Originally Posted by Capuchin
I'm agreeing with Talaniman here. What if they have exactly the same organism as a pine tree on their planet, they even call it a pine tree. But instead of what we do: leaving it to grow, then cutting it for fuel. The aliens use the trees to grow their young inside, as an incubator, until birth. For this reason, pine trees are sacred to these aliens.
Even though it's the same organism, our and their view on what a "tree" is is completely different. We're all "How on EARTH do you grow your young in a pine tree?" and they're like "How on OMICRON PERSEI VIII do you think it's okay to cut down a pine tree to use for fuel?? And secondly how do you get any energy out of it?". They might as well be completely different.