White House tree planted by Presidents Trump, Macron mysteriously vanishes
The sapling tree was planted by the presidents last week during a state visit.
Something of a mystery has taken root at the White House -- an oak tree sapling, planted by President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron, has gone missing.
![](https://s.abcnews.com/images/Politics/trump-macron-tree-planting-rt-jt-180429_hpEmbed_25x16_992.jpg)
The sapling was a gift from the French president during last week's ballyhooed state visit.
![](https://s.abcnews.com/images/Politics/trump-macron-missing-tree-2-rt-jt-180429_hpEmbed_3x2_992.jpg)
Washington media flocked to the South Lawn Monday to snap photos and shout questions as the two heads of state ceremoniously shoveled soil on the budding tree.
![PHOTO: President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron plant a tree at the South Lawn of the White House on April 23, 2018 which mysteriously disappeared on April 28, 2018.](https://s.abcnews.com/images/Politics/trump-macron-tree-before-after-split-2-ap-jt-180429_hpEmbed_3x1_992.jpg)
But now, less than a week later, recent photos show an off-color, pale patch of turf where the sapling once stood.
![](https://s.abcnews.com/images/Politics/trump-macron-missing-tree-1-rt-jt-180429_hpEmbed_3x2_992.jpg)
The White House did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment. An official from France's presidential office told Reuters the tree, imported from France's Belleau Wood forest, needed to be quarantined in order to prevent the spread of parasites and it would return in the near future.
![PHOTO: An empty area where a tree was planted by President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron during a tree planting ceremony is seen through the media van window on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., April 28, 2018.](https://s.abcnews.com/images/Politics/trump-macron-missing-tree-3-ap-jt-180429_hpMain.jpg)