has it all figured out, and they (it?) have (has?) been doing it since the ice age. We talk Pando, (re)production, and bay is bae! 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 addi...

Is it the perfect tree, as close to ideal as possible, or is it a scourge upon the exotic soils to which it was brought? This week we talk the infamous Bradford pear and boy does this episode stink. 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...

Season 3! Completely Arbortrary: Classic This season we're returning to format and covering some long-requested trees, and some house-favorites as well! 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 Bart...

Perhaps the most cosmopolitan aquatic tree out there, this week we conclude our world tour with a trip to the waters of the tropics (any of them!) and dive into just what makes mangroves such nifty trees. 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...

G’day and welcome to the penultimate installation of our Spring ‘21 collection wherein we of course are covering the famous Australian giant, the mountain-ash eucalyptus. The tallest growing angiosperm in the world, and a tree that can fight off nearly everything, this week we discuss the fabulous way eucalyptus trees use chemical defenses to ward off unwanted nibblers...and how some of those nibb...

This week we're discussing the gorgeous and unique European larch (Larix decidua), and we discuss its proclivity for tapping into a wide-reaching fungal network, and fungal networks at large! Then we return... to the Cone Zone. 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...

A cosmopolitan tree to say the least, this week we discuss the gorgeous jacaranda tree from south central South America. Dappled shade, incomparable violet blooms, and an attitude to match, we take another look at how urban trees affect us and why it may be a good idea to plant a lot more. Completely Arbortrary is produced and hosted by Casey Clapp and Alex Crowson Support the pod and become...

When a tree is clearly a god, we don’t question it. This week we head to the northern tip of the North Island of New Zealand and revel in the divinity of the kauris, the towering forest giants who are only outmatched in size by the sequoias and redwoods half a world away. Then we take another kid listener question. Alex is tired! Completely Arbortrary is produced and hosted by Casey Clapp and Alex...

Permafrost! Phototropism! Thigmomorphogenesis! Big terms with big ideas abound in this boreal episode of Completely Arbortrary, as we trek through the frozen woods of Canada to find the battered and bendy black spruce. We even premiere a brand new segment featuring you, our Fungal Associates. Let’s get tipsy! Completely Arbortrary is produced and hosted by Casey Clapp and Alex Crowson Support the...

Q: A killer, a nursemaid, and a fruit peddler walk into a bar. The barkeep says, “Table for one?” How is this possible? A: The Banyan tree. This week, we have a BIG episode talking about India’s own Banyan tree, and all the hats it wears. 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 Arbortra...

The tree that helped forge the civilizations of the Mediterranian, and maybe built the mythical Ark, this week we head to the Mountains of Turkey and Lebanon to discuss the Cedar of Lebanon. Join us to hear about this true cedar and its outsized impact on our world. Completely Arbortrary is produced and hosted by Casey Clapp and Alex Crowson Support the pod and become a Treemium Member Follow alon...

Do giraffes make trees taller, or the trees make giraffes’ necks longer? This week, we cover the iconic umbrella thorn tree (Vachellia tortilis) of the African savannahs and talk about how evolution may or may not work. 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 sto...

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...