The famous “Árbol Caído” (Fallen Tree) is remarkable, he says, because it was uprooted in a fierce gale some years ago, but managed to re-root itself and stay alive.
The tree has traditionally been used by children as play structure but is now out of bounds. It has been cordoned off and a small plaque erected to explain its characteristics.
The tree sits about 20 meters from the park’s entrance at Beethoven and Independencia in Colonia La Estancia.
The Parque Metropolitano is the metro area’s largest green space and contains around 20,000 trees. Unfortunately, between 12 and 14 percent are affected with some kind of plague, says Corona Diaz. He plans to start a program to diagnose the various plagues and find ways of improving the health of the trees.
The Parque Metropolitano is open all hours. Hundreds of families use the park at weekends for cycling, exercising, picnicking and other pursuits. Dogs are welcome. There is no fee to enter.