Lala
Long-lived
It's interesting that this long-lived tree has more seniority than the city itself, but supposedly it's more than 400 years old and has survived fires and hurricanes, becoming a real symbol of the city. It's located in the central Derek Walcott Park , flanking the front gates like a guardian. Popularly known as "massav tree" by the locals, it got its name when a taxi driver, in response to a tourist who asked about the tree's type, wrongly said it was a "masaav" instead of "Samaan". I honestly never heard either name, but it seems that Saman is a typically tropical tree.
They are very large, leafy trees that grow in pods that are eaten by animals (I recall the pods a lot).
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