The physical architectures of earth’s ecosystems are grounded on those species that live affixed to a surface—on land, these are almost entirely plants. This image gives us some idea of the structure of the ecosystem that houses much of our planet’s diversity of life, offering a clean cross-sectional view where the riverbank has very recently fallen away along the Amazon. We can begin to make out the several strata that are typical of a rainforest, from the herbs near the ground to the shrubs, understory trees, canopy trees, and (in this picture) one emergent tree that rises above the rest. With as many as 100,000 species packed together in a single hectare of tropical forest, there is intense competition to find nutrients, mates, and places to live in the multitiered labyrinth of branches and vines towering overhead. Even certain kinds of plants roam through the treetops like snakes seeking a place to bask—though in super slow motion. Fortunately for the successful navigation of these mobile plants and many other species through the canopy, certain patterns are dependable: all trees globally conform to just 23 fundamental geometries, or “architectural models,” within which their occupants need to survive, and navigate.