Tree?

March 14, 2008 8:19 PM

What tree is this?

I suppose you could also answer whether you think I should get it as a tattoo.

posted by aetg to Science & Nature (16 answers total)

Looks like an Acacia. Try Google images for "acacia" or "acacia ethiopia".
posted by dws at 8:24 PM on March 14, 2008

It looks like an acacia tree, but I am not a botanist.
posted by Frank Grimes at 8:26 PM on March 14, 2008

Acacia is the first thing I thought.
posted by kuujjuarapik at 8:27 PM on March 14, 2008

Why are you thinking about getting it as a tattoo? Was your trip to Ethiopia super meaningful to you? The acacia tree is kinda cliché Africa, if you care about that.
posted by clh at 8:36 PM on March 14, 2008

Response by poster: Hmm....Didn't go to Ethiopia actually. I thought the picture looked like a tree I saw in Italy, so I was intrigued.
posted by aetg at 8:38 PM on March 14, 2008

Response by poster: The Wikipedia entry doesn't suggest that Italy has acacia trees, but everyone seems to agree that this tree is acacia so I'll go with that.

I actually just liked the shape of the tree. The flat top is very nice. Seems very not like the Platonic ideal of tree and yet, kind of it is.
posted by aetg at 8:40 PM on March 14, 2008

I think that if you think you need to ask others whether or not you should get something as a tattoo, then that's a good sign that perhaps you shouldn't.

I'm just sayin'... :)

I didn't ask for help choosing any of my 3, and I don't regret them either.
posted by Zarya at 9:01 PM on March 14, 2008

Response by poster: It was really only tangential to the actual question. Somehow, what is this tree? didn't seem to be enough.

Sigh, if only google could do pictures.
posted by aetg at 9:09 PM on March 14, 2008

Acacia trees on Google images.
posted by stefnet at 9:20 PM on March 14, 2008

Best answer: Then start with "etheopia tree" (the clue being in the Flickr title). That got me to Acacia within a minute.
posted by dws at 10:15 PM on March 14, 2008

Best answer: I would say that is an Acacia, and I should know;)
posted by Acacia at 2:04 AM on March 15, 2008 [1 favorite]

Should you get it as a tattoo? Absolutely not. As Zarya says, if you have to ask other people's opinions then no, it's not something you should have permanently drawn on your body.
posted by dobbs at 6:30 AM on March 15, 2008

I once talked to a really hot guy with the Boulevard of Broken Dreams tattooed on his arm. He's never heard of James Dean, the movie, and was surprised that I recognized the image. Don't be that guy. At least learn about acacia trees before you get one on your body.
posted by gesamtkunstwerk at 7:12 AM on March 15, 2008

Response by poster: Gesamtkunstwerk.....Hence the question.
posted by aetg at 8:15 AM on March 15, 2008

Best answer: It is possible that you are asking two questions.

The first is the identification of this type of tree, which has been answered. But Acacia covers a whole family of plants and trees. The wikipedia entry seems to have been written in Australia: it doesn't mention the acacia European range. But I grew around lots of different species of acacia in Southern France, so I am sure they grow in Italy too.

I am also guessing that your interest lies not so much in botany as in your fascination with the flat top kind of acacia shown in your image:

I actually just liked the shape of the tree. The flat top is very nice. Seems very not like the Platonic ideal of tree and yet, kind of it is.

I know what you mean: I have always shared a "natural" inclination towards images of this kind of landscape. I learned where it came from: hominids evolved for millions of years in a savanna environment. Maybe not exactly "the Platonic ideal of tree", but possibly a deeply rooted iconic tree shape.
posted by bru at 8:41 AM on March 15, 2008

isnt acacia the kind of tree that jesus was supposedly crusefied to?
posted by quseio at 10:23 PM on March 28, 2008