Aluminum Christmas Trees

I can still talk about Christmas in January because technically Christmas, as a season, lasts until Epiphany (that's where the "Twelve Days of Christmas" come from).

If you grew up with A Charlie Brown Christmas, you can probably guess from the title of this post where I'm going with this. If you didn't, I suggest you watch it at least once; you've still got a day or so before you have to wait until next year to do so.

Not pictured: explanation for selling fake trees outdoors. (Source: http://www.acartoonchristmas.com)

As a kid I was confused by the total absence of a normal green tree in that tree lot Charlie Brown and Linus visited, the closest thing being some kind of clipped branch. Growing up in my house, we had a fake (non-aluminum) tree, but it was green like a real tree, so that was ok. And while I can sympathize with the special's commentary on the rampant commercialization of a religious holiday, I remember our tree saved us money and maintenance; my folks are still using it after decades.

You may be surprised to learn that these aluminum non-green trees really existed even before this aired in 1965.

Source: Wikipedia

I look at that tree of a different color, and I begin to wonder whether such a thing could exist on another planet.
Imagine a planet though, with a cold climate (though not quite as bad as Coldstone), with forests of these things, with their colors (read, photosynthetic pigments) varying by climate zone, altitude, etc. They would really have aluminum integrated into their structure to make them more durable too. Of course, they might have some other metal that's less reflective; reflective plants probably wouldn't take in as much light or heat from the sun.

Tree colors are randomized here. As I've said before, what one would expect doesn't always correspond to what one finds in reality. Also, I think I've actually gotten worse at rendering planets.

For bonus points, maybe these evergreens bear bioluminescent fruit, so at night they really do look like Christmas trees strung up with lights!

I'm going to call this planet "Linus", as a tribute to the Peanuts gang for giving me this idea.

Merry Christmas, and have a good 2015.