Event Blog 1 - Festival of Trees

For my first event, I attended the Festival of Trees at the UCLA Botanical Gardens. It was a lot of fun, and I’m very glad I went! At the front of the Botanical Gardens was a check in table where you are handed a stamp guide. The festival highlighted eight trees, and it was a mini scavenger hunt to find those trees throughout the garden. Each tree had a table and booth outside to learn more about that tree or play a small activity or game. At the end, you could trade in your completed stamp guide or a free potted plant. 

 

My favorite tree was the Canary Islands Dragon Tree. It was located at the top of the gardens, up the hill from the California Native section. I enjoyed that booth the most because the workers explained the mythological lore of the tree. The tree produces a bright red sap resembling blood. In the famous Greek myth: “The Eleventh Labour of Hercules: The Apples of the Hespérides” a hundred-headed dragon is slain and from the blood of the dragon, the tree sprouted (Global Trees). The garden volunteers also explained that the tree is becoming more rare. I further researched this, and it is mainly due to an extinct bird.  “Approximately five hundred years ago the fruit of the dragon tree was the staple food of an endemic, Dodo-like, flightless bird” and the trees declined after the bird went extinct. “The processing of dragon tree seeds through the digestive tract of this bird helped stimulate germination and it is possible that the loss of this bird species has led to a decline in naturally occurring dragon trees. The tree is becoming very rare and seed must be manually processed in order to germinate” (Global Trees).  It was sad to hear the tree is struggling, considering how beautiful and unique the shape is. It is also crazy how the ecosystem was so interconnected to the bird, that loosing one web, causes the hole pyramid to fall. I remember reading about similar ecological situations back in high school science classes, but it's been awhile since I’ve thought about it and seen evidence in real life. Below is a photo of the dragon tree I took. The booth also explained that the head branches all pear off one another and expand outwards, tying back to the hundred-headed dragon myth.

 

Another tree that was a highlight of the event was the Canyon Oak. I enjoyed learning about the acorns. The booth had a whole cookbook about cooking and baking with acorns! I don’t recall ever eating anything with an acorn before, but some recipes in the cookbook sounded good. The picture below features “Acorn Dumplings” in a stew. I would have never thought that was a real dish. Apparently, acorns are very nutritious and used to be a staple food. 

 

 

 

All in all, the Festival of Trees was a blast. I’m happy I went, and I enjoyed learning new fun facts about the garden. It gave me a greater appreciation for the space, and I want to take one of the guided tours now. 

   

 

Sources:

https://globaltrees.org/threatened-trees/trees/dragon-tree/#:~:text=The%20tree%20also%20played%20a,played%20an%20important%20ecological%20role.

https://www.botgard.ucla.edu/

https://thecoastnews.com/storied-history-of-dragon-tree-rooted-in-mythology/