What Does It Look Like?
Hey Casey & Alex! Hope you are both enjoying the change of seasons and getting some much needed vitamin d up there in P-town! I hail from the other [East] side of the Cascades and live a bit south of Bend where our forest is predominantly Lodgepole Pine with intermixed stands of Ponderosa Pine. As you know we face serious wildfire risk here and in recent years the USFS has been working on major fuels reduction projects including thinning, slash piling and controlled burns. With this comes an abundance of public announcements regarding the role of fire on the landscape, a history of fire suppression and what a healthy Ponderosa Pine forest looks like - usually using the phrase "park-like" and emphasizing the spacing that these fire adapted species thrive in due to frequent, low-intensity fires the trees were accustomed to in the past. What never seems to be addressed is what a healthy lodgepole forest looks like and it has me very curious. We have so many thick, overstocked swaths of lodgepole and they really just look awful - picture 1"-4" diameter scrawny little trees so close together you can't even walk through them, with skeletons of their tiny dead relatives criss crossed and hung up on each other in such a fashion that once glance and you think "yeah, this is how fires happen". So, my question is, what does a healthy lodgepole forest look like and how, after years of this awful growth pattern, can or would any sense of balance be achieved in these places? Thank you both for always keeping my brain occupied, my eyes attuned to the nerdy nuances of the trees and of course, for all of the out loud bursts of laughter that come while listening. Keep up the good work! Blair
Cool long-term tree studies.
Hey guys! I've been thinking about how long many trees live and how that could make it challenging to do controlled experiments. Do you know of any cool long-term studies past, present, or future? Also, if you had the magic power to fund a study, are there any particular mysteries that you would want investigated? Wishing you all the best! -Dean.
Hello, Casey and Alex! Since I had emailed you all in February, I am officially all caught up on the pod! I became a Treemium member in March after over two years of listening to catch up. I am currently working through all the premium content now. As I had mentioned in my email, it has been so awesome to see how much you guys have grown and changed throughout your podcast journey. It’s been so cool seeing how much Alex has gained confidence in his forestry knowledge. This has had me wanting to ask what is your favorite thing that you have learned from the podcast about trees and about yourself?
Over the years, what is your favorite thing that you have learned from the podcast about trees and about yourself?
I found this tree several times in Iceland
And haven’t been able to figure out what it is. The first settlers of Iceland used up all their trees in the first 800 years, so it’s not native to Iceland. I think the bark is very distinctive, yet no picture on the Internet seems to correspond to it. You can roll the needles between your fingers and they are three sided. I’m going back to Iceland next month and would love to be able to tell my travel companions the tree species. Tree pic: https://robkerr-my.sharepoint.com/:i:/g/personal/brenda_kerr_cc/EX7kZqzydbBOsPOe67_4wBEBvO92aPR2VAxvNDqMhlZ3oA?e=Spg7om
Deadwood
Hey fellow tree peeps. I'm a residential climbing arborist and a common task is to deadwood trees. We climb around and either just get large hazardous branches or sometimes go through the entire tree and go after a certain size of branch, ie 2" and larger, 1/2" or larger and so on. While I will admit that coming down from a tree and standing back to admire this "clean" tree can be rewarding, it does often leave me with the question. Does all the deadwood of a tree have real benifts to the environment of said tree? I can foresee benefits to certain insects and fungi but what might be some real benefits to the tree? I do like to represent myself as an Arborist, with a capital A, so the more knowledge I can gain, the better I can be that Arborist. My mission as an steward of the urban forest is this, the more healthy trees in which people live around the happier the people. The happier the people, the more trees we get to have. So I feel this information can be added to an arsenal of topics in which I can discuss with customers throughout my workday. As always thank you Nathan
Boys, after listening to the whole Lord of the Tree Rings marathon, I had a thought strike me like a bolt of lightning as I heard the once familiar phrase "FAGOOSH!" Gasp, I said to myself, Why is this the first fagoosh I've heard on this pod in literal years? To where did fagoosh vanish? And that got me thinking about more oldies but goodies from this pod. Where is Crowson's Stump of Approval? Collecting dust in a vacant glen somewhere?! And lastly, Crowson's Homegrown Treevia has not graced my ears in some time. What are the chances we bring back this might trio, this TREE-umvirate (I did that Roman Empire allusion for Casey)? Love the pod!
