Asia-Pacific

Vietnam's Capital Cuts Back on Its Pungent Blackboard Trees

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By Fuhua Hung/Bryn Thomas

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In Hanoi, workers are pruning the city's iconic blackboard trees. Known locally as "milk flower" or Hoa Sua, the tropical evergreens release a pungent sweet smell at dusk which some residents find overpowering. The aroma has even sparked debate in local media with some fearing the smell may be poisonous. But the tree is emblematic of Hanoi in the fall and has inspired countless poems and love songs, leading some residents to call on authorities to move carefully in managing them.