In Porto Alegre, Brazil, there’s a street called Rua Gonçalo de Carvalho, where more than one hundred trees line the road and form a beautiful green tunnel that stretches over three city blocks. The trees are tipuana trees and were planted there in the 1930’s. In 2005, there were plans to build a parking garage which would have destroyed the trees, but the residents protested and fortunately, they were successful in stopping it. In 2006, the road was officially declared a Heritage Environment in Latin America. This is the first time such an honor has been bestowed on an urban street.
Typically Tipuana trees, also known as Rosewood trees, can grow up to 100 feet tall. The trees have golden yellow flowers in late spring to early summer and will carpet the ground beneath the tree when they drop.
