The recent destruction of Britain’s famous Sycamore Gap tree has sparked outrage and highlighted the reverence for certain remarkable plants around the world.
Nature has always fascinated humans, but certain trees have held an exalted status because they were religious pilgrimage sites, were associated with major historical events, or were associated with important myths. or simply because of its unique appearance.
This is true from the Middle East to Africa, the Americas, and Europe, where the 300-year-old Sycamore Gap tree in Northumberland, England, has long fascinated tourists, hikers, and photographers.
The plane tree next to Hadrian’s Wall, Rome’s UNESCO World Heritage Site, has been featured in the film and was named Britain’s favorite tree.
This month, two men were arrested in connection with illegal logging. Although tourists can no longer admire its photogenic plane trees, there are still many other precious trees around the globe that can be visited.
Below are five examples.
Great banyan tree, Kolkata, India
You might mistake it for a forest. But the natural wonder that takes center stage at Kolkata’s best botanical garden is actually a single tree.
Boasting one of the widest canopies on Earth, the Great Banyan tree measures more than 500 meters in circumference.
What makes it all the more dramatic and undeniable is the deep roots of more than 3,000. From a distance, they look like individual trees, and visitors may think they are peering into a grove.
The Great Banyan Tree is located on the western outskirts of India’s ancient city, and visitors are enchanted by the tranquility and splendor of the AJC Bose Indian Botanical Garden.
Some people make pilgrimages to see the garden’s famous banyan trees, as this type of tree has been considered to have unusual powers in Hindu beliefs for thousands of years.
The banyan tree is also known as the “tree of life,” and it is generally believed that praying in front of it will increase fertility and bring good luck.
tree of life, bahrain
Bahrain has its own Tree of Life, a 400-year-old mesquite specimen called Shajarat Al Hayat.
The 10-meter-tall tree is stranded in a desert area about 35 kilometers south of Bahrain’s modern capital, Manama, with no other trees around.
It is this extremely dry environment that has given this tree its mythical status.
For generations, people have visited Shajarat Al Hayat and wondered how a tree of this size could survive in such a dry and poor environment. One local legend suggests that this may represent the location of the Garden of Eden.
The Tree of Life is especially popular with tourists in the evenings when the sun disappears and the striking silhouette of Shajarat Al Hayat appears against the colorful sky.
General Sherman, California, USA
Vast, gigantic, gigantic, monumental – General Sherman’s Tree is so large that it’s as if these adjectives were coined just to describe it. This California colossus is the world’s largest tree by volume.
Rising 83 meters above the lush forest floor of Sequoia National Park, General Sherman is not only impressively tall, but also tremendously wide.
With a circumference of 31 meters at its base, 15 average adults could spread their arms around the trunk, but still not be able to completely encircle it.
It’s one of the national park’s main attractions, located about halfway between San Francisco and Las Vegas.
To reach General Sherman, visitors follow a short boardwalk beneath a canopy of giant sequoias.
Long before tourists came to visit General Sherman, it was revered by Native American tribes who admired the giant sequoia trees.
Baobab prison tree, Derby, Australia
Australia’s remote and magnificent north-west region has been inhabited by Aboriginal people for tens of thousands of years, with the area’s baobab prison trees now as old as 1,500 years old. It’s so hard to think of it all of a sudden.
This distinctive tree species, with its bulbous trunk and slender branches, has long been cherished by Australia’s Aboriginal people. They collected and ate large nuts and carved works of art.
This special boab, located just outside the small coastal town of Derby in Western Australia, is important for three reasons.
First of all, the circumference of the pedestal is unusually large at 14 meters. Secondly, the wide trunk has a door-like slit, making it look like a house.
Third, this tree has a dark history. In the late 1800s, it was used to detain Aboriginal people who were kidnapped from their communities to be enslaved in the pearl industry near Derby.
The baobab is now an Aboriginal reserve, attracting tourists who want to observe its unique exterior and learn about its terrifying backstory through the plaque next to it.
Knock Meadha Fairy Tree, Galway, Ireland
There is a small hill covered in lush forest near Galway, a popular tourist city in Ireland.
A narrow promenade under this majestic canopy leads to a small wooden house too small for human habitation.
It is made for fairies and is attached to the base of the Cnoc Meadha fairy tree.
According to Irish lore, this entire hill is a 1,000-year-old stronghold of the country’s fairies.
It is believed that these supernatural beings use Knokk Meadh as a gateway to travel between Earth and other dimensions filled with other fairies and powerful entities.
Whether you’re interested in such folklore or not, Knokke Mida offers stunning views.
Updated: October 27, 2023, 6:02 p.m.