The World’s Wackiest Trees You Have To Check Out Chloe Nevitt September 14, 2016 general Finding a good tree can be quite difficult. Are you looking for shade? Or are you looking for wood to make a comfortable seat? Sometimes a tree can be so wild that all you can do is stare in wonder as its leaves crinkle in the wind. Some trees will leave you slack-jawed, wishing that you too could photosynthesize into the night. If you’re a dendrophiliac (lover of trees) and you’re looking for the world’s best trees – then look no further. Prepare to have your xylems and phloems tickled by these five amazing trees. The Ancient Date Tree The best trees are the trees that can also feed you. And how cool would it be to eat to the fruits of our ancestors? It just so happens that a tree found in the middle of the Israeli desert may be able to provide you with a delicious ancient treat. Methuselah is a 10 year old tree that was grown from a 2,000 year-old seed, found in Masada. The tree, which has been able to mate with modern female date trees to produce fruit, is a type of date palm which was wiped out in 500 A.D. [perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Researchers are hoping that by being able to study the fruit from this tree, they’ll have a better understanding of ancient diets.[/perfectpullquote] The Moon Trees (Jessica Spengler/Flickr Creative Commons) The moon trees are a series of trees grown from 500 seeds that were taken to space during the Apollo 14 mission in 1971. The seeds were planted across the U.S. in various major cities, like Washington D.C (at the White House), at Valley Forge, and in Washington Square in Philadelphia. The seeds belonged to Loblolly Pine, Sycamore, Sweetgum, Redwood, and Douglas Fir trees, and the seedlings have been gifted to foreign presidents, diplomats, and even emperors. Pretty neat, huh? A full list of all moon tree locations can be found here. The Tree Of Life (Chris Price/Flickr Creative Commons) The tree of life has biblical and mythical roots, either as the source of the forbidden fruit that Eve gave to Adam or a source of the knowledge of good and evil. For others, the tree of life is a 400-year-old Prosopis cineraria tree located in the Bahrain desert about a mile from an equally as mystical site: The Mountain of Smoke. What makes this tree so special is its distance from any other life…the tree is the only tree found in the area. At first sight, the ability to grow in the middle of the sandy desert is amazing, but the ground where the tree grows is only about 10 meters above sea level, meaning that there is a supply of groundwater that the tree’s extensive root system can reach. [perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]What remains interesting, however, is that if this land is livable, where are all the other trees?[/perfectpullquote] General Sherman (Rafał Próchniak/Flickr Creative Commons) With a name like General Sherman, many people are quick to believe that this is a well-respected military man, but those people would be wrong. General Sherman is actually a giant-and I mean GIANT-tree found in Northern California. This bad boy is the oldest (almost 3,000 years old) and widest (it has a 25 foot diameter) tree in the world. Ole’ Shermy is located in the Sequoia National Park in Tulare County and is a giant sequoia, a member of the coniferous redwoods that California is so famous for. [perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]If you’ve ever wanted to give the biggest hug of your life, this is the tree for you.[/perfectpullquote] Any And All Baobab Trees (Vaughan Leiberum/Flickr Creative Commons) To get an idea about what the Baobab tree looks like, all you need to do is close your eyes and imagine a fat version of Dr. Seuss’ Truffula Tree. The Baobab has a long thick trunk that then explodes into a tuft of leaves at the top of the tree. Though seemingly strange to the eye, this design serves to store as much water as possible in its trunk, allowing it to survive the dry and harsh desert conditions where these trees are found. The baobab is actually the common name for a variety of species of Adansonia trees which can be found across Africa, Australia, and Madagascar. This unique tree is most definitely a treat for the eyes. Have you seen some crazier plants and trees than we mentioned? Let us know what they were below!
