Completely Arbortrary

By Completely Arbortrary

Education Comedy

What's Completely Arbortrary about?

Tree advocate Casey Clapp and his tree-curious friend Alex Crowson bring you a podcast about trees and other related topics. History, culture, art, religion, science... trees affect and are affected by everything. Join Casey and Alex on their silly and educational journey to prove it.

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LAST EPISODE

Spirited Away (Sakaki)

12.07.2023

Welcome to Completely Arbortrary’s Treeyazaki, a month-long exploration of the trees of Studio Ghibli and films of Hayao Miyazaki! To start our journey, we visit a bathhouse for spirits in Spirited Away. This is a story about a young girl ...

Completely Arbortrary episodes:

12.07.2023 Spirited Away (Sakaki) Welcome to Completely Arbortrary’s Treeyazaki, a month-long exploration of the trees of Studio Ghibli and films of Hayao Miyazaki! To start our journey, we visit a bathhouse for spirits in Spirited Away. This is a story about a young girl ...
12.04.2023 The Future of Completely Arbortrary The future of Completely Arbortrary is upon us... and it's over at arbortrarypod.supercast.com This is a brand new way to support this podcast and get fun rewards. As we move away from Patreon, we are so excited to show you ...
11.30.2023 BONUS EPISODE - Treeyazaki Trailer, Big Announcement, & Appendices In this BONUS EPISODE of Completely Arbortrary, hear the first trailer for our new December theme month: TREEYAZAKI, a month-long exploration of the trees of Studio Ghibli and the films of Hayao Miyazaki. Also, stick around for a big announcement ...
11.23.2023 Preservation (Incense-Cedar) PRESERVATION! Join us for a conversation on preservation, John Muir, and the incense-cedar (Calocedrus decurrens). Completely Arbortrary is produced and hosted by Casey Clapp and Alex Crowson Join the Cone of the Month Club Support the show on Patreon Follow ...
11.16.2023 Conservation (Oregon Myrtle) CONSERVATION! What is it? And how does it differ from preservation? Have you been using them interchangably too? Well, no longer! In this episode, we discuss the Oregon myrtle (Umbellularia californica), and its relationship to conservation, and conservation’s relationship to ...
11.09.2023 Invasion of the Gaudy Statures (Norway Maple) With great distaste we present to you the Norway maple (Acer platanoides). This suburbanite tree of many faces is very popular, which might be the best thing we can say about it. But we have many good things to say ...
11.02.2023 Poppin' Bottles (Cork Oak) We’re poppin’ bottles on this very corky episode of Completely Arbortrary. Learn all about the cork oak (Quercus suber) and the dehesas of Spain and Portugal. These agrosilvopastoral lands are a marvel of sustainability and industry, and a beautiful template ...
10.26.2023 Fun Facts (Ghost Pine) “A great tree, that is kind of grey!” The ghost pine (Pinus sabiniana) is one of earth’s most spookiest trees, and chock full of curiosities in almost every category of its being. FUN FACTS! Completely Arbortrary is produced and hosted ...
10.19.2023 The Stick Sense (Honey Locust) It lurks in the dark, and it sees the darkness…. The honey locust (Gleditsia triacanthos), like most trees, has a stick sense. How does it perceive the world? It all starts in the dark. Completely Arbortrary is produced and hosted ...
10.12.2023 Laurisilva (Canary Island Laurel) A million year old forest, the Laurisilva of Madeira are stunning ecosystems trapped in time and untouched by humanity. At the center of this forest is the Canary Island Laurel (Prunus lusitanica). Completely Arbortrary is produced and hosted by Casey ...
10.05.2023 BONUS EPISODE - Anthropomorphism Completely Arbortrary is produced and hosted by Casey Clapp and Alex Crowson Join the Cone of the Month Club Support the show on Patreon Follow along on Instagram Find Arbortrary merch on our store Find additional reading on our website ...
09.28.2023 Disney & Land (Canary Island Date Palm) What was the “happiest place on Earth” before it was Disneyland? And what is it before that? We go back in time today to explore the dark history of the changes of this land from indigenous river people to farmland ...
09.21.2023 SWEET NEEM! (Curry Leaf Tree) Sweet Neem! That’s right, today we’re talking all things Curry Leaf Tree (Murraya koenigii), and all things curry! This Indian tree is one of the most important trees in India, and one of the most delicous. You may even learn ...
