Scientists discover the 'No Parking' tree

A new species of tree has been discovered and officially named the No Parking Whitebeam after the sign found nailed to the trunk.
The tree, a deciduous hybrid related to the rowan, was first noticed in a small lay-by at Watersmeet in North Devon in the 1930s with a no-parking sign tacked to the bark.
It is only recently that scientists have undertaken a biochemical analysis to confirm the tree is a new species and it was formally named yesterday.

The tree is common to the Watersmeet area where there are at least 110 samples. It has been named the "No parking" tree or the official Latin name Sorbus Admonitor, meaning to admonish or tell off.
Dr Tim Rich, from the University of Wales who helped to identify the tree, said the tree found in the lay-by was the first to be noted any where in the country.

"It was by the great botanist Heff-Warburg, who knew it was different from the Devon Whitebeam, but wasn't very sure about whether it was different enough," he said.
"They have much more strongly lobed leaves, so they are easy to identify."
The tree was discovered as part of a larger effort by botanists universities around Britain and the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew to identify 14 new types of tree around the country.

The work coincides with the bicentenary of Charles Darwin's birth and is 150 years since the publication of On the Origins of Species.
All are named after the person that found them, the place they were first discovered or because of the way they look.


Pakatan discover the "Democracy Tree" in Malaysia

Visitors taking the opportunity to take pictures at the plaque erected under the ‘democracy tree’ in Perak.


Pakatan Rakyat has named a raintree here the Tree of Democracy – for it was under this tree that the emergency sitting of the state assembly was held on March 3 2009. Former mentri besar Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin unveil a marble plaque there .To further commemorate the event and the first year anniversary of Pakatan, Nizar, other Pakatan leaders and state assemblymen also planted five trees nearby.
“We have named the trees Transparency, Justice, Integrity, Trustworthiness and Welfare,” he added, expressing hope that the Ipoh City Council would not destroy the trees or remove the plaque.