Chinese Parasol Tree Brooklyn Botanic Garden Brooklyn
There is some lore of mythical phoenix birds choosing the Chinese parasol tree as their perch, and there is something a bit supernatural about the tree’s slender, greenish trunk topped with goliath lobed leaves that can measure a foot long. According to NYC Parks, the Chinese parasol tree in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden is 39.36 feet tall, and was planted in 1925, sent by Japan's Yokohama Nursery.
It’s located just south of the Rock Garden, with dual trunks firmly curled into a grassy slope. I saw a report that a “historically significant” Chinese parasol tree sustained damage in 2012′s Hurricane Sandy, but I'm not sure if it was this one. However, the tree was significant enough to the garden that in 1985, its leaf was chosen as one of the emblems on the garden's Celebrity Path honoring local heroes.
It’s not one of those trees that catches your eye immediately, but once you get close and notice the ground strewn with the palmate leaves, there is some magic to its elegant form. I can imagine some strange bird might call its umbrella of magnificent leaves home.