diff --git a/src/material/tree/tree.spec.ts b/src/material/tree/tree.spec.ts
index b2c84b6ea6bd..83010628355d 100644
--- a/src/material/tree/tree.spec.ts
+++ b/src/material/tree/tree.spec.ts
@@ -5,18 +5,11 @@
  * Use of this source code is governed by an MIT-style license that can be
  * found in the LICENSE file at https://angular.io/license
  */
-import {FlatTreeControl, NestedTreeControl, TreeControl} from '@angular/cdk/tree';
 import {Component, ViewChild, Type} from '@angular/core';
 import {ComponentFixture, TestBed} from '@angular/core/testing';
 import {BehaviorSubject, Observable, of} from 'rxjs';
 import {map} from 'rxjs/operators';
-import {
-  MatTree,
-  MatTreeFlatDataSource,
-  MatTreeFlattener,
-  MatTreeModule,
-  MatTreeNestedDataSource,
-} from './index';
+import {MatTree, MatTreeModule, MatTreeNestedDataSource} from './index';
 
 describe('MatTree', () => {
   /** Represents an indent for expectNestedTreeToMatch */
@@ -98,7 +91,7 @@ describe('MatTree', () => {
         fixture = TestBed.createComponent(MatTreeAppWithToggle);
 
         component = fixture.componentInstance;
-        underlyingDataSource = component.underlyingDataSource;
+        underlyingDataSource = component.dataSource;
         treeElement = fixture.nativeElement.querySelector('mat-tree');
 
         fixture.detectChanges();
@@ -107,9 +100,9 @@ describe('MatTree', () => {
       it('should expand/collapse the node', () => {
         expect(underlyingDataSource.data.length).toBe(3);
 
-        expect(component.treeControl.expansionModel.selected.length)
-          .withContext(`Expect no expanded node`)
-          .toBe(0);
+        let numExpandedNodes =
+          fixture.nativeElement.querySelectorAll('[aria-expanded="true"]').length;
+        expect(numExpandedNodes).withContext(`Expect no expanded node`).toBe(0);
 
         component.toggleRecursively = false;
         const data = underlyingDataSource.data;
@@ -128,9 +121,8 @@ describe('MatTree', () => {
         (getNodes(treeElement)[2] as HTMLElement).click();
         fixture.detectChanges();
 
-        expect(component.treeControl.expansionModel.selected.length)
-          .withContext(`Expect node expanded one level`)
-          .toBe(1);
+        numExpandedNodes = fixture.nativeElement.querySelectorAll('[aria-expanded="true"]').length;
+        expect(numExpandedNodes).toBe(1);
         expectFlatTreeToMatch(
           treeElement,
           40,
@@ -143,9 +135,8 @@ describe('MatTree', () => {
         (getNodes(treeElement)[3] as HTMLElement).click();
         fixture.detectChanges();
 
-        expect(component.treeControl.expansionModel.selected.length)
-          .withContext(`Expect node expanded`)
-          .toBe(2);
+        numExpandedNodes = fixture.nativeElement.querySelectorAll('[aria-expanded="true"]').length;
+        expect(numExpandedNodes).withContext(`Expect node expanded`).toBe(2);
         expectFlatTreeToMatch(
           treeElement,
           40,
@@ -171,9 +162,9 @@ describe('MatTree', () => {
       it('should expand/collapse the node recursively', () => {
         expect(underlyingDataSource.data.length).toBe(3);
 
-        expect(component.treeControl.expansionModel.selected.length)
-          .withContext(`Expect no expanded node`)
-          .toBe(0);
+        let numExpandedNodes =
+          fixture.nativeElement.querySelectorAll('[aria-expanded="true"]').length;
+        expect(numExpandedNodes).withContext(`Expect no expanded node`).toBe(0);
 
         const data = underlyingDataSource.data;
         const child = underlyingDataSource.addChild(data[2]);
@@ -191,9 +182,8 @@ describe('MatTree', () => {
         (getNodes(treeElement)[2] as HTMLElement).click();
         fixture.detectChanges();
 
-        expect(component.treeControl.expansionModel.selected.length)
-          .withContext(`Expect nodes expanded`)
-          .toBe(3);
+        numExpandedNodes = fixture.nativeElement.querySelectorAll('[aria-expanded="true"]').length;
+        expect(numExpandedNodes).withContext(`Expect nodes expanded`).toBe(2);
         expectFlatTreeToMatch(
           treeElement,
           40,
@@ -207,9 +197,8 @@ describe('MatTree', () => {
         (getNodes(treeElement)[2] as HTMLElement).click();
         fixture.detectChanges();
 
