THAT'S how opponents describe proposals to rid a UN world heritage site of its landmark trees.
Q: Species to be arboreously cleansed?
A: The Indian laurel tree.
There are 11 of them, some 100ft tall, in the historic main square in Oaxaca, southern Mexico.
Q: Why are they under threat?
A: A group of artists and architects launched a plan to revamp the square, which included a suggestion to replace "foreign" trees with native ones. The group says the Indian laurels must go because Oaxacan culture should be tied to the spirituallypure plants of the region.
Q: Woodman, save that tree?
A: Opponents say the plan smacks of political correctness. They want to save the laurels.
Q: For the campaign, can they afford to rest on theirs?
A: A citizens' committee has been formed to defend the trees. Their suspicions were roused when a bulldozer accidentally knocked a laurel over. Workers arrived with chainsaws to cut it up but angry residents stopped them. The tree's now propped up.
Q: When were the trees planted?
A: In the 1870s. They're broad-leaved, dense trees native to Asia.
They've provided welcome shade for generations in Oaxaca's hot, dry climate. The anti-laurel lobby says it wants the trees to be replaced as they die off by native species such as Higo del Valle and Ahuehuete.
Q: Will the lobby win?
A: Defenders of the laurel say they'll call for a tourist boycott of the city, founded in 1486 as an Aztec garrison and conquered by the Spaniards in 1521, if it disappears.
Oaxacans have a history of successful protest. Two years ago, they stopped McDonald's opening an outlet in the city.
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