 "Photo: Beata Dumaplin")
Look out. It’s a bird. It’s a plane. It’s falling pinecones?
The bunya-bunya tree outside Holt Hall has been fenced off because its falling cones are not only a nuisance, but a safety hazard.
Senior Gabriel Ruiz was in Chico during the summer when he noticed the enormous pinecones that had fallen from the tree.
“It was almost as big as my head,” he said. “I had to take a picture so that I could show people.”
The pinecones are in excess of 15 pounds, said Joe Wills, Chico State director of public affairs and publications. “The expert brought in said it’s clearly a hazard.”
The bunya-bunya tree species originated in Queensland, Australia, said Christopher Ivey, professor of biological sciences. The cones that fell were a food source for the aborigines who lived in the area, he said.
“Its scientific name is Araucaria bidwillii, after the English botanical explorer who found it,” said Wes Dempsey, an emeritus professor of biology and tour guide for the tree tours on campus.
Tim Devine, Chico State’s greenhouse technician and curator of plants for the biology department, found the bunya-bunya seeds in a park in Redlands and planted the tree by Holt Hall in Nov. 1982.
According to facilities management, the bunya-bunya is one of about 250 tree species on campus.
“Most do not know this, but Chico State is actually a registered arboretum,” Wills said. “There are constantly people taking tours of the campus to learn about our trees.”
The bunya-bunya is a favorite with the elementary kids who take the tree tours, said Dempsey.
“They are most impressed by the name bunya-bunya and you can hear them repeating it and laughing as they go about the tour,” Dempsey said.
Ruiz knows the fence put in place is there to keep students safe, but wonders when the fence will be removed because it is obstructing a much-needed pathway and “looks tacky.”
Groundskeeper Durbin Sayers would not disclose any information on the tree at this time, but will be making a campus-wide announcement to keep students informed about future plans with the tree.
“The campus Arboretum Committee and the grounds manager have been watching the tree with growing concern for several years now,” Dempsey said.
The fate of the tree looks grim, as Wills and Dempsey have confirmed the tree will be cut down.
“We are already thinking about where its successor can be placed where it won’t be such a threat to life and limb,” Dempsey said.
Facilities management is very sensitive and cares deeply about the trees on campus, Wills said. They would never think of cutting a tree down unless it was a last resort.
Devine would prefer the tree not be removed but understands the danger it poses, he said.
“We all love the trees on the campus but nothing is more important than the safety of our students and faculty,” Wills said.
Emily Phillips can be reached at
ephillips@theorion.com
Be the first to comment on this article!