ficus

StreetsLA, the city bureau responsible for maintaining streets and the urban forest, said its teams confirmed a total of six trees vandalized downtown this past weekend: three ficus, two sycamore and one Chinese elm, according to a statement from bureau director Dan Halden.

This mood is especially pronounced in the living room, where a ficus tree in the center of the room overlooks a low-lying Roche Bobois Missoni Mah Jong sectional, pillows and ottomans.

A number of the trees appeared to be a drought-resistant species known as Indian laurel fig, or Ficus microcarpa.

Ficus tree roots can lift and split concrete walkways, potentially impeding pedestrian movement.

City officials maintain that construction required by the project makes it impossible to save 83 ficus and other trees that line a three-block stretch of Greenleaf Avenue slated for redevelopment, which has led to public backlash and calls for reconsideration.