Strange Tree
And the cognitive filters we use to explain things
Years ago, on a hike deep in the forest, I found this strange tree and sketched it as I saw it. I showed the sketch to some friends and asked them to explain it from either a scientific or a fantasy perspective. Here's what they came up with:
Scientific Explanation: Earnest
“I think the tree was originally growing out of either a decomposing fallen tree trunk or a mound of earth. In either case, either the tree trunk eventually decomposed completely or the mound of dirt could have washed away. This is supported further by the fact that the tree appears to have been growing sideways its whole life, suggesting that it had grown out of some mass that has since broken down.”
Fantasy Explanation: Eric O.
”The tree is a doorway. It is made by rabbits, who have secret tree sculpting knowledge. It leads to a world called Lagomorphia. There are doorways to Lagomorphia all over the world, along rabbit trails. The main feature of Lagomorphia is The Great Borough Market. Rabbits from all over the world congregate here and trade different types of grasses. You will find the Eastern Cotton tail, Sumatran Striped Rabbits, Volcano Rabbits and every other type of rabbit. In order to be activated the doorway requires a key : a live rabbits paw pressed on a certain knot.“
Then I showed the sketch to ChatGPT and asked it to come up with completely different explanations.
Mythic-Naturalist Explanation: Arlen Vos (ChatGPT)
"This is a Time Knot Tree. It grew in a place where time folds back on itself, causing the trunk to loop in impossible ways. Its roots reach both into the past and the future. Folklore says if you walk around it three times counterclockwise, you might slip briefly into another timeline—but finding your way back isn’t always certain."
Folkloric Explanation: Miri the Woodwife (ChatGPT)
"This tree was twisted by forest spirits called Loppers. They bend young trees into gateways for their mischief. When a Lopper passes through, it can shift its form or steal a traveler’s shadow. The spirits mark their favorite trees with twisted bows like this one."
Two questions for the comment section: Why did you choose the one you did, and can you come up with a completely different explanation?
All of the explanations are completely wrong. It's obviously a progenitor of the Socratea exorrhiza, or the walking palm tree, native to rain forests in Central/South America. It was obviously stalking a white lipped peccary when you stumbled across it. These moving trees have been known to halt its progress for prolonged periods of time so as to fool its predators and therefore long enough for you to make a fine sketch. Had you returned 24 hours later you would have discovered that same spot would now be empty and perhaps discover the remains of a white lipped peccary. No one knows for sure how these cross links between mammal and plant achieve movement since there haven't been enough studies and no one has seen them actually in motion, just the aftermath. There is a program at the Universidad Nacional de San Antonio Abad del Cusco in Cusco Peru who has been studying this phenomenon over the past 20 years headed by Decano Dr. Luciano JULÍAN Cruz Miranda who heads the Facultad Ciencias BIOLÓGICAS who is probably the foremost authority of this "missing link" species.
Jerry M.
I chose the first, scientific explanation. For me the ability of trees, of all organisms, to grow and persist under difficult and changing environments is absolute magic. It is a miracle. The overwhelming impetus of all organisms is to survive. Your lovely little tree is definitely a survivor! And you have helped it survive further by drawing it.