No one really knows what a tree is - Max G. Levy
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Plants assume a variety of forms, and trees are just one of them. What makes or breaks a tree can come down to some pretty specific characteristics, based on how the plant develops as a result of how it evolved. Trees don’t all comprise one closely related group, like insects or mammals. So, how exactly do trees get classified as trees? Max G. Levy explains what distinguishes these woody plants.
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Additional Resources for you to Explore
Evolutionary biologists study the observable forms that different species acquire. These physical traits are known as phenotypes, and they can generally be related to the genetic makeup of those organisms, called genotypes. Think about what phenotypes help distinguish humans from other species; also consider what phenotypes vary within a family. Across living organisms, different species have evolved the similar phenotypes independently, in so-called convergent evolution. For another example, read this story from Scientific American: Why Do Animals Keep Evolving into Crabs? and watch this TED-Ed lesson: Myths and misconceptions about evolution.
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Meet The Creators
- Educator
- Max G. Levy
- Director
- Evandro D'Hipolito
- Narrator
- Alexandra Panzer
- Composer
- Cem Misirlioglu, Work Play Work
- Sound Designer
- Cem Misirlioglu, Work Play Work
