Lucille Pope's red oak tree has baffled tree experts, water specialists and nursery professionals. The knotted, towering tree, more than 100 years old, has become the root of scrutiny in her East Side neighborhood. The tree has gurgled water from its trunk for the past three months. Pope, 65, has sought answers from several specialists, calling experts from the Texas Forest Service, the Edwards Aquifer Authority and nurseries for an explanation. They've combed her backyard, probing the gnarled tree that leans away from a parked white 1980s Cadillac. After snapping pictures, doing taste tests and conducting preliminary studies, they're still working to give her a definitive answer. "I got a mystery tree," Pope said. "What kind of mystery do I have where water comes out of a tree?" The odd occurrence started in early April when her son, Lloyd Pope, noticed bark smeared with sap when he went to fill his the water trough of his stepson's dog Neno. After moving the Rottweiler's tray, he saw a wide stain that ran from the root up toward the branches, with fluid dripping to the ground from above.

Days later, he saw water streaming onto the ground from the other side, and he showed his mother the sight. Lloyd Pope, 47, said the water was cool, like it came from a faucet. The only damp spot around the tree trunk is where the water lands. The peculiar incident has the Popes wondering if the water has properties not found on tap.

View: Full Article | Source: My San Antonio

uh... not really a mystery if you know that if a hole is made in the right spot and is deep enough, you hit its "water supply". wherein it can 'leak' for quite a while, before it gets infected > becomes diseased > and then dies. If you've ever looked even slightly into bushcraft you'd know that this is a fool proof way of getting water (from the right trees) as it doesn't pose a great threat to the tree if you do. the only thing you have to do, after you get what you need, is to plug the hole. otherwise, as I stated earlier, it could get infected and die.

Yes, I was going to say the same.

This is no mystery, they are all bloody fools!

Although coming out at the same force as his tap for 3 months is maybe slightly more than one would normally expect to get, its still no mystery.

Ive drank water from a tree like this myself.

Edit- they really need to give the tree a bit of respect and plug up the hole before it dies.

I wonder if the water is safe for drinking?

It usually is, trees are pretty clean beings, they filter out all the crap.

This thread is making me thirsty.

wow ....why do they have to be fools because they didnt know that extra piece of unneccesary to daily life info?

I agree. And how come none of these water experts who came to investigate this have said this? I mean, wouldn't they know. Being water experts, wouldn't they have either seen or at least heard of this phenomenon? I mean, I've never seen or heard of it, but I'm no expert. However two people on here knew exactly what the cause of it is......I guess I'm a fool then.

not nessecerily, they are water experts (not tree water experts) or forest rangers (who look after the forest). Neither of them would be required to know anything about bushcraft.

Bushcraft is the knowledge of your surroundings and the knowledge of what does what/ how to do the how, of survival in nature. Bushcraft is how our ancestors survived, and also how tribes in the amazon ect survive today.

if you want more info on it, you should search it up. Very interesting and handy if you ever venture out into the wilderness with only a change of clothes.

riiighht.... xray that motha

thats very intresting. i was thinking along the same lines. There is a bottle tree that holds water in its trunk which u can drink

What a bunch of BS...

You don't even need to be an expert to see that this is quite a mystery.

Try cutting down trees. I've never ever seen this happen with any tree.

wow its a water tree ^^

-sigh- are kids getting lazy?

as I said before, search up on bushcraft. I'm not going to link you because I'm not the person who knows nothing about it. you are. have you ever cut a tree down?

...no? well if you had, you'd realise that the stumps surface is moist (no, it really isnt going to become a fountain. no really, it isn't) now, "why is it moist" you may or may not ask. the answer is simple, tree's get their nutrients and water from via their roots, and there energy from the sun (thats called photosynthesis). now that the tree is sucking up all that moisture, it transfers the water up its trunk with small 'veins' running all the way up its trunk and into its branches, and then to its leaves.

now, when you cut into those 'veins' you hit its water supply making it 'bleed' or 'leak'. which is exactly what the tree in question is doing. Now tree's can leak for a long while unless the hole is plugged up - or until it dies from infection.

mystery? - no, just natures awesomeness in her makings.

experts? - no, they are not required to know anything about bushcraft, if they did then they'd know why its leaking and they'd know that they'd have to plug it to save the trees life.

Do a little research of your own before thinking knowledge is BS

(p.s. when I had to cut a branch on a branch that was growing vertically (which is something branches on a branch aren't meant to do, appariently) it leaked for over 2 weeks before it finally stopped. no mystery there either.)

I apologise : http://tions.net/CA256EA900408BD5/vwWWW/outdoor~03~043

Seems it not such a mystery afterall.

this is old news