There's something about certain trees that I become deeply emotionally attached to.
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| This palm tree in Japan, nicknamed Yasshi, was whipped violently recently for hours by a typhoon. It was on a live camera feed and people became intensely interested in its survival. It ended up doing fine and is still standing after the typhoon. |
My dad built a tree house in it for me. I'd spend hours up there, decompressing from the effects of a high strung mom. And inventing in my head adventure movies starring Yours Truly.
My sister Lynn and I spent countless hours under that tree. In the fall, we'd jump off the swing into an immense pile of leaves from that maple.
I still cherish the memory, I wept when it was cut down by the power company because they didn't like how close it was to their wires.
As an adult, I have three immense poplar trees in my St. Albans, Vermont back yard. I call them the triplets. Like all close friends, they can be a pain in the butt, like when wind storms prune some dead twigs from it, or it extends annoying roots into my summertime raised beds.
But the triplets are an ingrained part of my life. I can hear them outside now, a gusty wind whooshing through the thousands of leaves up there.
All this is to say that humans love trees. Most of us, anyway.
Which leads us to Kyushu, Japan. It's the nation's most southwestern-most main island, which was just hit by Typhoon Shanshan.
It was a nasty storm, as typhoons usually are, causing devastating winds, floods and storm surges.
As the Washington Post reports, thousands of people were drawn to a YouTube live stream showing the coast of Kyushu, in the throes of Typhoon Shanshan. In the video's foreground was a palm tree, whipping back and forth violently, always seemingly on the verge of snapping under the force of the hurricane winds.
But the tree never succumbed. The typhoon's forward motion was slow, meaning the island - and the tree - were subject to horrendous winds for a longer period of time than people experience in most typhoons or hurricanes.
(Typhoons are what hurricanes are called in the western Pacific Ocean).
As WaPo reports, the tree's performance won worldwide fans. "The dramatic display of resilience won the hearts of thousands online, many of whom flooded the comments to root for the tree. - known affectionately as "Yasshi" - to survive."
The spoiler here is the tree indeed survived. The typhoon moved on and the live stream after the storm showed the tree with its fronds battered by the wind, but standing tall.
There's something about trees, especially ones under duress, that we all root for. When I watch all those severe storm and tornadoes on YouTube (I'm a hopeless weather geek after all). I always root for the storm tossed trees to somehow survive.
When iconic trees die, or are killed, or are endangered, we all collective mourn. Some examples:
Hawaii Banyan
An enormous 150-year-old banyan tree in Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii was badly burned during last August's catastrophic wildfire that destroyed most of the tourist city. People seemed almost more upset by the potential loss of the tree than the deaths and destruction in Lahaina.
People have been tracking the fate of the banyan tree ever since. As the Associated Press reports, the sprawling tree survived and is coming back to life, gradually turning from ash gray and black scar he'd to green and growing back. All thanks to intense efforts by arborists and volunteers.
Half the tree's branches died in the fire. But arborists carefully removed those branches so the tree would redirect its energy toward the branches that might survive. Heavy irrigation and care has resulted in new green leaves and branches sprouting. The tree will survive.
British Vandalism Victim
International outrage erupted when some complete morons in 2023 cut down the Sycamore Gap tree in Britain. It was one of the most photographed places in the world. The tree sat between and at the base of two steep slopes.
Two people were arrested, a 16 year old and man in his 60s. But they were subsequently freed. Two men in their 30s were then charged. They face fines equivalent to the estimated worth of the tree, which was about $785,000. No motive has been provided.
Eight tiny shoots have since emerged from the stump of the tree, suggesting it might regenerate itself in some form.
Washington DC's Stumpy
The Tidal Basin in Washington DC is famed for its annual spring cherry blossoms. About 3,700 cherry trees put on a spectacular display every spring, usually in mid to late March.
Climate change has made the Tidal Basin even more tidal. Sea level rise has caused more flooding, which affected some of the cherry trees. The salt water damages the roots, and the trees get sick and eventually die. Earlier this year, the National Park Service cut down about 160 cherry trees due to rising tides and damage.
One of those trees was Stumpy.
Stumpy, as a certain tree was dubbed, became something of a national treasure. The salt damage made it gnarled, stunted and misshapen. Think the Charlie Brown Christmas tree, except worse.
Stumpy's persistence and unique look won it tons of fans. It was chopped down this year along with the 160 others. But right before that happened, Stumpy put on a blossom show that was its best in years.
That tree wanted to go out with a bang. God bless it.
Meanwhile, in Japan, Typhoon Shanshan is long gone. Yasshi can recover in the tropical sun until the next typhoon comes along.
Video: Yasshi the palm tree survives a typhoon. Click on this link to view, or if you see the image below, click on that.
