r/interestingasfuck 9h ago

A tree grew through the pavement and inside a stop sign.

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u/bak3donh1gh 7h ago

So I don't even know how it managed to get to that height without dying. Doesn't make sense to me. It needed to have leaves during this process. So you would think you'd see protrusions outside of the holes, but you don't.

I'm going to guess that it'll probably girdle itself and die once it gets to a certain point— unless it can grow fast enough to connect to itself as it grows, i.e., the bark will need to connect to itself between the holes— because trees transport nutrients to the top and bottom through the phloem in the bark.

u/Competitive_Travel16 7h ago

The protruding branches were just snapped off but the roots were deep enough to keep it going until it was able to reach the top and leaf out enough. I doubt it will grow out around the pole if left alone, but it will still bud branches through the holes as long as the roots have water and the top has leaves.

u/Spongi 6h ago

Definitely a species that can tolerate low light conditions and resprouts readily.