Learn · TED

Talk6 min

No one really knows what a tree is

Max G. Levy · TED

Watch At TED

About

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. [Directed by Evandro D'Hipolito, narrated by Alexandra Panzer, music by Cem Misirlioglu, WORKPLAYWORK].

The talk

  1. No one really knows what a tree is 6 min · TED's player

Credits and licence

Institution
TED
Department
TED-Ed
Speaker
Max G. Levy
Year
2025
Level
For everyone
Language
English
Subjects
Biology, Teaching and learning
Source
TED
Licence
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0, as TED states it. Non-commercial use only, and no changed versions. TED's terms
Attribution
TED Talks are licensed by TED under Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0 International and are shown here in TED's own player, as TED's usage policy asks.
Who can watch
TED gives no rating. Invisible Network shows it to Tweens profiles and older, judged from what the source says about it. How courses are placed