We don't know what a tree is (and this video won't tell you)

It turns out that defining what is and isn't a “tree” is way harder than it seems.

LEARN MORE
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To learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords:
Wood: A bunch of cellulose fibers intertwined with lignin usually found in the trunk of a tree.
Trunk: A wooden stem that thickens over time.
Bonsai: An ornamental tree or shrub that is artificially prevented from reaching its normal size.
Shrub: A woody plant that is smaller than a tree.
Gymnosperm: A group of plants, including conifers, that have naked seeds.
Angiosperm: A group of plants, including lots of other “trees” that have enclosed seeds.
Monocots: A group of flowering plants - mostly angiosperms - with a single embryonic leaf that includes palm trees.
Dicots: A group of flowering plants - mostly angiosperms - with two embryonic leaves that includes oak trees.

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CREDITS
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David Goldenberg | Script Writer, Narrator, and Director
Adam Thompson | Illustration, Video Editing, and Animation
Nathaniel Schroeder | Music

MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC

OUR STAFF
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Sarah Berman • Arcadi Garcia i Rius
David Goldenberg • Julián Gustavo Gómez
Melissa Hayes • Alex Reich • Henry Reich • Peter Reich
Ever Salazar • Leonardo Souza • Kate Yoshida

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REFERENCES
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[PramkLuna]

"and this won't tell you"
ah yes, the anti clickbait, quality content

[primafathoni]

"What is a tree?"
Well, the root of the problem is in how we define things. Often times, it branches off too wide and leaves one open to interpretations

[TheElizondo]

Having Sudowoodo (not a tree) in the resercher's wall is a great detail.

[falnica]

You said it, treenes has evolved many times, thus "tree" appears to be an ecological role, like predator or prey

[LuizFelipe-lkhs]

I mean, the pokedéx entry literally says: "Although it always pretends to be a tree, its composition appears to be closer to a rock than a plant."

[ahmedkoushen]

In Arabic we use the definition that was mentioned in the beginning of the videos a tree is called (شجرة - shajarah), Palm trees are not considered trees they are called (نخلة - nakhlah), and any short tree or bush is called (شجيرة - shojayrah) which literally means small tree

[hedgehog]

I had been wondering about this for a while. I think probably the best way to think of trees is as a niche, just like apex predator or grazer. So the reason we have so many unrelated plants that all look roughly the same is the same reason that Dolphins and Sharks look similar.

[jackthepokexpert]

Definition of tree: Looks enough like a tree

[MssIAMNOBODYSPECIAL]

1:11 minor correction. In the currently accepted way of grouping the domains of life, archea and bacteria should be flipped, where archea are more closely related to eukaryotes (Im not starting the two vs three domain debate here🤣)

[Yusuf-keiu]

Imagine going out on a bush walk and some kid says
“Whats dat (points to a tree looking thing)”
“I don’t know”
“Is it not a tree?”
“Maybe”

[SteamingBurito]

Shouldn't their size and ecological role be the only thing that defines what a tree is? They fill the niche of high canopies and forest growth. You wouldn't call a field of shrubs a forest.

[katakana]

Biologists: We don't know what a tree is.
Graph Theorists: *I am four parallel universes ahead of you.*

[denifnaf]

Subnautica players: marble mellon is tree

[Tubocass]

This is the plant version of "Why Fish Don't Exist" by Lulu Miller.

[illiacvie]

I wish i know about this when my teacher criticized about my tree drawings.

[jessekeck]

Field Botanist here - great video! Technical identification terminology vs casual plant speak is something I think about a bunch. It all depends who your audience is and meeting them at their level of knowledge. I think its 100% fine to use casual terms such as "Tree, Shrub, Berry" and reserve more specific terms for other plant professionals (or an instructive YouTube video!). Botanical terminology turns into a rabbit hole of confusion once you get into the "problem familys" such as the Salixaceae (willows) or Cyperaceae (sedges) and only gets more problematic when you consider the large history of different botanists using pet terms, which makes for some fascinating (however frustratingly redundant) words.

[vtron]

I guess the “tree” classification is polyphyletic.

[PhysicsPolice]

I go with the definition given by author Colin Tudge in his book The Tree: "A tall plant with a stick up the middle."

[francescoghizzo]

A palm tree actually has a trunk, but it's really really short, located at its base. What we think is a trunk are in fact hardened leaves

[CuriousDoc]

Classifying trees seems like such a simple concept but clearly it's not! Great video