126. Urban Myth Tree
thestreettree.substack.com
126. Urban Myth Tree
Arguably, London’s loveliest ‘Baobab’ plane is the tree that grows in Ravenscourt Park, W6.
The Urban Myth Tree squats alone in the middle of Ravenscourt Park. In this position, it is easy to appreciate the bulk of its car-sized trunk and to wonder about its curious form. One apocryphal tale says it was hit by the Luftwaffe in the London Blitz, another that it suffers from a viral infection. But other trees with the same habit planted elsewhere, confirm that this is just how it is supposed to grow.
Species details
Baobab London plane
Platanus × hispanica ‘Baobab’
Where to find it
Ravenscourt Park, Ravenscourt Avenue, London, W6 0SL
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Urban myths abound! As Michael says, they do strike us as quite odd, even to someone knowing nothing of trees I was interested to note when overhearing comments near the one in Canterbury.
A curiously unsettling tree for me to see. Intellectually I know it's a plane variant, but in my imagination I'm transported to the African savannah and wonder how the poor thing is going to make it through the winter!