# I have branches, but no fruit, trunk or leaves. What am I?

Source: https://silverapuzzles.com/riddles/i-have-branches-but-no-fruit-trunk-or-leaves-what-am-i

A first-person riddle that sounds like a tree and is not one. The key is a word that moved from the forest into business.

**Answer:** A bank.

A bank has branch offices, not tree branches.

Hint: Think money, not trees.

## How to think about it

1. The speaker has branches but none of the other parts of a tree, so these branches are not wooden.
2. List things that have branches in a figurative sense: rivers, families, libraries, companies.
3. The hint says to think about money. Which of those branches handles cash?
4. A bank has branch offices in many towns, and not a single leaf.

## Why “a bank” is the answer

Banks call their local offices branches, so a bank has many branches while having no trunk, fruit or leaves. The riddle leans on the fact that “branch” now describes any smaller part of a larger organization. Rivers and libraries also have branches, which is why the money hint matters.

## Common wrong answers

- **A river.** Rivers have branches and no leaves, so this is a reasonable guess; the money hint points to a bank instead.
- **A dead tree.** A dead tree still has a trunk, which the riddle rules out.