The tree that’ll kill you back, the Coulter pine (Pinus coulteri) is our topic this week, and we bring in special guest Tobin Mitnik, a Jew who loves trees, to get his hot take on this giant coned conifer.

Completely Arbortrary is produced and hosted by Casey Clapp and Alex Crowson

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Cover art by Jillian Barthold

Music by Aves and The Mini-Vandals

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A god of a tree, blessed with near immortality, this week we discuss the bristlecone pine (Pinus longaeva), who from its high mountain home has diligently recorded a ring every year for millennia.

Completely Arbortrary is produced and hosted by Casey Clapp and Alex Crowson

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Cover art by Jillian Barthold

Music by Aves and The Mini-Vandals

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A true tale of love and loss, the American chestnut (Castanea dentata) is this week’s subject and we discuss its renown, majesty, and stature, and ultimately its untimely demise.

Completely Arbortrary is produced and hosted by Casey Clapp and Alex Crowson

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Cover art by Jillian Barthold

Music by Aves and The Mini-Vandals

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The western redcedar and all its glory today, along with our first interview (!) with Sam Stewart, a guitar craftsman and musician who tells us all ‘bout how wood is used in guitars.

Completely Arbortrary is produced and hosted by Casey Clapp and Alex Crowson

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Cover art by Jillian Barthold

Music by Aves and The Mini-Vandals

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When a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? We don’t know! But it sure does make a lovely habitat for a plethora of little creatures and plants. Today we examine nurse logs from the persective of one of the best, the Western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla), a species that excels at the practice. Then we weigh the odds with The Cone Scale.

Completely Arbortrary is produced and hosted by Casey Clapp and Alex Crowson

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Cover art by Jillian Barthold

Music by Aves and The Mini-Vandals

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INVASION! In this episode we discuss the morality of tree invasiveness, and find ourselves debating the question: who’s invading whom?

Completely Arbortrary is produced and hosted by Casey Clapp and Alex Crowson

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Cover art by Jillian Barthold

Music by Aves and The Mini-Vandals

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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

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Cover art by Jillian Barthold

Music by Aves and The Mini-Vandals

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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

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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 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

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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.

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

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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.