TexasCHLforum.com

“I am Groot,” Groot proclaimed while addressing a packed auditorium in a video that has been viewed by more than 10 million people on YouTube. The comment was made in passing during a keynote lecture on ethical botany at the annual Arborist Activists International Convention.

“I couldn’t believe my ears!” recalled Olivia Jackson, a botanist who was in attendance during the speech, “He started getting edgier, branching off into weird tangents like ‘I am Groot’ and ‘I am Groot.’”