The 12 Most Magnificent Trees in the World

Inspired by a similar blog post about 10 Magnificent trees that has been widely propagated around the blogsphere I decided to put together my own list of great trees of renown that I believe is more accurate than the above mentioned post. I had a hard time keeping the list to ten and ended up expanding it to twelve with some runner-up trees by category. At the end of the post I also mention some more truly great trees that did not make the list.

Largest tree by Volume - General Sherman (Giant Sequoia)


General Sherman, originally uploaded by blueph0enix.
The General Sherman Tree is the largest tree by volume in the world and one of the fastest growing. It belongs to the species Sequoiadendron giganteum.


Tallest tree - Hyperion (Coastal Redwood)


Coastal Redwood Portrait, originally uploaded by KbH.
The Coastal Redwood (Sequoia Sempervirens) is the tallest tree species in the world. The tallest actual tree is the Hyperion tree which stands at 379 feet tall. Another Tall Coastal Redwood is the Stratosphere Giant at 112 meters.

Largest Spread - The Great Banyan (Bengal Fig)


Great banyan tree, originally uploaded by YamezA.
a sign by this tree reads...

"The Great Banyan Tree is one of the greatest attractions and landmark of Indian Botanic Garden. The tree, Ficus Benghalensis-L. (family Moraceae) is more than 250 years old and spreaded over an area of about 1.5 hectares with about 2880 proproots.
A wonder in the plant kingdom, the tree occupies its possition in the "Guinness Book of World Records" 21.02.05"
The Great Banyan Tree, originally uploaded by Joe Gratz.
Although the main trunk of the is tree was removed in 1925 it continues to grow outward and has spread past the fence that was built around it. The highest branch is 24.5 meters tall and the canopy extends over 420 meters in diameter.
Oldest Individual tree - Methuselah (Bristlecone Pine)



Two ancient bristlecone pines
Originally uploaded by jb18
  • Methuselah tree
  • Pinus longaeva
  • age 4,840 years
  • (the Jomon Sugi tree has been reported to be older (7,200 years) but more conservative estimates date it at 2,200 years old)
Largest Girth - Árbol del Tule (Montezuma Cypress)


El Arbol de Tule
Originally uploaded by akseabird

The "Arbol del Tule", a Montezuma cypress (Taxodium mucronatum), is claimed to be the tree with the largest diameter in the world. At 11.62 meters its diameter is greater than that of the largest Sequoia tree. The Tule tree is located in Oaxaca, Mexico and is claimed to locals to be the largest tree in the world (by volume and tonnage) although this claim is not scientifically proven. None the less it is a very impressive tree!
  • 11.62 meters in diameter
  • circumference of 36.2 m


Greatest Baobab - Sunland Baobab (Adansonia digitata)

The Sunland Baobab of Limpopo, South Africa

"Big Baobab Tree (Adansonia digitata): This giant and ancient baobab at the Sunland Nursery, between Duiwelskloof and Ga-Kgapane, is the biggest specimen in the world. It has a circumference of 46,8m and carbon dating has determined its age at an astronomical 6000 years." from http://www.places.co.za/html/tzaneen.html

"When baobabs become a thousand years old, they begin to hollow inside. In the Big Baobab this has resulted in wonderful caverns and caves, where the world famous Baobab Tree Bar and Wine Cellar now amaze visitors. The tree bar can accommodate more than 60 people!"
from http://www.bigbaobab.co.za/

see also...
http://arbresvenerables.free.fr/ArbresVenerables/South%20Africa.htm


runner-up - Chapman´s Baobab

photograph courtesy Philip Greenspun

In Botswana´s Kalarari Desert near the Makgadikgadi Pans (once a very immense inland lake in Africa) is a very large tree that goes by the name “Chapman´s Baobab”. In was named by a South African explorer by the name of James Chapman in 1861 when he was on an expedition with his brother and Thomas Baines. This tree is about 25 meters in circumference at its base (Baobab trees swell with water when it rains which makes trunk measurements difficult as they very from season to season). From what I have found I think that this is the second largest Baobab after the “Sunland Baobab in Limpopo which has a circumference of 46.8 meters.
The tree is reputed to be between 4,000 and 6,000 years old.

here is the same tree from another angle...



