Do you know that saying can’t see the forest for the trees? Well, long time ago I wrote about the most beautiful forests in the world, but it occurred to me that I never wrote about individual trees, or tree species. So here it is, 10 famous and amazing trees: either specific individual trees, small groves, or unique species.
1. General Sherman, Sequoia National Park, California
The General Sherman tree is the prime attraction of the Sequoia National Park, and for a good reason – General Sherman is the world’s largest tree by volume. While it’s not the tallest or widest, it certainly is among the tallest and widest trees in the world, and has the best height by width value (meaning volume). The magnificent tree is estimated to be around 2,300 to 2,700 years old (one of the oldest in the world). Its height is 83.8 meters (275 ft) and its diameter is 7.7 m (25 ft)
2. Avenue of the Baobabs, Madagascar
The Avenue of the Baobabs is a group of big baobab trees lining a dirt road in western Madagascar. This amazing and unique landscape draws many tourists from all around the world, making the Avenue of the Baobabs one of the most popular attractions in the area and one of the most famous landmarks in Africa
3. Socotra Dragon Tree, Socotra, Yemen
Also known as Dragon Blood tree, this beautiful strange species is endemic to the Socotra archipelago – a group of 4 islands in the Indian Ocean, belonging to Yemen. The fruits of the tree are small fleshy berries which exude a deep red resin, known as dragon’s blood.
4. Cherry Blossom, Tokyo, Japan
The spring cherry blossom of the Japanese Cherry is world famous for its breathtaking beauty. While the cherry blossom can be found in many places in the world, in Japan it’s truly part of the culture and will often be found in festivals and other displays
5. The Dark Hedges, Northern Ireland
The Dark Hedges is a long beautiful avenue of Beech trees that were planted by a family in the 18th century. The avenue is one of the most photographed natural phenomena in Northern Ireland, visited by many tourists all year round. I previously mentioned it as one of the locations used by the production of Game of Thrones (as the road leading to and from King’s Landing)
6. Methuselah, Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, California
Methuselah is a specific tree of the species Great Basin Bristlecone pine. Methuselah is one of the oldest trees in the world at an age of over 4,800 years. Until recently it was thought to be the oldest living tree, but another tree located in the same grove was found to be over 5,000 years old. Both trees are located in the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest in the White Mountains, California. The exact location of Methuselah in the forest is not published and the tree itself is not marked to protect it from vandalism
7. Rainbow Eucalyptus trees, Maui, Hawaii
The rainbow eucalyptus has a unique colorful bark. It’s not often that you see a tree that has a natural blue, purple or orange colors on its trunk. These trees often seem like they came from the imagination of a Hollywood writer trying to picture other worlds. The rainbow eucalyptus can reach a height of over 200 ft (61 meters). The species is native to New Britain, New Guinea, Seram, Sulawesi and Mindanao, but the trees in the pictures were taken in a rainbow eucalyptus grove in Maui, Hawaii
8. The largest Wisteria in Japan
This spectacular wisteria plant is both the largest and oldest wisteria in Japan. It was planted around 1870 and is located in Ashikaga Flower Park in the city of Ashikaga, not far from Tokyo. Despite looking much like a tree, a wisteria is not a tree but rather a vine. The branches can get very heavy and have a hard time supporting their own weight. So a steel structure was built to help support this giant wisteria, allowing visitors to walk under the beautiful blossoming branches of the old plant and enjoy a wonderful experience
9. Crooked Forest, Poland
I mentioned the Crooked Forest in the beautiful forests list, but with only 400 trees in the forest, I think it could be mentioned in this list too. Crooked Forest is a grove of oddly-shaped pine trees. This young forest was planted around 1930 and has about 400 pines. It is generally believed that some form of human tool or technique was used to make the trees grow this way, but the method and motive are not currently known. Some believe that the woods were deliberately grown this way to make “Compass Timbers”, or trees that are deliberately shaped for the purpose of using those odd shapes in ship building. Another theory is that tanks from WWII are the cause, rolling over the young trees snapping the stem, but still surviving, forcing them to grow in the direction they were ran over
10. A tree in Lisbon, Portugal
This segment is neither on a specific tree, a species or a grove. It’s about trees in general. I saw this phenomena on my way to eat a Pastel de nata at Pastéis de Belém, in Lisbon. It was so awesome I just had to stop and take a picture. I don’t know how long it took to form this way, and I suspect some human interference or help might be involved, but nevertheless I think it’s a great example of the resilience, patience and determination that trees have