The Ash of Bleibtreuplatz

Europe is losing its ash trees, so a big one with a full crown is worth going to look at while it is there. A fungus from east Asia turned up in eastern Europe in the early 1990s, spread across the continent within two decades and has killed ash on a scale that has changed what woods look like in a single human lifetime. Munich's 2021 natural monument ordinance says nothing about any of that. It protects this tree in seven words: a mighty tree with a wide, funnel-shaped crown. Funnel is the right word for a healthy ash. The limbs leave the trunk at a narrow angle and then swing outward and up, so the whole thing opens like a wide beaker rather than spreading like an oak. Dieback shows in the opposite direction, as thinning from the top down and dead twig ends against the sky, which makes this a tree you can assess for yourself in a few seconds from the pavement. It stands on Bleibtreuplatz in Solln, a villa suburb of large gardens and quiet corners in Munich's south-west. Nobody has published an age for it. If you pass it often and notice the crown thinning, or if you know when it was planted, tell us and we will update the page.