These images show how a tree in Holland has nearly finished swallowing a traffic sign that was affixed to it years ago.
The traffic sign, which limits the speed to 20 kph (12.4 mph), is located at the entrance to the Landgoed De Horste estate, near the municipality of Wassenaar in South Holland, in the Netherlands.
Local media outlets are reporting that social media is abuzz with images of this tree swallowing the red-and-white sign with black numerals on it, with recent images being placed next to images taken in January 2016, showing that the tree has made good progress of its attempt to swallow the large, circular metal object.
Hiker Ivo van Vulpen shared some images on social media and said: “I had walked past it before in 2016 and then I took a photo.”
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He added: “Now I was walking there again and then I remembered that old photo and then I took another one.”
He captioned his post on Twitter: “Slow Food. Tree at De Horsten entrance in Wassenaar slowly eats up a traffic sign: Jan 2016 vs Dec 2021.”
He said that he thought “it’s very strange, that sign, but also very nice. I’m not a biologist, so I have no idea how such a thing is possible.”
It is currently unclear if there are any plans by the local authorities to place a new sign by the road or to remove the sign.
Trees around the world have been known to gradually ‘swallow’ signs and objects around them over time as they grow and become larger.
A encapsulating the traffic sign in a park in 2005, in Wassenaar, Netherlands.
(CEN)A encapsulating the traffic sign in a park in 2021, in Wassenaar, Netherlands.
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Story By: Joseph Golder, Sub-Editor: William McGee, Agency: Central European News
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