Hanoi cut back up to 1,000 smelly trees and the stink remains
The autumn flowers inspire poems and give neighbors headaches, and trimming the trees has not solved it.
Global News Podcast · Zelensky says US intelligence sharing is back onIn Hanoi, a resident keeps his home closed to block the odor. The resident has said the cluster of trees close to him felt like a direct assault.
The tree at the center of this is Vietnam's evergreen blackboard tree. Its small, starry white blossoms open in fall and fill the air with a sweet, heavy perfume. The species has long featured in the capital's love songs and poetry. In Vietnamese it is called hoa sua, Vietnamese for milk flower, though some call it by its other English name, devil's tree.
The two names reflect how the flower is both loved and hated. After a run of odor complaints, municipal crews trimmed as many as 1,000 trees in hopes of softening the bloom. The perfume lingered.
A resident who lives near the trees explained the objection this way: "I don't like it because the scent is too strong, and it gives me a headache. It's only bearable when the trees are not all in one place."
Officials say they might move some trees to better suited spots and plant different greenery in their place. That possibility has upset many residents who love the trees and prize the scent.
"I really like it as I find the fragrance lovely," one fan said.
Another admirer put the attachment to season and city this way: "To me, this is a signature of Hanoi, and it has been for decades. You can't truly have an autumn in Hanoi without this flower."
The dispute pits affection for plantings installed generations ago during French rule, and the pleasure many take in them, against comfort for those who live and work close by. About 100 trees were shifted to the city's edge in 2019 over the odor. State media reported that a later proposal to shift more trees in 2023 was dropped after residents pushed back.
One resident summed up why removal is so hard: "It's easy to cut down a tree, but how does one go about cutting down a memory?"
Questions people ask
What exactly is a blackboard tree?
It is a tall evergreen tree widely planted along streets in South and Southeast Asia. In Hanoi, it is valued as an ornamental tree that flowers in autumn with small, star-shaped, strongly scented blossoms. Its local Vietnamese name, hoa sua, means milk flower.
Can a flower scent really give you a headache?
Yes, for some people it can. Very strong floral fragrances can trigger headaches, nausea, or allergy-like irritation, especially in enclosed spaces or where many trees bloom at once. Keeping windows closed, as some Hanoi residents do, reduces exposure.
Will Hanoi get rid of more of the trees?
No decision has been carried out. Officials have discussed moving some trees and planting other kinds of greenery instead. A past effort moved about 100 trees in 2019, but a follow-up plan in 2023 stalled after residents objected.