The tree will materialize in human or other form as a sleeping companion for special friends. Generally there is only one student per one third acre suite, but some share with friends. The rooms are connected by passageways of various shapes. Many spiral up the main trunk. The main trunks are about a mile thick and a mile high at maturity, so walking from ground level to the upper branches is a long trek.
Corridors also follow the great limbs and roots and divide into the branches.
There are variously shaped doors and windows connecting the rooms and corridors to the open air or underground tunnel complexes. The trees provide instruction, shelter, food, medicine, entertainment, communication and companionship to several thousand human students. The original five squid are no longer directly involved in basic instruction, but are available on rare occasions for higher level shifting practice. Interspecies sexual relationships are carried out by shapeshifting to the form of a partner, providing a motivating reward for accomplishment. The daily life in an interspecies community of many highly interesting alien peoples, provides continuous motivation and opportunity for shapeshifting.