Larch Madness

by Chris Diffley, At-Large Director

Contrary to whatever you think is currently notable in the world of arboriculture, the most important annual event just wrapped up in March, with a surprising winner having their one shining moment. That’s right, the Great Basin Bristlecone Pine (Pinus longaeva) dominated the Ahuehuete/Montezuma Cypress (Taxodium mucronatum) to emerge victorious in the annual Larch Madness tournament hosted by Facebook group, Phytomemetics

It was a difficult road to the championship for the extremophile survivor, with upsets against Red Mangrove (Rhizophora mangle), defending champion Sequoia sempervirens, the Cacao tree (Theobroma cacao), and their bracket’s number 1 seed Quaking Aspen (Populus tremuloides). Experience was key for this tree to weathering the fierce competition; one specimen, Methuselah, has been estimated at 4,800 years old making it possibly the oldest non-clonal organism on earth.

This year’s tournament featured some stunning upsets, such as the King Fern (Angiopteris evecta) (A FERN!) taking down the mighty Eastern Cottonwood (Populus deltoides) and eventually making it to the Elite Eight before being crushed by the weight of the Giant Sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum).

I sat down with Nick, the storied event’s founder and ISA certified arborist, to get his insights into how this tournament of trees came to be and get his opinions on the future of tree-based competitions of supremacy.

Chris: Thanks for taking the time to speak with me. First off, what was the inspiration, and what about tree/plant subculture made you think people would be drawn to it?

Nick: There were a few points of inspiration for Larch Madness. Obviously, the NCAA basketball tourney is a big one, but besides that I’d seen the engagement that a few different groups and pages I follow were having and knowing our group I figured people would be about it. I know there’s a lot of passionate people in the group who really care about plants; there’s so much emotion tied up in plants, either from people’s past (cough Tulip Poplar cough) or the ones they care for or love to eat. I was pretty confident people would have a bunch of fun with it.

C: Did you expect the level of response?

N: Yes and no. I expected to get a decent number of reaction votes, but I wasn’t fully prepared for how heavy the comments would get with people supporting or opposing (especially opposing!) various trees. It felt like last year we got a lot more surface level participation. There were definitely more votes on average per poll matchup last year than this year, but it feels like the people who participated REALLY participated. Like, dived in headfirst.

C: What brought you the most satisfaction?

N: Honestly, the most satisfying thing is seeing other people get joy (or in some cases the opposite) from something I put a lot of effort into. Setting up the polls and the bracket is a heavy lift on the front end but it’s so worth it to see how it lands on the group and watch people get into it. I also really like being a heel in the comments, and picking a few specific, popular trees to just antagonize for fun.

C: What does the future hold for Larch Madness?

N: I’ve got plans, and I’m already looking forward to 2024. One of the things that consistently bums me out is the North American and Western European bias. Last year I just opened a poll at the start to get submissions from the group and it definitely skewed the trees that were in the bracket. We tried to compensate this year by scraping the NCBI (National Center for Biotechnology Information) database for the most commonly referenced tree species but that had drawbacks too - mostly a bias towards economic value and the inclusion of some plants that are questionable trees. I think next year I’m gonna do open polls again but organized by continent to ensure representation. No matter what, I feel obligated to keep running it for the people who enjoy it, and also because I just love doing it.

So, whether your favorite tree dominated this year, or you’re left with a shattered bracket like many of us were, I know we’ll all be looking forward to next year’s tourney. To look at a detailed breakdown of how the various matchups transpired, simply search #larchmadness on Facebook and scroll through some epic battles and the impassioned pleas of the various supporters of these wonderful organisms. And if you’re a fan of plant-based memes, joining the group will not be the worst mistake you make this year. That honor goes to any of the trolls who voted for Pyrus calleryana, which was deservedly trounced.