This Cucumber Magnolia (M. acuminata) is a great example of how trees “prune themselves” as a result of shading, stress, or other factors - sometimes known as Cladoptosis. This tree was originally part of a nursery that existed here before this was turned into a public park. When the nursery closed, some trees (including this one) were left in the ground. As the woods grew up around the tree, its lower branches got shaded out and were dropped by the tree. For some reason, its old branch unions a