Who doesn’t love Nanjing’s Wutong trees? They keep us cool (relatively) on days such as this and make our city’s boulevards among the most beautiful in China. But some now worry they are getting sick, or they’re simply too hot.
It’s the longest day of the year, and with the peak of summer not far away, the high temperatures have got Nanjings’s residents asking the question, “Why is the bark falling off our city’s Wutong trees?”.
The Yangtze Evening News has reported that a Mr. Cai, who lives near Hanzhong Men in Nanjing, passed along Hanzhong Lu and saw that the bark of many Wutong trees had fallen off in large quantities along the road. “Why does the Wutong tree shed its skin? Is it sick?”, he wondered.
Others who like to look at the lighter side of life have suggested the trees have been stripping off in the summer heat, much like people like to shed a few layers of clothing to keep cool.
But the truth is altogether more scientific.
The Wutong, also called Firmiana simplex, or the Chinese parasol, in actual fact sheds its bark every year, but the phenomenon in 2022 is particularly pronounced.
Reporters have also noted how the trees’ bark is in some cases so brittle it will fall off with just the touch of a hand.
A sanitation worker in charge of cleaning on Hanzhong Lu has been quoted as saying as many as 20 bags full of bark per day have been cleaned from that particular street over the last month.
But it turns out concerns as to the trees’ health are unfounded and in fact, the absolute opposite is the case.
Arborists say that when the Wutong grows to a certain thickness, its bark will crack and fall off naturally and be replaced by new bark.
Just as some animals molt, the Wutongs in Nanjing are simply displaying a natural regeneration of bark. The large-scale peeling seen this year is an indication of vigorous growth and our favourite tree being in the best of health.
