Completely Arbortrary
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.
Episodes
Lazy, back problems, or just a Fonzie-esque casual attitude? Whatever the reason, the Cook Island pine (Araucaria columnaris) leans mysteriously toward the equator. Let’s discuss the possibilities! Then, we play a game about Filipino pines and oaks—The Filipineoak Affair.
Completely Arbortrary is produced and hosted by Casey Clapp and Alex Crowson
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Introducing... TROPICAL VACATION! 🌺 a series all about tropical trees! Our first visit is Brazil, where the ipê (𝘏𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘴 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘰𝘴𝘢) reigns supreme. This tree has no shortage of strengths, quite literally! From decking to medicine, this tree has it all. Then, we play a special musical edition of The Slang Game.
Completely Arbortrary is produced and hosted by Casey Clapp and Alex Crowson
Kick back with Casey and Alex while we play you our favorite jams from recent days. Become a Treemium Member at arbortrarypod.supercast.com to enjoy bonus episodes like this one, ad-free listening to mainline episodes, 20% off our merch store, and join the Cone Club to get monthly botanical stickers mailed directly to you!
Completely Arbortrary is produced and hosted by Casey Clapp and Alex Crowson
Parthenowhatnow? Parthenocarpy! Why are 90% of the paperbark maple's (Acer griseum) infertile? Only nature knows.
Completely Arbortrary is produced and hosted by Casey Clapp and Alex Crowson
Support the pod and become a Treemium Member
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Find Arbortrary merch on our store
Find additional reading on our website
Cover art by Jillian Barthold
Music by Aves and The Mini-Vandals
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It's a bit of governor's plum, innit? (Flacourtia indica) But where to put it? This wayward species finally found a home with the willows, but what happens to those unlucky species who spend their lives in the taxonomic junk drawer?
Completely Arbortrary is produced and hosted by Casey Clapp and Alex Crowson
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Find Arbortrary merch on our store
Let's get kinky with the silk tree (Albizia julibrissin). This beautiful tree has a very curious way of keeping its leaves close to the stem. Then we finish our game series Fight Shrub!
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 J...
What happens when a tree mutates? In the case of the white spruce (𝘗𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘢 𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘤𝘢) it creates a dwarf version of itself. But that version doesn't always grow that way forever. Then, we have the second round of Fight Shrub!
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
Cover art by Jil...
Put up your dukes, for a battle between the city, the people, and the trees. At the center is butternut (Juglans cinerea), and it's shading you, your neighbor, and your neighbor's neighbor. Then we play a new game with one rule... you do not talk about Fight Shrub.
Completely Arbortrary is produced and hosted by Casey Clapp and Alex Crowson
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Who started the fire? It may have been the knobcone pine (Pinus attenuata) in a ditch attempt to RELEASE THE SEEDS! This curious pine has a curious way of dispersing which includes fire, cones, and cannibalism.
Completely Arbortrary is produced and hosted by Casey Clapp and Alex Crowson
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Find Arbortrary merch on our store
Anomalous secondary growth! What in the world is it? Just ask the ombú (Phytolacca dioica), pokeweed’s tree-like cousin. It doesn’t make wood, it makes “anomalous secondary growth”, an endlessly interesting way to grow. Then, we answer a question about the perfect flower/tree pairings.
Completely Arbortrary is produced and hosted by Casey Clapp and Alex Crowson
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The Golden Ratio: a fact of life on Earth, or an copy and pasted alien blueprint? Perhaps the answer lies in the cones of the Austrian black pine (Pinus nigra). Let’s discuss Phyllotaxis, the mathematical means by which plants remain in light.
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
What's up, Middle-Earthlings! Casey and I are taking a much-needed break this week, and so we present to you a hilariously massive extended edition episode that includes all three episodes of our Lord of the Tree Rings series, originally published in March of 2022. New episodes starting next week! Take care, everyone.
Completely Arbortrary is produced and hosted by Casey Clapp and Alex Crowson
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What makes you happy? Is it money? Or maybe it’s the money tree (Pachira aquatica). This famous houseplant is also a forest tree, so why did it become synonymous with feng shui, harmonious qi, and interior design? Then we play a new game of Happy Go Lucky!
Completely Arbortrary is produced and hosted by Casey Clapp and Alex Crowson
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What makes trees weep? Perhaps the answer lies in the aptly named weeping cherry (Prunus x subhirtella 'Pendula'). Today we talk gravitropism and why some plants just have it backward. Then, we listen to you tree-themed Beatles covers and announce the winner of THE HAT!
Completely Arbortrary is produced and hosted by Casey Clapp and Alex Crowson
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What makes you angry? Is it the Jeffrey pine (𝘗𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘴 𝘫𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘺𝘪)? Perhaps it’s the smell, a controversial topic among tree lovers that causes all sorts of anger.
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 ...
Why are we so afraid of the silver maple (Acer saccharinum)? Perhaps because of the risk involved. In today’s episode of Inside Sprout, we discuss tree risk assessment as we ask ourselves the question: if a tree falls, and no one is around to see it, is there any risk?
Completely Arbortrary is produced and hosted by Casey Clapp and Alex Crowson
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Welcome to Inside Sprout, a 5 part mini-series on trees that best embody and illicit our most basic human emotions. Today we start with disgust and the black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia). This tree is almost universally despised for its invasiveness, but has found a very important and loving niche for itself in the woodworking community.
Completely Arbortrary is produced and hosted by Casey Clapp and Alex Crowson
Take me out to the ball game… the one where they bounce a solid rubber (Castilla elastica) ball between their hips. Today we take it way back for a discussion about rubber (the tree) and rubber (the substance) and an ancient ballgame that’s still played today.
Completely Arbortrary is produced and hosted by Casey Clapp and Alex Crowson
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The lightest wood there is, the balsa (Ochroma pyramidale) is one excited little kid. It grows fast, has ice cream cone flowers, and you can even carry it around on your shoulders! But what gives this tree the ability to grow in such a famous way?
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
In the second part of our eco-feminism series, we discuss the Chipko movement, a practical manifestation of eco-feminist ideologies out of India. Author/activist Vandana Shiva makes an appearance, as does the Banj oak (Quercus leucotrichophora). Then, we play a medieval edition of the Slang Game.
Completely Arbortrary is produced and hosted by Casey Clapp and Alex Crowson
Support the pod and become a Treemium Member
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