"Tree" isn't a biological definition. It's a descriptive term for "a tall plant with at least one rigid central trunk." Which means that anything that looks like a tree is probably a tree, regardless of species.
this post was submitted on 22 Jul 2024
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I am a tree
Ayy, welcome to the tree club!
shrieks TREE LAWWWWW
TREEEEEESSSS THEY ARE UUUUSSSSSS
We welcome you to tree-hood, my fellow arbor
Do you get pollinated by birds and bees?
That's personal
There's no such thing as a tree.
And as a QI fan, I feel compelled to add there's no such thing as a fish
No such thing as a tree? So you mean all those binary trees I've been inverting have been a lie? My whole world is shattered.
Of plants native to the Canary Islands, wood independently evolved at least 38 times!
Except that yes there is. It's just not a scientific term. Same with fish.
A local park ranger I know likes to remark that our state tree is a grass. (I'm in Florida.)
But I'd say that's also inaccurate. IMO, grasses are in the family Poaceae, and palms are in the family Arecaceae. I guess one could remark that our state tree is a commelinid...but I don't think tourists would get as much of a kick out of that.
Neat read, thanks
There's no widely-accepted scientific definition of a tree.
##PeopleCorrectingPeopleIncorrectly
Wait, what?
Palms, like corn, are really tall grass.
https://www.tampabay.com/archive/2011/11/06/yes-technically-palms-are-a-big-grass/
Conifers aren't trees by this definition. It seems to completely ignore gymnosperms and even misclassified a couple as dicots like sequoias and junipers.
We need to stop looking for a scientifically coherent category for a tree and ,like fish, embrace the true, intuitive, childlike definition of it as just a form, a trunk with leaves at the top.
How many social credit points do I lose if I refer to bamboo products as "wood" outside of botany nerd circles?
I'd say about 69.
Nice.
If I remember correctly, wood consists mainly of cellulose, lignin, and hemi-cellulose. I don't know about bamboo, but I guess it's some kind of woody material.
It’s the lack of lignin (bamboo uses silica as a strengthener) that sets it apart.
But bamboo is a grass, anyways.
Never doubted bamboo not being a grass. But I didn't know about the silica thing - that's really cool!! Thank you for telling this!
It’s the lack of lignin (bamboo uses silica as a strengthener)
Oh I see
"Trees" have secondary growth while "palms" have primary growth. At least that is what I have been told in dendrology lectures.
true enough, that doesn't exclude them from being trees though.
From the coco palm family!
🎵 Ya ya ya ya ya 🎵
it looks like a tree and quacks like a tree though.
Ironically, in this case, that literally means it's a tree
Trees are the plant version of crabs.
Okay, and raspberries aren't technically berries at all, but aggregate fruits. In other words, so the fuck what? When you say 'coconut tree', everyone knows what plant you're referring to.
You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you 🌴🥥🍹
Da palm grows da coconut and turns da election around
Time to post one of my favorite songs:
("Da Coconut Nut", by Ryan Cayabyab. This version is probably the one performed by his group, Smokey Mountain.)
This song reminds us that the coconut is not a nut; it is the fruit of the cocopalm.
You can tell it's an Aspen from the way it is
Thats pretty neat!
I have literature right here that says otherwise.
Ahem..
"A told B, and B told C, I'll beat you to the top of the coconut tree."
science has gone too far with this one!!