09.14.2023 Call Me By Your Neem (Margosa) The Margosa (Azadirachta indica) is one of the world’s most magical trees. Why? It’s in the oil! We call it neem oil, and its benefits have been lauded for centuries, for humans and plants alike. And join us for a ...
09.07.2023 Extinct in the Wild (Franklinia) What does it mean to be “extinct in the wild”? Just ask the Franklinia (Franklinia alatamaha), who lives it existence only in arboretums and gardens. But it wasn’t always like this…. Then, we answer a question about TREE LAW. Completely ...
08.31.2023 Michael Rizo (Sourwood) A curious and very special relationship exists between the Sourwood (and its family) and the fungus that feeds it. Find out all about this ancient pact, and hear us wretch and spit our way through a very sour segment of ...
08.24.2023 Ms. Bee Haven (Silver Linden) Bees go to trees and get pollen on their knees. That tree is very likely a Silver linden (Tilia tomentosa). On this episode, we talk about bees. Unlike the last episode in which we talked about bees, this one has ...
08.17.2023 The Loneliest Tree (Sahara Cypress) One of the world’s lonliest and most critically endangered trees, the Sahara cypress (Cupressus dupreziana) stands nearly alone in the dead center of the mindblowingly vast Sahara desert in northern Africa. With only a handful of these trees left, we ...
08.10.2023 Cool Dudes, Hot Chicks (Beach Sheoak) When does a tree that seems to be able to provide so much good become a tree that is reviled for causing so much harm? Today’s subject is the beach sheoak (Casuarina equisetifolia) a tree that is loved and loathed ...
08.03.2023 BONUS EPISODE - Anthropomorphism Completely Arbortrary is produced and hosted by Casey Clapp and Alex Crowson Join the Cone of the Month Club Support the show on Patreon Follow along on Instagram Find Arbortrary merch on our store Find additional reading on our website ...
07.27.2023 Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi (Sacred Fig) The tree under which The Buddha sat and reached enlightenment, the sacred fig (Ficus religiosa) is one of the world’s most iconic trees. As an ending to our Summer Vacation series, we trip to Sri Lanka where we visit the ...
07.20.2023 Avenue of the Baobabs (Baobab) The Baobab! One of Africa’s most storied and mythological trees, the baobab (Adansonia grandidieri) is one tall, thicc mother. Learn about how this tree is the camel of the arboreal world, listen to the myths associated with its topsy-turvy appearance, ...
07.13.2023 Cotton Tree of Freetown (Kapok) This week we head to Sierra Leone and take a look at their famous kapok, the Cotton Tree of Freetown (Ceiba pentandra). The kapok is a tree that has had uses for humans for thousands of years, but the Cotton ...
07.06.2023 Árbol Del Tule (Montezuma Cypress) We’re going on a Summer Vacation! First stop, Oaxaca, Mexico, to visit the sacred and legendary Árbol del Tule (Montezuma cypress, Taxodium mucronatum). This glorious and massive tree sits squarely in a church courtyard, and has found its way into ...
06.29.2023 Perpetual Popularity (Colorado Blue Spruce) What makes a tree popular? What keeps a tree popular? Ask the Colorado blue spruce (Picea pungens), whose commercial popularity has lasted decades with no sign of slowing down. The “Norm” to plant nurseries’ Cheers, this spruce is a common ...
06.22.2023 Desert Darling (Blue Palo Verde) 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 ...
06.12.2023 The Other Wood Talk (Alaska Yellow-Cedar) A tree of many names, the Alaska yellow-cedar is a quintissential 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. ...
06.08.2023 If You Like Paniculatas (Golden Raintree) 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 ...
06.01.2023 Wood Talk (Northern Red Oak) 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 ...
05.25.2023 Great Malus (Apple 2) 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 ...
05.18.2023 Northern White-Cedar (Arborvitae 2) 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 ...
05.11.2023 水杉 (Dawn Redwood 2) 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 ...
05.04.2023 Episode II: Attack of the Cones (Douglas-fir 2) 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 ...
04.27.2023 BONUS EPISODE - How Do Trees Die? CW: Death Straight 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 ...
04.20.2023 Botreemian Sapsody (Kentucky Coffeetree) 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 ...
