TREE
VISION
READ TREE STORIES
PART I WHAT IS A TREE STORY?
WHAT IS A TREE STORY?
Most of us can recognize and name a few tree species by sight, but few of us can read their stories.
Every tree tells a story.
Each tree story is the story of a species in a place -
a conversation between a genetic plan and the environmental pressures that shape it.
Our process will be to read a story from the tree itself
and then to check our story against surrounding trees and other environmental clues.
TRY IT OUT YOURSELF.
MATCH THE TREE TO THE STORY.
One is leaning for light, one is pushed by wind, one was pushed by flood.
If you aren't sure, you will be soon.
A TREE'S GOAL
Whatever the species, a tree’s number-one goal is to SURVIVE.
Get its leaves into LIGHT while keeping its BALANCE.
A TREE'S PLAN
Every tree starts with a geometric plan built into its genes:
a pattern for placing buds and branches so its leaves can share light and space.
Some grow in alternating pairs, some in parallel ranks, others in whorls or spirals.
Each is a different strategy for the same goal:
find light while maintaining balance in a specific environmental site.
PLAN MEETS PLACE
Each tree’s site is unique.
Light may come from one side, wind from another, soil thinner on one edge.
Each pressure edits the initial plan—tilting, twisting, and reshaping the tree to survive.
What we see in a real tree is the record of all those negotiations: a living conversation between plan and place.
START READING TREE STORIES