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 man with a boy who was studying the tree; man looking at his phone and I heard baobab oak; the boy said but it’s not a baobab they’re in Africa! Adult tied himself in knots trying to explain tree genus and species … before concluding with, “it’s just an oak tree with a fat trunk”. The boy looked for a while longer then said, “well, it’s creepy, it’s just not right for a tree looking like a baobab _here_” [gestured largely to the city]
They are indeed creepy looking. They look like on Halloween night they might just uproot themselves and chase one through the green, waving their branches angrily!
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!
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.
I wonder what they say in Canterbury?
A man with a boy who was studying the tree; man looking at his phone and I heard baobab oak; the boy said but it’s not a baobab they’re in Africa! Adult tied himself in knots trying to explain tree genus and species … before concluding with, “it’s just an oak tree with a fat trunk”. The boy looked for a while longer then said, “well, it’s creepy, it’s just not right for a tree looking like a baobab _here_” [gestured largely to the city]
They are indeed creepy looking. They look like on Halloween night they might just uproot themselves and chase one through the green, waving their branches angrily!
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!
One just like it in Cantebury
More than one, I think there are seven, and the one in Westgate Gardens is definitely on a par with this one!
I read that the seven Canterbury trees were planted in the form of a gigantic cross by William Masters for reasons we can only speculate.