>>24529369
the tree is just an iterative attempt at converging on one of possibly multiple optimal forms
there exists an optimal tree form, at least in the sense any sufficiently intelligent being may stumble upon it
like in neuron dendrites ('dendros' meaning 'tree'), tree branching can be thought of as a minimum spanning tree weighted by a balancing factor between distance to the nearest point and distance to the origin
in other words, by optimising the placement of leaves, introducing noise to the system, and tuning the balancing factor, one can generate an optimal form on the macro scale
evolution is just an iterative process to approach these optimal forms, and its success is due to the reality of these forms