Trees are majestic and beautiful, providing us with the air we need to breathe. They can be very large and grand or small and compact, but whatever the size or appearance of them, we need them and more of them. Trees provide us with everything from shelter and oxygen through to paper and timber that you can find from Timbco who are a Southampton Timber Merchants. Here we celebrate everything that is related to the tree and look at some incredible record-breaking ones from around the world:
- The fastest growing tree
The fastest growing tree on earth is Paulownia tomentosa, better known as the Queen of Foxglove tree, growing purple foxglove-like flowers hence its name. In the first 12 months of life, it can grow to 20 feet in height at a rate of about 1 foot every 3 weeks! You can find this tree in the United States and China. This species is a mega giver of life because it produces oxygen during photosynthesis x4 times more than any other species of trees!
- Oldest tree ever recorded
The oldest tree was a whopping 5,200 years old. It was called Prometheus and found on Mount Wheeler in Nevada. Unfortunately, Prometheus was cut down by a geologist in 1963. After cutting down, the trunk was found to have 4867 rings but due to the harsh environment it lived in, it was considered to be even older than the number of rings that could be seen.
- Tallest Trees
The tallest living tree is Hyperion, a redwood found on the U.S coast. It was first discovered in the California Redwood National Park in 2006. Hyperion is the world’s tallest living tree measuring 379 feet.
- Biggest tree volume
General Sherman holds the record as the largest tree on Earth by volume. This is a giant sequoia and can be found standing proud in California Sequoia National Park. It is 2,100 years old and stands at 271 feet with a trunk volume of 1,487 meters cubed. The weight of this colossal tree, roots included, is estimated to be 1814 tons.
- Dangerous trees
While most trees are great to hug, there are a few that we would be better off avoiding. The Manchineel can be seen in the Florida Everglades and on the Caribbean coast. It has sap that is so acidic and toxic, that only a small amount of skin contact will result in painful blisters forming. Get in your eyes and you could go blind! Avoid the fruit as well as a small bite of the apple-lookalikes can result in blisters, horrible pain and even death!
- Oldest known tree planted by humans
The oldest tree known to have been planted by humans is a sacred fig tree planted 2,300 years ago in Sri Lanka. The tree that is came from is said to be the famous Bodhi tree, where Buddha attained Enlightenment.