All around the world you can find some special trees, trees with their own story.
The oldest
For example, the tree Tjikko, is the oldest tree on our planet. Located in Sweden, it has been around for over 9,550 years. Or to be more precise, its roots. Once every hundred years its tree trunk dies but the root system remains intact. This way a new tree can grow out of the roots; the tree is able to clone itself without any intervention. When we look at the oldest “non-cloned” tree, we have Methuselah, in California, US. This tree is already more than 4,750 years old.
The tallest
The tallest tree on earth is Hyperion, and is a whopping 115.61 metres high. To protect this tree, its precise location in the Redwood National park, in California is kept secret. The General Sherman is known as the biggest tree. At 83.3 metres, it is somewhat smaller than Hyperion, but its diameter of 7.7 metres gives it a volume of 1,487 cubic metres. Not a single tree can compete with this wooden giant in terms of matter.
The loniest
In the Nigerian Sahara Desert you can find the loneliest tree in the world. It was so isolated, that it was the only tree around for 400 kilometres. Unfortunately, a drunk driver managed to destroy this wonderful tree. To honour this tree a memorial sculpture was built on the place it once lived. In the desert of Bahrain, a solitary tree can be found in the dry desert as well. The “Tree of Life” has been there for over 400 years and still survives despite the prevailing drought.
Image: Karl Brodowsky
Tree Tjikko
Fulufjället, Fulufjället National Park, Sweden
