We were driving from Moa Flat toward Heriot when I spotted this unusual tree, up a bank and by the fence of a farm paddock. You’d think it was topiary, cloud pruning perhaps, but that seems unlikely in this situation. Something of a mystery but very interesting irrespective of whether it’s a natural phenomenon or the result of human intervention! West Otago, New Zealand. 02 June 2021.
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Text and photos by Liz; Exploring Colour (2021)
Exploring Colour 
What a fascinating tree! I love the name you’ve given it too.
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Cool! Thank you.
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Nice find, Liz. I have never seen anything like it!
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Yes, that’s what caught my eye. It was so unusual to see a tree like this just out in the countryside, on the edge of a paddock!
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It’s amazing what we see when we keep our eyes open! 🙂
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It does look very strange – like some sort of extreme topiary. (My mind jumps to the idea of a topiary Olympics with a tall topiary contest.) Or maybe it’s the work of a mad topiarist, hehe!
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I wondered if the family includes a topiarist and when they visit at Christmas they give the tree a trim! I’ve no idea how the tree gets to look like this 🙂
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It would take a long time to do!
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It looks like someone’s been stacking bushes, maybe a collection of globe arborvitae. I’m guessing it’s a shrubbery, that belongs to the Knights Who Say “Ni!”
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I love that a website I just looked at had this about arborvitae: “The name arborvitae, is a Latin form of the French, “l’arbre de vie,” which means, “tree of life.” ~funnily enough I do recognise, and remember, the Knights Who Say “Ni!” even though I’m familiar with very little of Monty Python!
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Such an unusual branch formation.
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Sure is, Steve!
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