A cloud tree is a tree created using the topiary technique. The leaves are trimmed in the shape of a ball or cloud, while the trunk remains thin and naked. The very shape of the tree resembles clouds.
"Cloud trees" are different from bonsai trees because they are not miniaturized. As a rule, "cloud trees" are planted in plain soil, not in pots. Like bonsai, the practice of forming cloud trees comes from Japan because it comes from the Japanese gardening style known as nivaki .