Celebrity trees

Celebrity trees


Widest Canopy – The Great Banyan

This single clonal tree covers an area of 14500 square meters and has a circumference of about half Kilometer. The Great Banyan is a 250 year old Banyan tree located in Calcutta, West Bengal, India. This tree was struck two times by lightning because of which, the tree has been left without its main trunk, but due to about 3300 areal roots reaching ground, the tree is still standing and is spreading its branches continuously. Due to these roots, the tree looks more like a forest than an individual tree which it actually is.

Largest volume – General Sherman

Though it is neither the tallest, nor the broadest stemmed tree in the world, still it is known to be the largest living individual on earth due to its enormous volume of the trunk. It is a member of Giant Sequoia in California State.
Though it is the largest tree by volume, currently, but it has not been the largest always since Crannell Creek Giant, a member of coast redwood which was cut down in 1940 had 15 to 20% larger volume than General Sherman.

Thickest Trunk – Adansonia or Baobab

This species of tree is known to have the thickest trunk. Sunland Baobab is considered to have the largest trunk diameter of 9.3 meters. It is stated in South Africa. Earlier Glencoe Baobab was considered to be the first one due to its diameter of 15.9 meters but the tree split into two parts.

Longest height – Coast Redwood or Giant Redwood or California Redwood

It is an evergreen species of Sequoia sempervirens which naturally occurred in a vast area of 8500 km2 in coastal California before 95% of its population was cut down in order to meet the industrial demands of timber. It is a long living and giant tree known to have the tallest height in the world. ‘Hyperion’, a member of its family was measured to have a height of approx. 115.5 meters (excluding Roots) and is the tallest living individual on earth. It has excellent properties to be used in construction. It occurs only in the moist and high rainfall regions.

Longest Living – Pinus Longaeva

It is a long living species of Great Basin Bristlecone Pine, one member of which is the longest living non-clonal organism alive on earth at the age of about 5064 years. It is found in Utah, Nevada and California falling in the Southwestern zone of United States. It seems that this species of tree have been nourished with Nectar. Even a leaf of this tree has been found to remain green for complete 45 years which is a way long time. Pinus Longaeva is one of the three closely related species known as Bristlecone Pine. It has also got the name Western Bristlecone Pine or Intermountain Pine. The wood of this species is so durable that it can persist for about 7000 more years after death.
Though, it comes at the first place in non-clonal species, there is a clonal tree of Norway Sprucein known to be living for about 9550 years by continues cloning and migrating in Sweden.
Credits: Image Source- Google Images


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