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

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Cover art by Jillian Barthold

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The City That Trees Built (European Alder)