I think you're missing the point. A quadtree is a compact way to store a partition of two-dimensional space, much like you'd store a binary heap in an array. T

I think you're missing the point. A quadtree is a compact way to store a partition of two-dimensional space, much like you'd store a binary heap in an array. The implementation of a recursive data structure or algorithm can usually take advantage of tail recursion or trampolining. The practical implementation of a theoretical algorithm may look extremely different, much like you wouldn't literally translate abstract pseudocode to the language of your choice.