You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you ๐ด๐ฅฅ๐น
this post was submitted on 22 Jul 2024
341 points (91.1% liked)
Science Memes
10304 readers
1976 users here now
Welcome to c/science_memes @ Mander.xyz!
A place for majestic STEMLORD peacocking, as well as memes about the realities of working in a lab.
Rules
- Don't throw mud. Behave like an intellectual and remember the human.
- Keep it rooted (on topic).
- No spam.
- Infographics welcome, get schooled.
Research Committee
Other Mander Communities
Science and Research
Biology and Life Sciences
- [email protected]
- [email protected]
- [email protected]
- [email protected]
- [email protected]
- [email protected]
- [email protected]
- [email protected]
- [email protected]
- [email protected]
- [email protected]
- [email protected]
- [email protected]
- [email protected]
- [email protected]
- [email protected]
- [email protected]
- [email protected]
- [email protected]
- [email protected]
- [email protected]
- [email protected]
- [email protected]
- [email protected]
- !reptiles and [email protected]
Physical Sciences
- [email protected]
- [email protected]
- [email protected]
- [email protected]
- [email protected]
- [email protected]
- [email protected]
- [email protected]
- [email protected]
Humanities and Social Sciences
Practical and Applied Sciences
- !exercise-and [email protected]
- [email protected]
- !self [email protected]
- [email protected]
- [email protected]
- [email protected]
Memes
Miscellaneous
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
There's no such thing as a tree.
And as a QI fan, I feel compelled to add there's no such thing as a fish
This is a reminder that there is no universally accepted botanical definition of tree. It is also a reminder that usage supersedes definition, so pointing out that coconut palm trees aren't "trees" makes you both annoying and wrong.
The definition of tree exists within the context of all that came before it? ๐ด
load more comments
(1 replies)
Mmmmm, I'd say specialists would not use the broader definitions that are more colloquial in nature. Language depends on the user and their purpose/intent. Generally, trees are woody plants with secondary growth and they aren't monocots. It's not a hard boundary, but really depends on context.
https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C3&q=coconut+tree
Someone should tell the authors of these hundreds of papers then.
You do realize the qualifiers you edited in are exactly my point and directly contradict your post, right?
There's no way you actually read that.
It's literally a blog post of one person's opinion which concludes without a definitive statement, that it's not settled if they're trees or not, and then links to a page "for further reading" that categorizes them under trees.
I did and I agree with the author. You do not have to agree with us. It's a form vs function argument. There is not a "right absolute" answer, it's about how you approach the question.
then we agree that it's incorrect to definitively say that a "palm tree" is not a tree.
rigidly defending the boundaries of a biological category that's not a monophylitic group is an exercise in futility. or maybe in linguistics, because if it's not monophyletic it's not "real" in an evolutionary sense and the question is in the cultural realm and somewhat subjective. It's like the discussions about whether a certain food is a fruit/vegetable/etc.
load more comments
(2 replies)
load more comments
(1 replies)
Da palm grows da coconut and turns da election around
From the coco palm family!
๐ต Ya ya ya ya ya ๐ต
It's probably going to be political since it's wrong.
The coconut tree (Cocos nucifera) is a member of the palm tree family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus Cocos. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which botanically is a drupe, not a nut. They are ubiquitous in coastal tropical regions and are a cultural icon of the tropics.
I'm off to edit that wiki, the tree is a bit of a misnomer.
I see a fight coming your way in the talk section, lol. Good luck.
Nah, it's correct. Just needs a clarifying sentence. They use the word tree but it's not technically a tree, rather tree-like. The word tree is used for ease, colloquially. They grew like this as they are plants well suited for seaside wind and storms, hurricanes... Wetland plants. The grasses that didn't give up. Tree definitions vary from form vs function, and form is used more colloquially.
Edit: Fixed yayayayyay I need more edits this month
No tree is a tree. "Tree" is not a clearly-defined taxonomical category. Anything that is tree-like gets grouped under the catgory "tree".
I think it's arguable that "tree" is just a term for a growth habit rather than anything really taxonomically meaningful.
load more comments
(1 replies)
load more comments
(1 replies)
Time to post one of my favorite songs:
("Da Coconut Nut", by Ryan Cayabyab. This version is probably the one performed by his group, Smokey Mountain.)
This song reminds us that the coconut is not a nut; it is the fruit of the cocopalm.
Wait, what?
Palms, like corn, are really tall grass.
https://www.tampabay.com/archive/2011/11/06/yes-technically-palms-are-a-big-grass/
How many social credit points do I lose if I refer to bamboo products as "wood" outside of botany nerd circles?
load more comments
(4 replies)
load more comments
(4 replies)
I disagree.