The strange eucalyptus at Balboa and Ruffin Road

Matmail: Did you know that there is a tree with a knot tied in it on the southwest corner of Balboa and Ruffin Road? Check it out. No one believes me till I show them. What do you suppose happened? — F.C. Newman, Spring Valley

We crammed all the elves into the Geo and buzzed over to Cubic, which happens to be at the corner in question. We sent out the reconnaissance team, hoping for a half-hitched hawthorn or maybe a sycamore with a sheepshank, but no luck. We finally decided F.C.’s “knot” must be the strange configuration in the trunk of the eucalyptus closest to the intersection, along Balboa. It looks like a big fat python got stuck up there and melted into a lump. The tree’s easy to ID; it also has a branch that sticks out horizontally and then goes straight up in an L shape. Some possessed tree trimmer has pummeled Mother Nature to create this specimen.

The growing tip of the tree, back when it was half the height it is now, was bent to one side, then down, then back up again to form a sort of squared loop. As the tree grew, the looped stem got fatter and eventually amalgamated into a knobby lump. The tree continued to grow with this odd detour in the trunk. We will track down the person who did this. We will find out why.

If you like this bit of arboreal mischief, F.C., you might scout local nurseries for a real knot tree. Mankind has clipped and tortured trees and shrubs into odd shapes since the days of the Roman Empire. It’s called topiary, and it includes trees trained and trimmed into the shape of chickens and vases and Elvis and also trees with straight, branchless trunks that look like Tootsie-Pops (“standards”). Occasionally someone will be inspired to tie a very loose knot in the trunk of a standard while it’s still a sapling. The trunk fattens and fills in the spaces in the knot, then somebody lays down a lot of money for the thing for his patio. I can’t imagine why.