The Lepidodendron tree meme, frequently headlined with the text 'ATTENTION: HAVE YOU SEEN THIS TREE?', centers on a scientific illustration of an extinct lycopod from the Carboniferous period. The meme format parodies traditional missing persons posters by applying their urgent aesthetic to a plant species that hasn't existed for nearly 300 million years. It first gained popularity in niche science and paleontology communities on platforms like Tumblr and Reddit before crossing over into surrealist and 'weirdcore' internet circles. The humor stems from the extreme absurdity of searching for a fossilized organism and the specific, scaly appearance of the 'scale tree' which looks alien compared to modern flora.