White House tree: Emmanuel Macron’s sapling disappears

A tree gifted to US President Donald Trump by French President Emmanuel Macron has disappeared, BBC reported.

The pair planted the sapling, taken from the site of a World War One battle in north-east France, during Macron’s state visit last week.

But a Reuters photographer on Saturday took a shot of only a yellow patch of grass on the White House south lawn where the tree once stood.

“100 years ago, American soldiers fought in France, in Belleau to defend our freedom. This oak tree (my gift to [Donald Trump]) will be a reminder at the White House of these ties that bind us”, Macron said on Twitter after planting the tree.

The tree, a European sessile oak, came from the site of the Battle of Belleau Wood, which took place in the summer of 1918.

Nearly 2,000 US soldiers died in the battle north-east of Paris. Yet only four days after it was planted, the sapling has disappeared.

There has been no official reason given for the sapling mystery, but there is speculation online about the tree’s fate. Some suggest this type of tree is better planted in autumn for root-relating reasons, while others have said the tree might be under quarantine because US Customs imposes a quarantine period on any plant, seed or soil imported from abroad.