臺北市政府文化局

As you walk past the tall coconut trees around Wenzhou Park and head towards the alleyways, you’ll find a variety of greenery around. But one plant at the corner stands out with its proud, solitary posture, proclaiming its extraordinary lineage.

This plant is a Spider Tree (Crateva unilocularis), an exotic and rare tree species of which only a handful exist in Taiwan. It grows in the office area of the Taipower Company. 

In the 1970s, Taipower employee Chen Wen-wang brought a branch to his apprentice, Chen Lin-jin, with the intention of planting the branch in a symbolic act meant to conjure good fortune for the ongoing Taipower construction. After planting what they mistakenly thought was a Bodhi tree, they took turns caring for it for 15 years before it finally bloomed. But it was not until much later that students from the nearby National Taiwan University collected flowers from the tree for research and discovered that what Taipower had long thought was a Bodhi tree is actually a Spider Tree from Oceania.

Every year during the Qingming Festival, this beautiful impostor blooms with yellow flowers among the lush greenery. Over time, the flowers gradually turn white and then light purple, with butterfly-shaped petals that flutter like thousands of butterflies in the breeze. Standing tall at five storeys high, the tree’s remarkable presence captivates visitors, drawing many admirers who come to witness its beauty.

Over time, the distinctive Spider Tree has become a shared memory for both local residents and Taipower. It was initially planted inside a walled area, so the public could only admire it from behind a fence. But in 2016, in recognition of its significance, Taipower launched the Wenluoting public art programme, removing the corner wall and relocating nearby power equipment to give the tree ample space to thrive. An artist was invited to create the public art piece TheHeartbeat, and more than ten nearby independent bookstores each left a line of poetry on the Cultural Remarks poetry wall next to the tree. As you enjoy the beautiful scene, visitors are encouraged to read the poems that celebrate this long-standing friend of the community.