9/11 survivor tree still fighting the odds

A blog from the New York Times last week gave an update on one of the most damaged trees to survive its previous home: the plaza at the World Trade Center.

Apparently, over the weekend of March 13-14, the tree faced more trauma, being pulled from the ground of its current nursery home by strong winds.

The Callery Pear tree is going to be Ok, though, according to the report.

Here is an excerpt that accounts for the tree’s condition after 9/11:

The pear tree was taken to the Parks Department’s Arthur Ross Nursery in Van Cortlandt Park soon after the attacks destroyed the twin towers. Of the seven trees found in the plaza at the World Trade Center after Sept. 11, “this was the one that was in the worst shape,” Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe said, adding that it looked as if it had been “soldered, twisted and gnarled and blackened.”

The tree is supposed to be planted at the 9/11 museum at the World Trade Center site.

–Toshio Suzuki