The leaning street plane.
A London plane with a visible lean over parked cars, and a neighbour who was sure it was moving.
- London plane
- Platanus × hispanica
- Victorian terrace, Clifton
The rings answered the first question. The pith sits well off-centre: the tree grew more wood on one side for decades to hold its lean, which means the lean is old and the tree has been correcting it for most of its 128 years.
The tomogram was brown almost edge to edge, with one old radial crack showing as a faint lighter band. t/R 0.85.
No action. A letter to the neighbour with the tomogram attached did more than any reassurance could.
Resistance-drill trace
Bark → depth · the trace drops where the needle meets decay
“The drawing of the rings settled an argument that had gone on for two summers.”
Residents’ association · Victorian terrace, Clifton