-        expect(component.treeControl.expansionModel.selected.length)
-          .withContext(`Expect node collapsed`)
-          .toBe(0);
+        numExpandedNodes = fixture.nativeElement.querySelectorAll('[aria-expanded="true"]').length;
+        expect(numExpandedNodes).withContext(`Expect node collapsed`).toBe(0);
 
         expectFlatTreeToMatch(
           treeElement,
@@ -230,7 +219,7 @@ describe('MatTree', () => {
         fixture = TestBed.createComponent(WhenNodeMatTreeApp);
 
         component = fixture.componentInstance;
-        underlyingDataSource = component.underlyingDataSource;
+        underlyingDataSource = component.dataSource;
         treeElement = fixture.nativeElement.querySelector('mat-tree');
 
         fixture.detectChanges();
@@ -432,7 +421,7 @@ describe('MatTree', () => {
         fixture = TestBed.createComponent(NestedMatTreeAppWithToggle);
 
         component = fixture.componentInstance;
-        underlyingDataSource = component.underlyingDataSource;
+        underlyingDataSource = component.dataSource;
         treeElement = fixture.nativeElement.querySelector('mat-tree');
 
         fixture.detectChanges();
@@ -479,9 +468,9 @@ describe('MatTree', () => {
         (getNodes(treeElement)[1] as HTMLElement).click();
         fixture.detectChanges();
 
-        expect(component.treeControl.expansionModel.selected.length)
-          .withContext(`Expect node expanded`)
-          .toBe(1);
+        let numExpandedNodes =
+          fixture.nativeElement.querySelectorAll('[aria-expanded="true"]').length;
+        expect(numExpandedNodes).withContext(`Expect node expanded`).toBe(1);
         expectNestedTreeToMatch(
           treeElement,
           [`topping_1 - cheese_1 + base_1`],
@@ -499,9 +488,8 @@ describe('MatTree', () => {
           [`topping_2 - cheese_2 + base_2`],
           [`topping_3 - cheese_3 + base_3`],
         );
-        expect(component.treeControl.expansionModel.selected.length)
-          .withContext(`Expect node collapsed`)
-          .toBe(0);
+        numExpandedNodes = fixture.nativeElement.querySelectorAll('[aria-expanded="true"]').length;
+        expect(numExpandedNodes).withContext(`Expect node collapsed`).toBe(0);
       });
 
       it('should expand/collapse the node recursively', () => {
@@ -520,9 +508,9 @@ describe('MatTree', () => {
         (getNodes(treeElement)[1] as HTMLElement).click();
         fixture.detectChanges();
 
-        expect(component.treeControl.expansionModel.selected.length)
-          .withContext(`Expect node expanded`)
-          .toBe(3);
+        let numExpandedNodes =
+          fixture.nativeElement.querySelectorAll('[aria-expanded="true"]').length;
+        expect(numExpandedNodes).withContext(`Expect node expanded`).toBe(2);
         expectNestedTreeToMatch(
           treeElement,
           [`topping_1 - cheese_1 + base_1`],
@@ -535,9 +523,8 @@ describe('MatTree', () => {
         (getNodes(treeElement)[1] as HTMLElement).click();
         fixture.detectChanges();
 
-        expect(component.treeControl.expansionModel.selected.length)
-          .withContext(`Expect node collapsed`)
-          .toBe(0);
+        numExpandedNodes = fixture.nativeElement.querySelectorAll('[aria-expanded="true"]').length;
+        expect(numExpandedNodes).withContext(`Expect node collapsed`).toBe(0);
         expectNestedTreeToMatch(
           treeElement,
           [`topping_1 - cheese_1 + base_1`],
@@ -946,12 +933,17 @@ const TREE_DATA: FoodNode[] = [
 })
 class MatTreeWithNullOrUndefinedChild {
   childrenAccessor = (node: FoodNode): FoodNode[] => node.children || [];
-  dataSource: Observable<FoodNode[]> = of(TREE_DATA);
+  dataSource: MatTreeNestedDataSource<FoodNode>;
+
+  constructor() {
+    this.dataSource = new MatTreeNestedDataSource();
+    this.dataSource.data = TREE_DATA;
+  }
 }
 
