A Day in the Life of a Tree

 

While passing thru the UP Los Banos campus, I caught sight of this century-old Dao tree (Dracontomelon dao) in front of the Student Union building. I recalled that this tree became a “reluctant celebrity” of some sort, if not controversial, when sometime in 2003, the UPLB Chancellor Wilfredo David sentenced it to die by chainsaw because, according to him, it posed an “imminent danger to lives and properties.”



This Dao tree stands some 20-meter tall and leans approximately 15 to 20 degrees to the side due to its heavy crown, hollow trunk, and weakened roots. At that time, foresters and tree specialists were summoned to inspect the condition of the tree and to evaluate its possible collapse. They found out that some disease-causing microorganisms were actively destroying and rotting the tree’s base and bark. There was a large cavity at the base of the tree and there were only about four inches of sound wood around the trunk. Thus the final decision to cut the tree as it was too weak to hold its ground.



But eight years after, this Dao tree still stands, or rather leans proudly, in front of the Student Union building. Some National Commission on Culture and the Arts (NCCA) people say that Architect Leandro Locsin was inspired by this Dao tree while designing the Student Union building behind it. If this were true, and not merely another urban legend, I suppose he was inspired to design the columns of the building to look like the trunk of the Dao tree – with a flared base that tapers at the top. Talk about nature as design inspiration.





Incidentally, this Dao tree has been declared as one of the twelve Heritage Trees in the UPLB campus during the UP Centennial Celebration in 2008.



This Dao tree has survived the onslaught of several killer typhoons in recent times – Milenyo, Basyang, Ondoy, Pedring, et al. It has withstood devastating howlers in the past that toppled many trees in the UPLB campus and around Mount Makiling. And it shall remain leaning proudly to enthrall and fascinate passers-by who love trees.




04 October 2011

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