Boys, after listening to the whole Lord of the Tree Rings marathon, I had a thought strike me like a bolt of lightning as I heard the once familiar phrase "FAGOOSH!" Gasp, I said to myself, Why is this the first fagoosh I've heard on this pod in literal years? To where did fagoosh vanish? And that got me thinking about more oldies but goodies from this pod. Where is Crowson's Stump of Approval? Collecting dust in a vacant glen somewhere?! And lastly, Crowson's Homegrown Treevia has not graced my ears in some time. What are the chances we bring back this might trio, this TREE-umvirate (I did that Roman Empire allusion for Casey)? Love the pod!
Pollenpocalypse
Hi Alex and Casey! I've recently moved back to Raleigh, NC and we have been in the midst of "the pollening". A yellow film has covered everything for the last week or so, and everyone's allergies have been acting up (including my cat Chai's). I've lived in several places where allergies and pollen are still a thing, but I have been wondering why it is so intense in North Carolina and the Triangle specifically? I have heard its been attributed to tree pollen in the area and Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" but I'm not sure what the difference is between the trees here and other areas along the east coast with similar species? Are there any ways that could mitigate this level of pollen, or is NC cursed to be yellow every spring? Thanks from a new cone club member and listener!
What's up with root tissue?
I was on a hike and there was an american sycamore with most of the soil washed out from along the bank of a stream and the roots had the telltale camo-ey exfoliating bark pattern. I know some species can put new root tissue on from stems and grow new shoots from existing roots but I've never heard of root tissue ‘becoming’ stem tissue. Is root tissue just super flexible? What other cool things can it do?
What's up with root tissue?
I was on a hike and there was an american sycamore with most of the soil washed out from along the bank of a stream and the roots had the telltale camo-ey exfoliating bark pattern. I know some species can put new root tissue on from stems and grow new shoots from existing roots but I've never heard of root tissue ‘becoming’ stem tissue. Is root tissue just super flexible? What other cool things can it do?
Favorite tree/forb combos
Howdy! Long time listener from the Ozarks. Loving Inside Sprout and always appreciate when you cover my favorite eastern species (would love a Chinquapin Oak episode!). My question is: what species of flowers and trees do you think go well together? I work in prairies and savannah habitats and love how the pale delicate white flowers of Penstemon digitalis looks under wide Oak branches. Feel free to just go by color or general flower vibe. Also, I'm planning a trip to SW Oregon in May and would appreciate any recommendations for a tree lover!
PNW Climate Resistant Forestry?
I live in the Seattle area and came across an article about this in the local news. Do trees of the same species have different resiliency traits throughout their native region? Is it really possible to create climate change resistant forests still comprised of native species? I'm fascinated by this project and would love to hear your thoughts! Thank you! - Madison (they/them) https://kingcounty.gov/en/dept/dnrp/about-king-county/about-dnrp/newsroom/2025-news-releases/03-20-climate-resilient-trees
Drive By Tree I.D.
Do you ever try to identify trees as you're driving down the road? How accurate can you be? My 4 year old son knows that I'm a fan of trees, so he'll ask me to name trees while we're driving through neighborhoods. It's a fun game, albeit a little dangerous if you get too distracted. Hard mode is doing it on the highway. Games aside, you guys have inspired me, and through me, my son to learn more about the trees in our area. Thank you, and keep on keeping on with your badass selves. Rich from Michigan
Trees that fix toxic soil?
Hiya fellas. I live in southeast Michigan. Not really Detroit, but vaguely that area. If you don't know much about Detroit, it's kind of famous for it's history in the auto industry. Now there are a lot of abandoned factories in the area. One of the reasons that these spaces aren't bring repurposed is because of the toxicity in the ground from decades of auto manufacturing. Is there a tree, or types of trees, that could be planted that would be able to thrive and help cleanse the soil? Love The Pod, you guys are bad motherfuckers! Rich from Michigan
Lenticels
Hi Alex and Casey, Could you say a few words about the role of lenticels in trees, namely bark tissue? It seems like some smooth-bark trees such as cherry have this anatomical structure, which is visible to the naked eye. What are the lenticels’ role, physiologically and to what internal anatomical structures to they link within the tree? Do fissure-bark trees have such structures, and if so where, or if not, why? Thank you.