 @Component({
   template: `
-    <mat-tree [dataSource]="dataSource" [treeControl]="treeControl">
+    <mat-tree [dataSource]="dataSource" [childrenAccessor]="childrenAccessor">
       <mat-nested-tree-node *matTreeNodeDef="let node" class="customNodeClass">
         {{node.name}}
         <ng-template matTreeNodeOutlet></ng-template>
@@ -960,21 +952,18 @@ class MatTreeWithNullOrUndefinedChild {
   `,
 })
 class MatNestedTreeWithNullOrUndefinedChild {
-  treeControl: NestedTreeControl<FoodNode>;
+  childrenAccessor = (node: FoodNode): FoodNode[] => node.children || [];
   dataSource: MatTreeNestedDataSource<FoodNode>;
 
   constructor() {
-    this.treeControl = new NestedTreeControl<FoodNode>(this._getChildren);
     this.dataSource = new MatTreeNestedDataSource();
     this.dataSource.data = TREE_DATA;
   }
-
-  private _getChildren = (node: FoodNode) => node.children;
 }
 
 @Component({
   template: `
-    <mat-tree [dataSource]="dataSource" [treeControl]="treeControl">
+    <mat-tree [dataSource]="dataSource" [childrenAccessor]="childrenAccessor">
       <mat-nested-tree-node *matTreeNodeDef="let node" class="customNodeClass"
                             [isExpandable]="isExpandable(node) | async"
                             [isDisabled]="node.isDisabled">
@@ -985,12 +974,10 @@ class MatNestedTreeWithNullOrUndefinedChild {
   `,
 })
 class NestedMatTreeApp {
-  getChildren = (node: TestData) => node.observableChildren;
+  childrenAccessor = (node: TestData) => node.observableChildren;
   isExpandable = (node: TestData) =>
     node.observableChildren.pipe(map(children => children.length > 0));
 
-  treeControl = new NestedTreeControl(this.getChildren);
-
   dataSource = new MatTreeNestedDataSource();
   underlyingDataSource = new FakeDataSource();
 
@@ -1005,7 +992,7 @@ class NestedMatTreeApp {
 
 @Component({
   template: `
-    <mat-tree [dataSource]="dataSource" [treeControl]="treeControl">
+    <mat-tree [dataSource]="dataSource" [childrenAccessor]="childrenAccessor">
       <mat-nested-tree-node *matTreeNodeDef="let node">
                      {{node.pizzaTopping}} - {{node.pizzaCheese}} + {{node.pizzaBase}}
          <ng-template matTreeNodeOutlet></ng-template>
@@ -1013,7 +1000,7 @@ class NestedMatTreeApp {
        <mat-nested-tree-node *matTreeNodeDef="let node; when: isSpecial"
                              matTreeNodeToggle>
                      >>> {{node.pizzaTopping}} - {{node.pizzaCheese}} + {{node.pizzaBase}}
-         <div *ngIf="treeControl.isExpanded(node)">
+         <div *ngIf="isExpanded(node)">
             <ng-template matTreeNodeOutlet></ng-template>
          </div>
       </mat-nested-tree-node>
@@ -1023,9 +1010,11 @@ class NestedMatTreeApp {
 class WhenNodeNestedMatTreeApp {
   isSpecial = (_: number, node: TestData) => node.isSpecial;
 
-  getChildren = (node: TestData) => node.observableChildren;
+  childrenAccessor = (node: TestData) => node.observableChildren;
 
-  treeControl: TreeControl<TestData> = new NestedTreeControl(this.getChildren);
+  isExpanded = (node: TestData) => {
+    return !!this.tree && this.tree.isExpanded(node);
+  };
 
   dataSource = new MatTreeNestedDataSource();
   underlyingDataSource = new FakeDataSource();
@@ -1041,7 +1030,7 @@ class WhenNodeNestedMatTreeApp {
 
 @Component({
   template: `
-    <mat-tree [dataSource]="dataSource" [treeControl]="treeControl">
+    <mat-tree [dataSource]="dataSource" [childrenAccessor]="childrenAccessor">
       <mat-tree-node *matTreeNodeDef="let node" class="customNodeClass"
                      [isExpandable]="isExpandable(node)"
                      [isDisabled]="node.isDisabled"
@@ -1055,44 +1044,23 @@ class WhenNodeNestedMatTreeApp {
 class MatTreeAppWithToggle {
   toggleRecursively: boolean = true;
 
