Completely Arbortrary

Our desert darling, the Blue Palo Verde (Parkinsonia florida) might just be one of the most desert-adapted trees in the west. Named after a funny pharmacist, this desert dweller is a team player as much as it is a lone wolf.Completely Arbortrary is produced and hosted by Casey Clapp and Alex CrowsonSupport the pod and become a Treemium MemberFollow along on InstagramFind Arbortrary merch on our storeFind additional reading on our websiteCover art by Jillian BartholdMusic by Aves and The Mini-VandalsSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A tree of many names, the Alaska yellow-cedar (Cupressus nootkatensis) is a quintessential conifer with a plethora of identities. And in this episode, we discuss the wood of conifers, and how it differs from the wood of its harder, more broad-leafed counterpart. Completely Arbortrary is produced and hosted by Casey Clapp and Alex CrowsonSupport the pod and become a Treemium MemberFollow along on InstagramFind Arbortrary merch on our storeFind additional reading on our websiteCover art by Jillian BartholdMusic by Aves and The Mini-VandalsSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

If you like paniculatas, and getting caught in the golden rain, you’ll love this episode all about the golden rain tree (Koelreuteria paniculata). An instant house favorite, this Chinese lantern tree marks Buddhist tombs, grows big but small, and makes for a fabulous alleé. The slogan of this episode? Right Tree, Right Place.Completely Arbortrary is produced and hosted by Casey Clapp and Alex CrowsonSupport the pod and become a Treemium MemberFollow along on InstagramFind Arbortrary merch on our storeFind additional reading on our websiteCover art by Jillian BartholdMusic by Aves and The Mini-VandalsSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this woody episode of Completely Arbortrary, we discuss the jewel of the east, the Northern red oak (Quercus rubra). Wood facts, wood terminology, bad wood jokes—this is the episode that wood built!Completely Arbortrary is produced and hosted by Casey Clapp and Alex CrowsonSupport the pod and become a Treemium MemberFollow along on InstagramFind Arbortrary merch on our storeFind additional reading on our websiteCover art by Jillian BartholdMusic by Aves and The Mini-VandalsSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In our final installment of Completely Arbortrary’s Excellent Adventure, we take it all the way back to the year 0, Kazakhstan, where we discuss the wolf to our apple’s dog, the Wolf apple (Malus sieversii). Today, we know apple as a supermarket produce section monopolizers, but these are simply the domesticated version of the wild animal that is sieversii, a Kazakhstani native from a different time.Completely Arbortrary is produced and hosted by Casey Clapp and Alex CrowsonSupport the pod and become a Treemium MemberFollow along on InstagramFind Arbortrary merch on our storeFind additional reading on our websiteCover art by Jillian BartholdMusic by Aves and The Mini-VandalsSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A curse word ‘round these parts, the Arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis) is not a species in itself, but a cultivar of the great Northern white-cedar, a majestic and hearty tree of the North of America. This beauty can be found growing on the roughest terrain of the Niagara escarpment, so why do we plant it as a middling hedge and street tree in other parts of the country? Then, we undergo a massive rebrand of this stolen valor Tree of Life.Completely Arbortrary is produced and hosted by Casey Clapp and Alex CrowsonSupport the pod and become a Treemium MemberFollow along on InstagramFind Arbortrary merch on our storeFind additional reading on our websiteCover art by Jillian BartholdMusic by Aves and The Mini-VandalsSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The dawn redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides) was once the water fir, a tree endemic to a small valley in China. But thanks to the likes of Chinese foresters, a Japanese paleobotanist, and American plant explorers, this tree is now a worldwide sensation. Join us as we journey to China, 3,000,000 BC and 1940s Japan to witness the birth of a forest giant.Completely Arbortrary is produced and hosted by Casey Clapp and Alex CrowsonSupport the pod and become a Treemium MemberFollow along on InstagramFind Arbortrary merch on our storeFind additional reading on our websiteCover art by Jillian BartholdMusic by Aves and The Mini-VandalsSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It’s Completely Arbortrary’s Excellent Adventure! To begin this journey through tree-time and tree-space, we revisit the crown of the Pacific Northwest and the very first tree we covered on this podcast, the Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii). A long-lived tree with indigenous significance, modern lumber hypersignificance, and a huge native range, the Douglas-fir has few downsides. Learn new facts about this arboreal everyman and its family on this bodacious episode of Completely Arbortrary’s Excellent Adventure!Completely Arbortrary is produced and hosted by Casey Clapp and Alex CrowsonSupport the pod and become a Treemium MemberFollow along on InstagramFind Arbortrary merch on our storeFind additional reading on our websiteCover art by Jillian BartholdMusic by Aves and The Mini-VandalsSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

CW: DeathStraight from the Patreon (patreon.com/arbortrarypod) we give you this HUGE two-parter-turned-one-parter episode on how trees die. What does it mean to "die"? And how is human death different than tree death? Hear all about the process and the philosophy behind tree death in this unlocked bonus episode! We'll be back next with an excellent new series of Completely Arbortrary.Completely Arbortrary is produced and hosted by Casey Clapp and Alex CrowsonSupport the pod and become a Treemium MemberFollow along on InstagramFind Arbortrary merch on our storeFind additional reading on our websiteCover art by Jillian BartholdMusic by Aves and The Mini-VandalsSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Oh, Kentucky coffeetree (Gymnocladus dioicus), how we love you (please love us back). A tree living out of its time that makes every effort to thwart attention and interaction, the Kentucky coffeetree may be the most curmudgeonly tree ever discussed on Completely Arbortrary. Learn about indigenous dice games, ecological anachronism, poisonous parts and scarification—this truly is a tree that hurts to know and must be hurt to grow.Completely Arbortrary is produced and hosted by Casey Clapp and Alex CrowsonSupport the pod and become a Treemium MemberFollow along on InstagramFind Arbortrary merch on our storeFind additional reading on our websiteCover art by Jillian BartholdMusic by Aves and The Mini-VandalsSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.