Majestic Moreton Fig Perishes at Park

The majestic Moreton fig whose gracious canopy and elephantine surface roots commanded awesome respect at the entrance of the Palisades Recreation Center, fell victim to the rain and wind in last week’s storm. Three or four of its hefty branches were ripped from the top of the tree, leaving it structurally compromised and a public hazard. Tree surgeons from the Los Angeles Street Tree Division, under supervisor Arthur Flores, were dispatched Monday morning, and by noon had converted the landmark specimen to mulch.   ’My tree surgeon said that it looked as if someone had set off dynamite in the crown of the tree,’ said Laura Bauernfeind, principal forester for the Recreation and Parks Department. ‘The damage to the crown was the result of storm activity, perhaps an unexpected wind shear or water spout.’   While not exactly certain of the event that caused the rupture, Bauernfeind confirmed that a split had not caused the broken limbs. ‘If there had been split limbs, there would have been evidence of the split on the felled branches. There would have been stringy wood strips on the torn branches. In addition, the tree was structurally sound and there was no evidence of saturated ground, which often causes a tree to uproot and fall.’   Bauernfeind estimated that some 60 trees were felled as a result of last week’s heavy wind and rain.   Carl Mellinger, a certified arborist in Pacific Palisades, remembers the tree from his childhood over 50 years ago, ‘when I was a kid playing in the field and flying motorized airplanes, when they let us do it there.’   The tree trunk, a pentagon shape with massive roots radiating in all directions, measured between 25 inches and 47 inches in diameter. Over a dozen roots thick as branches crawled out in all directions, uplifting the sidewalk on both the park entrance side and the Alma Real side. A landmark for many Palisadians, the tree provided shade for the awards ceremony following the Fourth of July Day parade, as well as for various official gatherings.   The tree probably wasn’t planted in the best place, Bauernfeind confirmed. ‘It’s not ideal next to a parking lot or sidewalk. Had it been planted up on a hill out in the middle of nowhere, maybe we would have left it alone and seen what it would have done.’   Mellinger, who owns a tree-care business is president of the Civic League, believes that ‘the tree needed weight reduction, and possibly cable installation to protect it.’   The Department of Recreation and Parks tree division oversees an inventory of between 850,00 to one million trees citywide. With a staff of 35, including clerical workers, the division is spread thin and relies on park directors, maintenance staff and park patrons to keep an eye on problematic trees. ‘If there is a problem, a certified arborist is sent to the site to follow up,’ Bauernfeind said.   Nevertheless, the life of a tree in the city’s parks is pretty good, compared to street trees, Bauernfeind said. ‘We don’t trim them just to trim them; park trees get to be big and do whatever they want.’   She noted that a replacement tree will be planted at the site, but it may not be the same species, adding that there are over 500 species of trees growing in city parks. ‘We can grow trees from just about anywhere in the world,’ she said, describing the diversity of trees as a pleasing part of the park experience. ‘Nowadays, we are trying to be careful to put in trees that do well in our drought-conscious city, and are looking to California natives such as the California sycamore, black walnut, coast live oak, bay laurel and toyon. If there is a historical tree, such as the magnolia in the city’s South Park, the forestry division tries to reintroduce them.’   There is a sidewalk improvement plan in the works for the corner at the park entrance, which will include a replacement tree where the Moreton fig once grew.