Tallest Flowering Tree - Centurion (Mountain Ash)



Largest and oldest clonal colony - Pando Quacking Aspen

The Pando tree is a "clonal colony" which means that this whole grove is one living organism that sends up multiple "stems". Each of what we would consider one "tree" is just a part of this giant living organism. These individual "stems" sprout grow to maturity and eventually age and die and fall over but the organism that they are a part of lives on. The largest known clonal colony is this forest of quacking aspens in Colorado that is estimated to have 40,000 stems and to be as old as 80,000 years.
  • Populus tremuloides
  • 107 acres (43 hectares) and approx 47,000 stems
  • (Clonal colonies are groupings of "trees" (in reality stems) that are all part of a single living organism)
Most Revered tree - Sri Maha Bodhi (Sacred Fig Bo, Bodhi, Pipal)


Sri Maha Bodhi, Anuradhapura, originally uploaded by get down.
  • Sri Maha Bodhi (Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka)
  • Ficus religiosa
  • Propagated from the Bodhi tree
  • A descendant of the tree under which Buddha is thought to have received his enlightenment.
Most Resistant tree - "The Tree of Life"


The famous Tree of Life, originally uploaded by solvo.
Out in the middle of a vast desert in Bahrain there stands a tree that is popularly called the "Tree of Life". It is a solitary splash of green in a vast ocean of sand. It is believed to be a 400 year old "Mesquite"(??) tree and is located about 2 kilometers from Jebel Dukhan. According to local legend this tree stands in the exact spot of the Biblical garden of eden.
Here is a picture of this tree as seen from Space...


  • The Tree of Life (Bahrain)
  • Located out in the desert 1.2 miles (two kilometers) from the Jebel Dukhan
  • Source of water unknown
Most Important in History - Cedar of Lebanon


A cedar of Lebanon, originally uploaded by CharlesFred.
This large Lebanese cedar tree stands on Mount Lebanon and is a fine example of the tree that is the symbol and pride of the country. This tree species (Cedrus Libani) should not be confused however with what are commonly called “Cedar” trees in the United States. The Cedars of Lebanon have been trees of renown for thousands of years. The wood of this tree was used by Solomon in the construction of the temple that he built in Jerusalem.
  • Cedars of Lebanon
  • Cedrus libani
  • Mentioned in many ancient texts such as the Bible and the Koran
  • Important to many ancient civilizations such as the Babylonians, Egyptians, Hebrews, Arabs etc.
Greatest "Living Fossil" tree - Dragon tree


The dragon tree at Icod, originally uploaded by 126 Club.
I had the good fortune to be able to visit this increadible tree back in 1994. They say that this tree (Draceana draco) is over 1000 years old. It is located in the Canary Islands, on the Island of Tenerife in the town of Icod. These Dragon trees (sometimes called Dragon's blood trees for the red color of their sap) grow wild only in the Canary Islands but have been planted in many other places such as California, Australia, Spain, etc. (in places where the temps don't go sub freezing).
  • El Drago Milenari (Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spanish Canary Islands)
  • Dracaena draco
  • over 1000 years old
More trees of renown...
Garden of Gethsemane Olive trees
Fortingall Yew
Tane Mahuta
Te Matua Ngahere
Grandidier's Baobab
Giant Java Willow
Meiji Shrine Wishing tree

53 comments:

Chris said...

Thanks for the link, these trees are awesome, I hope others see it and don't think light of nature. Without these majestic trees our nature is nothing. Thanks.

Anonymous said...

Wow! Those were really magnificent trees. After posting a tree poem at my own blog I googled a little and saw your blog. Thanks.

Jenny

http://cinnamon-blog.blogspot.com/

Nature Nut /JJ Loch said...

FANTABULOUS POST AND PHOTOS!!! The Tree of Life is my favorite. God shows us He can do the impossible, and I love the Garden of Eden idea of being in that area. :D

JJ :D

April said...

I LOVE them all and would never be able to choose one over the other. Great work!

Real McCoy said...

I have been looking for you, awesome! I am writing a book and need to reference a specific tree that grows in Italy. I read about it some months back but do not remember much about it except the following: It grows in a remote mountainous region of Italy that is practically inaccessible without a guide. maybe some monastery or something like that. If you can help me out, I would gladly give credit to you in my novel.

dad stewart said...

