TREE
VISION
READ TREE STORIES
PART II
START READING TREE STORIES
With just two clues—posture + main branch—you can already tell most of the story.
Posture tells us how the tree balances pressure and light.
Is the tree upright, leaning, or hanging (cascading from a cliff or slope)?
Most of the trees you see around you in urban and recreational nature environments will likely fall into the first two groups. Hanging trees are usually found in extreme environments, such as high altitude rock cliffs.
Trees lean for light, due to pressure—or both.
Pressure includes wind, erosion, flooding, slides, gravity, snow, or cramped soil.
Main branch shows where energy went over time, indicating dominant light source and possible pressures.
Lowest largest thickest branch.
Return to example to show how it can clear up our matching story.
One is leaning for light, one is pushed by wind, one was pushed by flood.
If you weren't sure before, you should be now.
READING IN DETAIL
Trunk movement—each curve or twist—records a balance correction in the face of pressure.
Age signs—bark texture, spacing, deadwood—add the timeline.
Apex shows where energy is going now. Consistent vs inconsistent w main branch. What that means.
READING TREES TOGETHER
H. READING TREES TOGETHER - sparse, grouped, etc. how are they similar and different. This also helps the deduction.
TESTING YOUR STORY
Once you’ve guessed the story from the tree itself, test it against what surrounds it—neighboring trees, slope, wind exposure, light patterns, soil.
Start w neighboring trees - READING GROUPS OF TREES
If your read matches what you see in the environment, you’re learning to see as the tree sees.
If it doesn’t, revise your hypothesis to the specific site. This may take observation over time and across seasons to get a sense of what the tree experiences.
A TREE STORY FORMULA
Once you’ve guessed the story from the tree itself, test it against what surrounds it—neighboring trees, slope, wind exposure, light patterns, soil.“This is a [upright / leaning / cascading] tree in a [mild / moderate / severe] environment featuring [light / pressure / snow / wind / erosion / etc.].
The trunk is [straight / moving] with [curves / twists / bends] because [light / wind / gravity / roots / weight / snow / human shaping].
The main branch points [direction] because [reason].
The foliage is [dense / patchy / one-sided] because [reason].
Signs of age include [taper / bark / branch spacing / scars / ramification].”
If your read matches what you see in the environment, you’re learning to see as the tree sees.
If it doesn’t, revise your hypothesis to the specific site. This may take observation over time and across seasons to get a sense of what the tree experiences.
GO EXPLORE!
Like people, trees reveal only part of their story at first glance. But each lean, curve, and scar is a line of autobiography.
Once you learn to read it, you’ll never see trees the same way again.Here’s a helpful tree viewing guide to take you into the field (we can sell this right fucking now!)
TRY READING SOME REAL TREES
BUY "TREE FIELD STORYBOOK"
LEARN TO READ BONSAI STORIES