Extending hazel lifespan
Hi Alex & Casey! I started forest school training a couple weeks ago, and I was taught that coppicing hazel extends its life from about 80 to over 100 years. Is this true, and why would this happen if there is a reduction in stored energy/use of energy for new growth? Thanks for being great as always! Katy
cotton tree
Hey guys! I hope you're well this lovely spring day. :) I have a tree idea for you. I saw this one when I was in Mexico a few years ago (visiting the ruins at Monte Alban), but I guess it is a tropical tree from Asia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombax_ceiba It is so unique and strange (at least to me) that a took about 12 pictures of it. Not sure how to send you pictures, but I'd love to if you're interested. Thanks so much for the podcast, by the way. You bring me a lot of joy and laughter --I started listening last summer and I'm *almost* caught up. I'll be sad when I run out of old episodes though <3 :) Laura, tree lover and plant ecology person
Bioinformatics course focused on trees
Hi Casey and Alex! I'm a data analyst and would like to learn more about working with tree data, particularly genomics. I was wondering if you could point me to a course or a book that you find awesome. I am already looked at a bunch of different online courses but a lot of them are mainly focused on humans/animals or crops etc. I love trees and would like to go full on trees with my data analysis work. Yours treely, Ansar
Re-wilding Resources?
Hi Casey and Alex! I’ve recently moved into a new place, and right outside my bay windows is a lovely hill with five big oak and maple trees…and some invasive shrubs and vines. My landlord said I could do some light landscaping, and I’m wondering what some resources I could use would be? I’m in Sonoma county, and very generally, am I looking at grassroots orgs, government programs, private companies? Mostly, I’d just like to do wildflower/native shrub planting. Thank you so much, y’all are still my favorite show and I can’t wait to get my new long-sleeve!
What other “invasive” trees are misunderstood?
Hey guys! Katie S here again (love you guys, i look forward to listening to each new episode every thursday, it’s the only thing that gets me through the week) The discussion on the black locust was so good and got me wondering - what other trees have been labeled as invasive but maybe are just misunderstood? Bonus unrelated question: what tree names/terms make for good names? so far my favorites are Juniper and Cypress but im open to ideas PS - any episode where you guys play a game and we get to hear alex sing is a treat, i LOVE hearing the songs
Petard etymology
Not a question, but I loved the game about medieval weapons, and the petard brought to mind an old saying: "hoist by his own petard"... Thought you might enjoy seeing the history of this saying! -Emily from NY https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoist_with_his_own_petard#:~:text=%22Hoist%20with%20his%20own%20petard,correct%20context%20of%20the%20phrase.
Tree(s) to plant in Bozeman, MT in prep for EAB's arrival
Hello Casey and Alex! Been an avid fan of the pod for a while now, and finally got to join the Cone Club as a Hannukah gift from my partner! Here is my question: I live in Bozeman, Montana, on a street lined with huge mature (century+ old) ash trees. I worry that if/when Emerald Ash Borer makes it here, all of the street trees will die. So just in case, I want to start planting other trees in my boulevard near the ash trees so that there can still be some beautiful trees (and the foliage, fall color, habitat, shade, etc that they provide). And I hope to encourage my neighbors to do the same! What trees would you recommend we plant? Thank you in advance! Finn
Tree destinations
Hello favorite podcast duo, I was listening to the recent episode on the banj tree and Casey mentioned that he knew of a couple in LA that he plans to see... and it got me wondering, how does he know?? How do you find out about where cool trees are, do you have any neat resources, and has Casey done a vacation around a tree(s)? I'm used to planning the destination first and then using things like iNaturalist to know what I may see there, but I haven't done the opposite. I think it'd be a fun way to plan trips! Anyways, just want to say you both make me so happy. Alex, you ask all the questions I have and make my favorite, witty comments. I love when you reflect on what you've learned and there is proud papa Casey, it's so heartwarming. Casey, you inspire me to read more and I think you're adorable. Also, Alex, we share a birthday! Happy belated birthday and remember, every four years the day is still about celebrating you and not some orange creeper or other fool. TTFN- Jessy
Do you keep track of your golden arboretum?
Hi hello! I've been listening to your podcast for a couple of years now, and I get so excited when a tree gets inducted and the melodica is played. My question is do you guys have a list of all of the trees you've added into the GA? And if so, are there any that you think are better than others, or ones you may regret adding in? I would love to hear you guys rank the golden trees now that there are quite a few. I love this show so much. When Alex comically said "consider supporting if you listen to this show more than you watch Netflix" I was like wow I unironically do which led to a subscription. All the best, Laura :)