04.13.2023 Burnt Wood Plank (Sugi) To conclude our miniseries on logging, we discuss sugi (Crytomeria japonica), a unique conifer that hails from the forests of Japan. In a nation spared by colonization, where tradition and modernity coexist, sugi and its growing and processing methods are ...
04.06.2023 Arboreal Corn (Monterey Pine) What do you get when you treat trees like corn? A plantation, of course. And a whole lot of Monterey pine (Pinus radiata). A tree that grows stubby and wonky in its native range, the Monterey pine grows like a ...
03.30.2023 Under The Tree (Jarrah) Welcome to Australia, land of strange plants. Jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata) is no exception! This superfluously hardwooded tree of the Darling Range of western Australia is home to many a marsupial, and sports an astronomically deep root system. But when it ...
03.23.2023 Wet Hot American Lumber (Eastern White Pine) Logging has seen a stark evolution since its origins. What started as a wildly dangerous and often deadly process done largely by hand is now a multibillion dollar industry fascilitated by manmade machines. Herein we meet our character, the Eastern ...
03.16.2023 Queen of the Canoe Crops (Noni) 1000 years ago, Polynesians reached the islands of Hawaii. On their seaworthy canoes were only a handful of plant species, but among them was the divisively flavorful botanical wonderdrug known as noni (Morinda citrifolia). Known for its funky flavors and ...
03.09.2023 The Tree's Knees (Bald Cypress) The devil went down to Georgia, where the Bald cypress (Taxodium distichum) lives its days in peace and harmony. This record-breakingly long-lived tree found the perfect place to call home--the swamps of the Southeastern United States. There, it sheds stereotypes ...
03.02.2023 BONUS EPISODE - Non-Tree Food-Tree Food In this BONUS EPISODE from our Patreon (c. Treeson's Eatings 2022), we discuss three non-tree food plants we love eat during the holidays: vanilla, cranberries, and peppermint! While we take a breath after our SUCCESSION series, please enjoy this unlocked ...
02.23.2023 Late SUCCESSION (Yellow Carabeen) Late succession... the third and final act of a seemingly eternal stage play, and a self-perpetuating phase of the lifespan of a forest. The Yellow carabeen (Sloanea woollsii) dominates late succession in Australia. How and why is it so successful, ...
02.16.2023 Mid SUCCESSION (Red Alder) Weed tree? Or... the unsung hero of mid succession forests? The red alder (Alnus rubra) is our official representative from mid succession forests, and the lens through which we view this second phase, the early adulthood, of forest growth. There ...
02.09.2023 Early SUCCESSION (Staghorn Sumac) When a forest goes through a massive disturbance, little survives. We begin our journey here. What happens in the first stage of the succession of a forest? Learn in this episode through the eyes of the staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina), ...
02.02.2023 Never Tell Me The Odds (Koa) Thick, thorough, and quite enjoyable, today's episode is all about the koa (Acacia koa) and its endemism on the 5 million year-old islands of Hawai'i. This special tree is unique in so many ways, we lost count: fake leaves, exploding ...
01.26.2023 Two Fir One (Subalpine Fir & Noble Fir) EPISODE 100! We truly made it. And to celebrate, we're joined not only by the obligatory Kool & The Gang, but by TWO true firs, the Subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa) and the Noble fir (Abies procera). It's a two fir ...
01.19.2023 Sir Joseph Banks (Bull Banksia) A big flower with a big name. This week we discuss the bull banksia (Banksia grandis) and the prolific capitalist-botanist it’s named after, Sir Joseph Banks of the Royal Society. Completely Arbortrary is produced and hosted by Casey Clapp and ...
01.12.2023 Conifer Wonderland (Brewer Spruce) What does it mean to be endemic? This. Tree. KNOWS. As does its homeland, the Klamath Mountains, a hotbed of endemic species. We chat with author and coniferman Michael Kauffmann about the Brewer spruce (Picea breweriana) and its unique place ...
01.05.2023 Everytree Everywhere All At Once (Red Maple) Happy New Year Fungal Associates! We bring you a simultaneously revered and reviled tree: the red maple (Acer rubrum). Learn how this megasuperstar got its start, and how it rose to be the Starbucks, Red Lobster, and the Chris Pratt ...

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