Every time I walk my dog at Fuller Park, I am astounded that “The Wicked Tree” is still standing. This very tall tree is near the sidewalk along Seminary Street, midway between Oak and Laurel streets. During this time of year, the tree sheds a lot of long, sharp leaves. To make matters worse, the tree has “flowers” in the form of large, heavy, round pineapple-like things with sharp spikes. Why do we have such a tree in our park?

City of Napa Parks Superintendent Dave Perazzo answered simply: “Preservation.” This tree, you see, has significant historical roots (pun intended, by me).

What kind of tree is this? It’s called a bunya-bunya. Such a silly name for such an ominous tree, right? (I’m not judging, just pointing out the obvious.)

Perazzo said Fuller Park, located in the city’s historic Old Town district, was acquired by the city in 1905. Many of the large trees there had been planted even before it became a city park.

When the city first took over the property, originally there were at least 50 different types of trees, said Perazzo, including a variety of “specimen trees,” a term used to describe unique or unusual trees. Other specimen trees in the park include gingko, carob and a Canary Island date palm, though the list is much longer.

Perazzo said parks in many cities include specimen trees — such as the Australian bunya-bunya — in order to have something special to show visitors, remind residents of their homelands or simply show the diversity the world has to offer.

Napa’s bunya-bunya is estimated to be 80 to 100 years old.

The parks department is aware of the time each year when the tree begins shedding its leaves, along with its 10- to 15-pound cones — what our correspondent referred to as “pineapple-like flowers.” Rather than tear the tree down, city workers block off the area underneath it to prevent injuries to passersby, said Perazzo. No formal complaints have been made against the tree, nor have there been any reported injuries as a result of its reign of terror.

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Glad You Asked attempts to answer readers’ questions. Terrified of the unknown? Send your questions to me at dmontanez@napanews.com or call 256-2224.