-  getLevel = (node: TestData) => node.level;
   isExpandable = (node: TestData) => node.children.length > 0;
-  getChildren = (node: TestData) => node.observableChildren;
-  transformer = (node: TestData, level: number) => {
-    node.level = level;
-    return node;
-  };
-
-  treeFlattener = new MatTreeFlattener<TestData, TestData>(
-    this.transformer,
-    this.getLevel,
-    this.isExpandable,
-    this.getChildren,
-  );
+  childrenAccessor = (node: TestData) => node.observableChildren;
 
-  treeControl = new FlatTreeControl(this.getLevel, this.isExpandable);
-
-  dataSource = new MatTreeFlatDataSource(this.treeControl, this.treeFlattener);
-  underlyingDataSource = new FakeDataSource();
+  dataSource: FakeDataSource = new FakeDataSource();
 
   @ViewChild(MatTree) tree: MatTree<TestData>;
-
-  constructor() {
-    this.underlyingDataSource.connect().subscribe(data => {
-      this.dataSource.data = data;
-    });
-  }
 }
 
 @Component({
   template: `
-    <mat-tree [dataSource]="dataSource" [treeControl]="treeControl">
+    <mat-tree [dataSource]="dataSource" [childrenAccessor]="childrenAccessor">
       <mat-nested-tree-node *matTreeNodeDef="let node" class="customNodeClass"
                             [isExpandable]="isExpandable(node) | async"
                             matTreeNodeToggle
                             [matTreeNodeToggleRecursive]="toggleRecursively">
                      {{node.pizzaTopping}} - {{node.pizzaCheese}} + {{node.pizzaBase}}
-        <div *ngIf="treeControl.isExpanded(node)">
+        <div *ngIf="isExpanded(node)">
           <ng-template matTreeNodeOutlet></ng-template>
         </div>
       </mat-nested-tree-node>
@@ -1102,26 +1070,22 @@ class MatTreeAppWithToggle {
 class NestedMatTreeAppWithToggle {
   toggleRecursively: boolean = true;
 
-  getChildren = (node: TestData) => node.observableChildren;
+  childrenAccessor = (node: TestData) => node.observableChildren;
   isExpandable = (node: TestData) =>
     node.observableChildren.pipe(map(children => children.length > 0));
 
-  treeControl = new NestedTreeControl(this.getChildren);
-  dataSource = new MatTreeNestedDataSource();
-  underlyingDataSource = new FakeDataSource();
+  isExpanded = (node: TestData) => {
+    return !!this.tree && this.tree.isExpanded(node);
+  };
 
-  @ViewChild(MatTree) tree: MatTree<TestData>;
+  dataSource = new FakeDataSource();
 
-  constructor() {
-    this.underlyingDataSource.connect().subscribe(data => {
-      this.dataSource.data = data;
-    });
-  }
+  @ViewChild(MatTree) tree: MatTree<TestData>;
 }
 
 @Component({
   template: `
-    <mat-tree [dataSource]="dataSource" [treeControl]="treeControl">
+    <mat-tree [dataSource]="dataSource" [childrenAccessor]="childrenAccessor">
       <mat-tree-node *matTreeNodeDef="let node" class="customNodeClass"
                      matTreeNodePadding [matTreeNodePaddingIndent]="28"
                      matTreeNodeToggle>
@@ -1138,31 +1102,10 @@ class NestedMatTreeAppWithToggle {
 class WhenNodeMatTreeApp {
   isSpecial = (_: number, node: TestData) => node.isSpecial;
 
-  getLevel = (node: TestData) => node.level;
   isExpandable = (node: TestData) => node.children.length > 0;
-  getChildren = (node: TestData) => node.observableChildren;
-  transformer = (node: TestData, level: number) => {
-    node.level = level;
-    return node;
-  };
-
-  treeFlattener = new MatTreeFlattener<TestData, TestData>(
-    this.transformer,
-    this.getLevel,
-    this.isExpandable,
-    this.getChildren,
-  );
+  childrenAccessor = (node: TestData) => node.observableChildren;
 
-  treeControl = new FlatTreeControl(this.getLevel, this.isExpandable);
-
-  dataSource = new MatTreeFlatDataSource(this.treeControl, this.treeFlattener);
-  underlyingDataSource = new FakeDataSource();
+  dataSource = new FakeDataSource();
 
   @ViewChild(MatTree) tree: MatTree<TestData>;
-
-  constructor() {
-    this.underlyingDataSource.connect().subscribe(data => {
-      this.dataSource.data = data;
-    });
-  }
 }