The Best, Worst, and Strangest Cell Phone Towers Disguised as Trees

While corporations usually get flack for contributing to deforestation, cell phone companies, on the other hand, are reforesting the built environment with fake, plastic trees. Californians and New Englanders be warned: These invasive species are popping up wherever there are palms and pines, the easiest arbors to copycat. Unfortunately they have yet to breed bonzai varieties.

Do these tree simulacra do anything to improve the aesthetics of a landscape? Or do they simply introduce more artifice into our daily lives?

Here's a selection of some of the best (or worst) cell phone tower trees. If you're into these photos, check out collections by photographers Emily Shur and Robert Voit, both of whom have managed to find a shocking amount of beauty in their shady subjects.

Thumbnail image (cc) by Flickr user Kevin Spencer