I cannot believe someone has not posted one of the large Ginkgo trees in the world! This tree represents the oldest SPECIES of tree in the entire world 250,000,000 years old!! A living fossil!!! Stu.

Dreamybee said...

Wow, what a great collection! I have been to the Tule tree, and it is magnificent. Even though it is completely fenced off, the canopy is so large that you still find yourself standing underneath it, and it feels like its own separate little ecosystem-very cool!

I hope you don't mind, but I just linked to your blog in my post. Please let me know if you would like me not to.

http://subliminalintervention.blogspot.com/2008/09/tree-week.html

M. D. Vaden of Oregon said...

Of all the photos above, a I think the Dragon Tree might look the most interestinge.

Seeing you like trees, I have a redwood page that can compliment your redwood photo:

Largest Redwoods - Titans

Hopefully, I can get a decent photo of Stratosphere Giant this late autumn to winter.

Cheers,

MDV
Oregon

Eastcoastdweller said...

This is a great website -- please don't let it gather dust1

Jong said...

wow! I don't even know about this trees until now..thanks for sharing this one..

Bill said...

Of all these trees mu favorite is the great banyan tree. What a nice photo, very unique.

The runner up in my mind is the bristle cone pine, wow, that is one old, old tree.

A thoughtful post, and fun too.

bill;www.wildramblings.com

Harold Stiver said...

Great stuff!

The Quacking Aspen info is very interesting, I had never heard about a complex tree organism such as that.

Well done.

Harold

http://www.ontfin.com/Word/

Bill said...

All wonders of our natural world. It is great to read about them all in one collection of writings.

Thanks.

Bill
www.wildramblings.com

Unknown said...

Loved the stunning photo's, these trees really make us as humans seem so insignificant. If we are lucky we live to see 70 or 80, not to mention the very few centurions around the world that make it to 100. Just looking at the sheer age of some of these trees supports the fact that God didn't intend for humans to grow old and die. HE never would've created the 'masterpiece' of is creation to be outlived by trees. So glad that the Bible does promise life on earth without end in Psalms 37:29.

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very mysterious tree. it's so amazing!!


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Unknown said...

No doubt these are the most magnificient living things on earth...

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Unknown said...

This is quite awesome...never knew these trees too exists. Such large and wide area covering trees which is just awesome to view.

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Unknown said...

God, that Lebanese Cedar is just stunning. So peaceful looking. Just wish the actual country was more peaceful. GREAT pics whomever took took them!
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Michel said...

Great post

This is real inspiration for everyone to care trees

My favorite is cedar of Lebanon as it is the God of Forest. Hope you will post related to Send Flowers to Lebanon

Cheers

Unknown said...

I love looking at beautiful trees. I am currently working on a landscaping project where I will use a tree service in minneapolis to put many different trees on my property. I am very excited to get started.

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PlantWerkZ said...

Wow! What a post. All the trees are so impressive. Thank you and thank you so much for sharing such a wonderful post. You may find more beautiful trees here: PlantWerkZ

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Unknown said...

Those trees look so good. I love how crazy they look. I can't wait to landscape and get a set up like that.
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Unknown said...

These trees are amazing! I wish that I had trees in my backyard that looked like this. All the trees in my yard are ugly and dying, I need to get them removed. Maybe, once the dead ones are removed, I can plant beautiful new trees like this. http://www.greenandgoldtreeremovals.com.au

Unknown said...
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Unknown said...

Oh i loved this post and the explanation with these posts are also so good, there is another website you should follow if you are looking for information related to trees www.envirofrontier.com.au/

Unknown said...

All these trees kind of remind me of Lion King and Rafiki's tree. I wish that we had big trees like this in my area, but all we have are little ones that were planted a few years ago. They are growing, but it's a really slow process. Maybe one day we'll have really big trees. http://www.treeland.ca

hou said...

In the Big Baobab this has resulted in wonderful caverns and caves, where the world famous Baobab Tree Bar and Wine Cellar now amaze visitors.

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hou said...

Loved the stunning photo's, these trees really make us as humans seem so insignificant. If we are lucky we live to see 70 or 80, not to mention the very few centurions around the world that make it to 100. Just looking at the sheer age of some of these trees supports the fact that God didn't intend for humans to grow old and die. HE never would've created the 'masterpiece' of is creation to be outlived by trees. So glad that the Bible does promise life on earth without end in Psalms 37:29.
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