We begin a new journey around the world in search of the most unusual trees. Today we will visit Madagascar, Central and South America, New Guinea, USA. Enjoy watching!

 

Bottle tree

Grandidier's Baobab, or Grandidier's Adansonia (Adansonia grandidieri, Grandidier's baobab)

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Grandidier's Baobab, or Grandidier's Adansonia (Adansonia grandidieri, Grandidier's baobab)

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Grandidier's Baobab, or Grandidier's Adansonia (Adansonia grandidieri, Grandidier's baobab)

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Grandidier's Baobab, or Grandidier's Adansonia (Adansonia grandidieri, Grandidier's baobab)

wikimedia.org

Grandidier's Baobab, or Grandidier's Adansonia (Adansonia grandidieri, Grandidier's baobab)

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Of the eight species of baobabs, six species grow in Madagascar, one species is common in continental Africa, and one more in Australia. The largest and most famous species is Grandidier's baobab, or Grandidier's adansonia (you can see it in the photo above). This species of baobab grows in Western Madagascar and is endangered. Grandidier baobabs have massive, cylindrical, long, thick trunks, up to 3 meters across and 20–25 meters high. Some baobabs take on the shape of a bottle, a skull, and even a teapot.

The shape of the trunk of the baobab is called the "bottle tree". The baobab is sometimes referred to as the "monkey breadfruit tree" because the flesh of its fruit is extremely attractive to monkeys. From the pulp of the fruit, a drink is prepared that tastes like lemonade, hence another name for the baobab – “lemonade tree”.

It is believed that baobabs live for several thousand years. This is difficult to verify, as the tree does not have growth rings, but, however, radiocarbon analysis allows for such an age and shows that the baobab can live up to 5500 years and even more and be even older than the sequoia. Thus, the baobab is perhaps the most ancient tree in the world.

The thick trunk of the baobab serves to accumulate the moisture needed during the drought period. Its roots spread for tens of meters, collecting moisture from the soil surface. The foliage falls off in a drought, and buds immediately appear on the bare branches.

The soft wood of the baobab is saturated with water, so elephants often break baobabs and eat the inside of the trunk, getting drunk on it.

The vitality of the baobab is extraordinary. Even trees felled by elephants tend to take root again and continue to grow. Even a baobab adapted for housing will not fall off, it will slowly settle, turning into a pile of fiber.

 

Walking palm tree

Walking palm, also called Kashapona

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Walking palm, also called Kashapona

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Walking palm, also called Kashapona

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Walking palm, also called Kashapona

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Walking palm, also called Kashapona

pixabay.com

The walking palm, also called Kashapona, or Socratea bareroot, or Socratea bareroot, is an unusual palm that grows in the rainforests of the tropics of Central and South America. The palm tree is notable for having unusual stilted roots. When looking at her, it seems that she is able to independently move through the forest. The function of these leg roots is the subject of much discussion (more on that below).

The height of the Walking Palms can reach 25 meters, but more often the trees have a height of 15–20 meters. Many types of epiphytes grow on the trunks of this type of palm. The palm tree is pollinated by beetles, in addition, various organisms feed on its seeds and seedlings.

Function of plank roots

In 1961, the British scientist Corner hypothesized that the unusual plank-like roots of bare-rooted Socratea were a biological adaptation that allowed the palm to grow in marshy areas of the forest. To date, there is no evidence that plank roots are in fact a biological adaptation to soil flooding, and alternative hypotheses have been proposed.

In 1980, John H. Bodley suggested that the plank roots would allow the palm to "walk away" from its growing point if another tree falls on the seedlings and damages them. If this happens, the palm will produce new vertical plank roots to keep its balance and the old roots will die off. In December 2009, in the Skeptical Inquirer magazine, American writer Benjamin Radford expressed his opinion on this matter: “It would be funny if trees walked through the rainforest while no one is watching, but this is just a myth,” and then cited the results of two detailed studies confirming this.

Since then, other advantages of plank roots over conventional roots have been suggested. Swain suggested in 1983 that they allow palms to grow in areas with a lot of debris (such as dry logs) as they can avoid obstacles by moving the roots. In the same year, Hartshorne suggested that the plank roots allowed the palm to grow upward to reach the light without increasing trunk diameter. The roots make the palm more stable, so it can grow taller and faster than others. In addition, the stilted roots allow the Walking Palm to expend less biomass on underground roots than other palms, leaving more energy for roots growing above ground. It has also been suggested that such roots may give the palm an advantage when growing on a slope, but no evidence of this has been found.

 

Angel oak

Angel Oak

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Angel Oak

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Angel Oak

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Angel Oak

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Angel Oak

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Angel Oak is a U.S. virgin oak located in Angel Oak Park on Jones Island off the coast of South Carolina. The age of the tree is estimated at 400–500 years. Its height is 20 meters, and the circumference reaches 8,5 meters. The shade from the oak covers 1600 square meters. The longest branch is 57 meters.

The name of the oak comes from the estate of the American slave owner Justus Angel and his wife Tucker Martha Waight Angel. Local legend tells of the ghosts of former slaves appearing as angels around a tree.

Despite claims that the oak is the oldest tree east of the Mississippi River, swamp cypress throughout North and South Carolina is significantly older. For example, there is a specimen in North Carolina that is over 1600 years old.

The oak tree was badly damaged by Hurricane Hugo in 1989 but has since recovered. The city of Charleston, near which the oak grows, has owned the tree and the surrounding park since 1991.

 

Rainbow eucalyptus

Eucalyptus rainbow (Eucalyptus deglupta, rainbow eucalyptus, Mindanao gum, or rainbow gum)

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Eucalyptus rainbow (Eucalyptus deglupta, rainbow eucalyptus, Mindanao gum, or rainbow gum)

pixabay.com

Eucalyptus rainbow (Eucalyptus deglupta, rainbow eucalyptus, Mindanao gum, or rainbow gum)

flickr.com

Eucalyptus rainbow (Eucalyptus deglupta, rainbow eucalyptus, Mindanao gum, or rainbow gum)

shutterstock.com

Eucalyptus rainbow (Eucalyptus deglupta, rainbow eucalyptus, Mindanao gum, or rainbow gum)

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Rainbow eucalyptus is a type of eucalyptus. There are more than 800 species of eucalyptus in the world, and this species is the most unusual, one might say, alien. Rainbow eucalyptus differs from other types of eucalyptus, and indeed from all trees, in its multi-colored bark.

At first, the bark of the tree has a bright green color. Then, as it matures, it acquires blue, purple, orange and maroon hues. The trunk of mature trees shimmers with all the colors of the rainbow, which is why the view got its name. In this case, the coloring of the bark is constantly changing.

This wonderful eucalyptus grows in New Britain, New Guinea, Seram, Sulawesi, Mindanao and nearby small islands.

Interesting fact

This is the only eucalyptus species that grows wild in the Northern Hemisphere – all other species can only be found in the Southern Hemisphere.

Rainbow eucalyptus grows in lowland and lower montane tropical forests. Trees reach a height of 75 meters, trunk diameter – up to 2,4 meters.

Due to its unusual appearance, rainbow eucalyptus is widely distributed in the tropical zone, less often in the subtropics, as an ornamental plant.