During a routine site visit through unnamed Boston Park, arborists from the City of Boston stumbled upon a mythologized tree. The so-called "money tree", or Arbor argentum, instead of producing fruits, produces $20 bills. This tree promises not only to transform the city's budget, but also upend the world's economy.

"The discovery of this tree was a total accident," said Todd Mistor, Director of Urban Forestry for the City of Boston. "Our arborists were responding to a report of a broken branch. In their climb up the tree to prune the tree, they came across piles of $20 bills growing from the stems of the tree. After pocketing a few bills to 'verify' at the office, they immediately notified city, state, and federal officials."

Researchers across the country are baffled. For centuries scientists have always assumed that "money doesn't grow on trees". But if this discovery holds, then the all the roots of plant biology will have to be reevaluated.

"We've always assumed that a plant's photosynthesis only produces leaves, bark, and fruit," said noted plant scientist Suzanne Simard. "With this new discovery, we're going to have to reassess the very basis of arboreal ontology that has guided the field since the discovery that the bark of the dogwood tree is worse than its bite."

Meanwhile, the discovery of the tree has caused consternation among leading economists. Jerome Powell, chair of the Federal Reserve, released a statement: "We are extremely concerned that if this tree is cloned or, worse yet, bred to produce even larger denominations, it could upend the world's economy and cause massive inflation. We're stumped about what to do about it and are going to get to the root of the problem as quickly as we can!"

President Biden has been notified of the discovery, and officials from the Federal Reserve, with guidance from the US Forest Service, are currently en route to secure this tree. They plan on cordoning off the area to ensure that no cuttings are removed.

The mayor's office has not released a statement concerning the tree, but recent observers of the city's operational budget have noted a marked increase in expenditures in everything from fixing potholes to installing charging stations on every street corner. Meanwhile, state officials have been pressuring city leaders to share the location of the tree so that the governor can fill gaps in this year's budget.

This is a developing April Fool's story. Please tune in next April 1, 2025, for an update.

If this story made you smile, chuckle, or laugh, we hope you'll consider a donation to help grow tree equity in Boston. Because, as we know, money doesn't grow on trees (even if we wish it did).