Amusing post on askmefi...

[o0dano0o.livejournal.com]

I think these are the trees that are stinking up Davis...

Comments

[zenala.livejournal.com]

That type of tree is also planted along much of Hampshire Street in Cambridge as well as Kendall Square, and also at Cornell outside the main student union.

In conclusion, it seems to be a popular tree to plant for those who want a lot of trees that look good in photos, but I don't think I've ever seen them in individual yards or, particularly, where anybody was concerned about smell...

[spaz-i-mota.livejournal.com]

I think they are dogwoods. They are planted in cities quite often-smell funny for sure-but are pretty!

[http://users.livejournal.com/_saint_cecilia_/]

Aside from the familiar stench of Dogwood trees, the specific Davis stink is from female Ginkgo trees.

Ginkgos are popular decorative trees (they have interesting leaves)and usually the ginkgos you see around are male. However, Davis has a few female ginkgos, which bear a fruit that smells, frankly, like ass.

[lonelyholiday.livejournal.com]

Ugh, some genius planted gingkos outside my grade school, so it ALWAYS smelled awful and then all the kids would track it home on their shoes and ew ew ew.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_meej_/]

Well, Ginkgos and the Ailanthus weed trees that are growing in lots of back and side yards and so on... And boy, are those one stinky tree.

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

You know, I'll grant that they have a distinctive smell, but...semen? Vagina? What?

[richips.livejournal.com]

Yeah i agree. Totally unnecessary.

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

Not even that, it's just that I don't see how they smell like either. Maybe they should focus less on the smell of the trees and more about using SOAP.

[pushupstairs.livejournal.com]

I dunno, my neighborhood in Dot has a lot of these stinky trees, which I don't think I had ever noticed before elsewhere (at least not on the basis of one per less than a several block radius), and the first thing I thought was "wow, when did I miss the orgy block party?"

[ifotismeni]

wow, this is probably the weirdest thing i've read all day.

[firepail.livejournal.com]

ugh... I once lived in a neighborhood that had a big urban renewal lanscaping fest with little advance research, and they planted 30 of the stinky ginkgos in a ring downtown. coupled with the heat and humidity, it was unbearable to be in that area for a two week stretch as it smelled like the aftermath of a hobo orgy. the local businesses that normally had outdoor seating tried petitioning to get them removed but were unsuccessful.

[ron_newman]

Same trees as these ?

[sea-aye-vee.livejournal.com]

The tree at the 87/88 stop on Cameron makes me giggle. I now realized I am not the only one who thinks of that when they pass the trees.

[mizufae.livejournal.com]

yes. I live in that blue house next to the bus stop and that tree is right outside my window. My old home town;s roads were *lined* with the same kind of trees. In middle school we called them "fish trees" as a euphemism. It doesn't help that I get allergies the same time the fish trees would bloom, so all through puberty i was "allergic" to the vagina trees. Thanks, world!

[medyani.livejournal.com]

There are both pears and gingkos that have strong odors. They're mostly all male trees. Listen to short NPR story: Too Much Pollen? Blame the Males (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php) If they planted more female trees, there'd be less odor, less pollen, and food sources for wildlife.

[hrafn.livejournal.com]

O.O

My world just got weirder. I had never noticed stinky trees in the Square, let alone that particular kind of stinky!

[duffless2323.livejournal.com]

I'm a dendropheliac, so it looks like I won't be single this weekend!

[jh78.livejournal.com]

The trees are flowering pears... ginkoes have barely leafed out and the foul-smelling fruit doesn't appear until fall.

[lemononmylips.livejournal.com]

...are people seriously whining about smelly trees?

I'm thankful that it's finally spring! On my walks, I am amazed at how beautiful the flowering trees are around here. I need to go on a photo walk.

[redcolumbine.livejournal.com]

Seriously! The trees in Seven Hills park are pretty to look at, don't smell half as bad as ginkgo (I think they just smell dusty and sneezy) and only briefly, and - guys, it's because they're TREES. With FLOWERS on. I'd much rather sneeze at flowers for a week than be smelling smog and hearing traffic noise, both of which are mitigated by trees.

That said, I'd prefer sugar maples.