Completely Arbortrary

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

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 Mini-Vandals

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 on our website

Cover art by Jillian Barthold

Music by Aves and The Mini-Vandals

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 reading on our website

Cover art by Jillian Barthold

Music by Aves and The Mini-Vandals

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What happens when good trees go bad? You get the laurel oak (Quercus laurifolia), a suitable template oak with a bad habit. Living in the wild, this tree does its thing as well as it can, but this Midnight Cowboy wasn't cut out for the big city.

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 Mini-Vandals

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

After living a life of stem for the last 7 weeks, we need a break! So this week, you get a bonus episode: what is a leaf? In this episode from 2021 we discuss what a leaf is, how they grow, and some defining characteristics. To coincide with this bonus episode, we are expanding our CONE CLUB to include our very first--you guessed it--LEAF! The Bur Oak leaf illustrated by Caylin Jayde. We hope you love it, and if you want to receive this illustration as a sticker next month and support the show, join the Cone Club over at arbortrarypod.supercast.com. See you next week!

This week's episode is sponsored by NordVPN - get started at nordvpn.com/TREES

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A grass so interesting it earned a spot on Completely Arbortrary, giant dragon bamboo (Dendrocalamus sinicus) is a stunningly large species with no shortage of interesting quirks. But… is it a tree, or does it look on enviously. Listen now to the exciting conclusion of Seven Deadly Stems! Then, listen for a segment of Trail Snacks, where we eat something we’ve wanted to try for years.

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 Mini-Vandals

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Pride, the downfall of many an ancient Greek hero, is the subject of today’s Deadly Stem. As is the Ohio Buckeye (Aesculus glabra). How did this underwhelming tree become a regional icon?

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 Mini-Vandals

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

An oft-reviled tree, the Russian-olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia) is the quintissential greedy little bastard. Its invasiveness is infamous, and the disappointments it presents are seemingly endless. Then we answer a listener question about “Stumpy”!

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 Mini-Vandals

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Are you sensitive? Do you show aggression when you're afraid or perceiving some sort of attack? Do you have a mercenary army of ants at your disposal to dispact at the first sign of aggression against you? Then you might just be a bullhorn acacia (Vachellia cornigera).

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 Mini-Vandals

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.