Lepidodendron Tree / Attention: Have You Seen This Tree?

About

The Lepidodendron Tree, also known as Attention: Have You Seen This Tree? refers an extinct tree referenced in a creepy infographic that warns if one has seen the tree they might "have fallen into some sort of rip in the fabric of time" and should "remain calm." The Lepidodendron Tree meme was accompanied by other "Attention: Have You Seen This X?" warnings including multiple "Attention: Have You Seen This Bird?" images. The Lepidodendron Tree meme trended on TikTok in late 2023, within photo slideshows and videos in which people (or characters in fan art) came across the tree, using its presence to humorously justify why they were late to an event. Overall, the meme was akin to the "distressing" meme and surreal meme genres.

Origin

Currently, the first discovered upload of the "Attention: Have You Seen This Tree?" meme was shared by iFunnier ^[1] @RexyPaleontology on August 12th, 2021, gaining 85 smiles in two years (shown below). Soon after, on August 15th, 2021, iFunnier^[2] @lustrous_shitpost_2020 reposted the meme, gaining roughly 31,600 smiles in two years.

ATTENTION:
have you seen
this tree? -->
Hopefully you have
not, as this is a
Lepidodendron
and it is extinct.
If you are in fact
seeing this tree,
you have fallen
into some sort of
rip in the fabric
of time.
REMAIN CALM

Spread

About a year later, on June 15th, 2022, Redditor Daniel_Devito_Dong reposted a lower quality version of the meme to /r/surrealmemes,^[3] gaining roughly 8,500 upvotes in one year. The meme continued to gain viral spread in surreal meme circles, evident in a repost shared by Instagram^[4] user @thesurrealbank on July 3rd, 2022, gaining roughly 15,800 likes in one year.

On September 3rd, 2023, TikToker^[5] @jese2063 posted a photo slideshow with multiple cursed images, starting with the "Attention: Have You Seen This Tree?" image, receiving roughly 4.5 million plays and 656,400 likes in three weeks. The slideshow used a sound^[6] that was the song "空間攻撃からの脱出" by Rory in early 20s.^[7] On September 13th, 2023, TikToker^[8] @jaygee_franky posted an animation with the same sound^[6] that showed a character seeing the tree, gaining roughly 1.3 million plays and 163,800 likes in 15 days (shown below).

Following @jaygee_franky's animation, many started to replicate the concept in photo slideshows, such as TikToker^[9] @.bruhathkayosaurus on September 16th, 2023, who used the 2,000 Yard Stare image, gaining roughly 172,700 likes in 12 days (recording shown below, left). On September 21st, 2023, TikToker^[10] @izoluss.the.great posted a Fionna and Cake version, gaining roughly 578,000 plays and 75,400 likes in one week (recording shown below, right).

Going into late September 2023, the trend continued to gain traction on TikTok, later involving videos in which people filmed trees in real life that looked similar to the Lepidodendron tree, such as TikToker^[11] @2econdsightseer on September 26th, 2023, gaining roughly 4.5 million plays and 407,600 likes in two days (shown below).

By September 28th, 2023, the trend's primary TikTok sound^[6] had amassed over 6,100 posts.

Various Examples

Template

Search Interest

External References