Trees are also too many things to be one thing.
https://eukaryotewritesblog.com/2021/05/02/theres-no-such-th... crops up on HN periodically.
“Trees” are not a coherent phylogenetic category. On the
evolutionary tree of plants, trees are regularly
interspersed with things that are absolutely, 100% not
trees. This means that, for instance, either:
- The common ancestor of a maple and a mulberry tree was
not a tree.
- The common ancestor of a stinging nettle and a
strawberry plant was a tree.
- And this is true for most trees or non-trees that you
can think of.