A Dyson tree is an hypothetical

genetically engineered Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification or genetic manipulation, is the modification and manipulation of an organism's genes using technology. It is a set of technologies used to change the genetic makeup of cells, including t ...

plant Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclu ...

(perhaps resembling a tree) capable of growing inside a

comet A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun, warms and begins to release gases, a process that is called outgassing. This produces a visible atmosphere or coma, and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena ...

, suggested by the physicist

Freeman Dyson Freeman John Dyson (15 December 1923 – 28 February 2020) was an English-American theoretical physicist and mathematician known for his works in quantum field theory, astrophysics, random matrices, mathematical formulation of quantum m ...

. Plants may be able to produce a breathable atmosphere within the hollow spaces of the comet (or maybe even within the plants themselves), utilising solar energy for photosynthesis and

cometary A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun, warms and begins to release gases, a process that is called outgassing. This produces a visible atmosphere or coma, and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena are ...

materials for nutrients, thus providing

self-sustaining Self-sustainability and self-sufficiency are overlapping states of being in which a person or organization needs little or no help from, or interaction with, others. Self-sufficiency entails the self being enough (to fulfill needs), and a self-s ...

habitats for humanity in the outer solar system analogous to a greenhouse in space, a shell grown by a mollusc or the actions of

thermogenic plants Thermogenic plants have the ability to raise their temperature above that of the surrounding air. Heat is generated in the mitochondria, as a secondary process of cellular respiration called thermogenesis. Alternative oxidase and uncoupling protei ...

, such as the

skunk cabbage Skunk cabbage is a common name for several plants and may refer to: * the genus ''Lysichiton'' ** Asian skunk cabbage, ''Lysichiton camtschatcensis'', grows in eastern Asia ** Western skunk cabbage, '' Lysichiton americanus'', grows in western Nor ...

or the voodoo lily. A Dyson tree might consist of a few main trunk structures growing out from a comet nucleus, branching into limbs and foliage that intertwine, forming a spherical structure possibly dozens of kilometers across.

Dyson trees in science fiction

Dyson trees are mentioned a number of times in

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

, beginning in the 1980s: *One of the first adoptions of the trope is

Rachel Pollack Rachel Grace Pollack (born August 17, 1945 as Richard Pollack) is an American science fiction author, comic book writer, and expert on divinatory tarot. She is involved in the women's spirituality movement. Career Tarot reading Pollack has wr ...

's ''Tree House'' (1984). *The concept is discussed in Carl Sagan and

Ann Druyan Ann Druyan ( ; born June 13, 1949) is an Emmy and Peabody Award-winning American documentary producer and director specializing in the communication of science. She co-wrote the 1980 PBS documentary series ''Cosmos'', hosted by Carl Sagan, ...

's 1985 non-fiction book ''

Comet A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun, warms and begins to release gases, a process that is called outgassing. This produces a visible atmosphere or coma, and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena ...

'', and several paintings of Dyson trees around Saturn and in interstellar space are provided in the book by

Jon Lomberg Jon Lomberg (born 1948) is an American space artist and science journalist. He was Carl Sagan's principal artistic collaborator for more than twenty years on many projects from 1972 through 1996. In 1998, the International Astronomical Union offici ...

. * In

Michael Swanwick Michael Swanwick (born 18 November 1950) is an American fantasy and science fiction author who began publishing in the early 1980s. Writing career Swanwick's fiction writing began with short stories, starting in 1980 when he published "Ginungagap ...

's 1987

transhumanist Transhumanism is a philosophical and intellectual movement which advocates the enhancement of the human condition by developing and making widely available sophisticated technologies that can greatly enhance longevity and cognition. Transhuma ...

novel ''

Vacuum Flowers ''Vacuum Flowers'' is a science fiction novel by American writer Michael Swanwick, published in 1987. It is an early example of the cyberpunk genre, and features one of the earliest uses of the concept of wetware (brain), wetware. Plot summar ...

'', "dysonsworlders" have established tree settlements in the

Oort Cloud The Oort cloud (), sometimes called the Öpik–Oort cloud, first described in 1950 by the Dutch astronomer Jan Oort, is a theoretical concept of a cloud of predominantly icy planetesimals proposed to surround the Sun at distances ranging from ...

. * Under the name of "Space Poplars", Dyson trees are described in

Donald Moffitt Donald Moffitt (July 20, 1931December 10, 2014) was an American author who wrote a number of science fiction novels. Most famous among these are ''The Genesis Quest'' and '' Second Genesis''. While he was the author of many titles under his own ...

