I wrote about the tree that owns itself and just learned about the tree that saw everything… Some trees really seem to get around. Or perhaps it’s more that they are where they are when something happens.

I was telling a friend who lives in Amsterdam some tree stories when she asked if I had ever heard of the tree that saw everything (actually, de boom die alles zag). This tree, a grey poplar (Populus x canescens), had the misfortune to be an unfortunately near witness to the crash of El Al Flight 1862 in 1992.

According to Wikipedia: “The tree was damaged due to the crash and fire, and lost a part of its roots during the subsequent clean-up of the soil. This made it necessary to support it with two cables attached to neighbouring trees. The soil under it was replaced in 2017 to stimulate root growth. Its condition improved in 2021 according to pulling tests, but the tree is still supported by the cables to prevent it from falling.”

You can read more on Wikipedia among other resources (many in Dutch.)
(Image credit: By User:Willem_90 – Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7965357)