's two science fiction novels, ''

The Genesis Quest ''The Genesis Quest'' is a 1986 science fiction novel by American writer Donald Moffitt. It is part of a two-part series, the conclusion of the story being offered in ''Second Genesis (novel), Second Genesis''. Plot summary

An alien race (The ...

'' and '' Second Genesis''. Here they are used as both habitats and spacecraft, propelled by reflective outer leaves used as organic solar sails. *

Dan Simmons Dan Simmons (born April 4, 1948) is an American science fiction and horror writer. He is the author of the Hyperion Cantos and the Ilium/Olympos cycles, among other works which span the science fiction, horror, and fantasy genres, sometimes wi ...

, in ''

Endymion Endymion primarily refers to: * Endymion (mythology), an Ancient Greek shepherd * ''Endymion'' (poem), by John Keats Endymion may also refer to: Fictional characters * Prince Endymion, a character in the ''Sailor Moon'' anime franchise * Raul ...

'' (1996) and the ''

Rise of Endymion ''The Rise of Endymion'' is a 1997 science fiction novel by American writer Dan Simmons. It is the fourth and final novel in his ''Hyperion Cantos'' fictional universe. It won the Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel, and was nominated for ...

'' (1997) – both part of his

Hyperion Cantos The ''Hyperion Cantos'' is a series of science fiction novels by Dan Simmons. The title was originally used for the collection of the first pair of books in the series, '' Hyperion'' and '' The Fall of Hyperion'', and later came to refer to th ...

– refers to Dyson trees, and in the latter novel to a huge tree system that surrounds an entire star (reminiscent of a

Dyson sphere A Dyson sphere is a hypothetical megastructure that completely encompasses a star and captures a large percentage of its solar power output. The concept is a thought experiment that attempts to explain how a spacefaring civilization would meet ...

). * In Stephen Baxter's '' Manifold: Space'' (2001), Baxter's protagonist Reid Malenfant at one point finds himself inside a Dyson tree. * In the ''

Orion's Arm Orion's Arm (also called the Orion's Arm Universe Project, OAUP, or simply OA and formerly known as the Orion's Arm Worldbuilding Group) is a multi-authored online science fiction world-building project, first established in 2000 by M. Alan Kaz ...

shared universe A shared universe or shared world is a fictional universe from a set of creative works where more than one writer (or other artist) independently contributes a work that can stand alone but fits into the joint development of the storyline, chara ...

(established 2000), Dyson trees and Dyson tree "forests" are called ''orwoods''; these have been established in a number of star systems throughout terragen space. The word "Orwood" in this context was originally coined by

Anders Sandberg Anders Sandberg (born 11 July 1972) is a Swedish researcher, futurist and transhumanist. He holds a PhD in computational neuroscience from Stockholm University, and is currently a senior research fellow at the Future of Humanity Institute at th ...

. * The ''

Transhuman Space ''Transhuman Space'' (THS) is a role-playing game by David Pulver, published by Steve Jackson Games as part of the "Powered by ''GURPS''" (''Generic Universal Role-Playing System'') line. Set in the year 2100, humanity has begun to colonize the S ...

roleplaying game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal ac ...

includes the beginning of a Dyson tree endeavour on Yggdrasil Station. * In the ''

Tenchi Muyo is a Japanese anime, light novel and manga franchise. The original series began with a six-episode OVA called created by Masaki Kajishima and directed by Hiroki Hayashi, and released in Japan on September 25, 1992. The series was relea ...

'' OVA series, the Jurai utilize trees that can live in space as ships, and in the temple of the goddess-like character Tokimi, a giant tree whose roots encompass a planet can be seen. * In '' The Dirty Pair'' series, the episode "Run From the Future" is set on the Nimkasi habitat, an outlaw habitat that is a Dyson tree. * The video game ''

Eufloria ''Eufloria'' (formerly ''Dyson'') is a real-time strategy video game developed by British studio Omni Systems Limited, consisting of independent developers Alex May, Rudolf Kremers and Brian Grainger. It was named after the Dyson tree hypothesi ...

'' is based on the Dyson tree concept.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Wladimir Lyra

Living in a comet: How to build a Dyson treehouse
. ''Las Cruces Sun-News'', March 2020.
Dyson Trees
in

Dyson Tree
– Innovative Technologies from Science Fiction for Space Application. Space colonization Science fiction themes Fictional trees Freeman Dyson Fiction about comets

Dyson trees in science fiction

See also

References

External links