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Top 10 Most Dangerous Plants in the World

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1. Most likely to eat a rat</h3>
<span style="color: #ff3300; font-size: 11pt;"><strong>Giant Pitcher Plant: <em>Nepenthes attenboroughii</em></strong></span></div>
<img src="http://www.popularmechanics.com/cm/popularmechanics/images/danger-plants-1-0909-83131493.jpg" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Discovered more than 5000 feet above sea level on Mount Victoria in the Philippines, the giant, carnivorous pitcher plant secretes a nectar-like substance to lure unsuspecting prey into a pool of enzymes and acid. A series of sticky, downward ribs makes it nearly impossible for trapped prey to escape. The plant's 30-centimeter diameter is large enough to trap unlucky rodents, but insects are its most common meal. Pitcher plants, of which there are about 600 different species, tend to grow in nitrogen-deficient environments, and therefore get their nutrients from decaying victims. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br />
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2. Most likely to be in your garden now</h3>
<span style="color: #ff3300; font-size: 11pt;"><strong>Castor Bean Plant: <em>Ricinus communis</em></strong></span></div>
<img src="http://www.popularmechanics.com/cm/popularmechanics/images/danger-plants-2-0909-96216413.jpg" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Castor-bean plants can be purchased at just about any garden center, despite containing the deadly poison ricin. Amy Stewart, author of </span><em style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wicked Plants</em><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> and poisonous plant expert, has an affinity for the plant and grows several in her poison garden. Concerned gardeners can simply pluck the seeds off the plant, Stewart says, which is where the ricin is stored. Though the process to extract enough ricin and process it into a weapon is complex, Las Vegas authorities have discovered the toxin in a hotel room in February 2008, and the KGB used it to permanently silence opposition. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" /><br />
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3. Most violently toxic plant in North America</h3>
<span style="color: #ff3300; font-size: 11pt;"><strong>Western Water Hemlock: <em>Cicuta douglasii</em></strong></span></div>
<img src="http://www.popularmechanics.com/cm/popularmechanics/images/danger-plants-3-0909-48044947.jpg" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Deemed the most "violently toxic plant that grows in North America"</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"> </span>by the <b>USDA</b><span style="background-color: white;">,</span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> the water hemlock contains the toxin cicutoxin, which wreaks havoc on the central nervous system, causing grand mal seizures--which include loss of consciousness and violent muscle contractions--and eventually death, if ingested. Water hemlock is different from poison hemlock, Socrates' notorious killer, in that it contains coniine alkaloids that kill by paralyzing the respiratory system. Both are members of the carrot family. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br />
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4. The plant that killed a president's mother</h3>
<span style="color: #ff3300; font-size: 11pt;"><strong>White snakeroot: <em>Eupatorium rugosum</em></strong></span></div>
<img src="http://www.popularmechanics.com/cm/popularmechanics/images/danger-plants-4-0909-4506665.jpg" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Drinking milk from a cow that decided to chow down on white snakeroot could lead to deadly milk sickness, as was the case with Abraham Lincoln's mother Nancy Hanks. Every part of this perennial plant contains tremetol, an unsaturated alcohol that can cause muscle tremors in livestock before killing them. "People were trying desperately throughout the 19th century to figure out what was poisoning their animals," Stewart says. It wasn't understood until the turn of the century, when the U.S. Department of Agriculture pinpointed the cause and quickly got the word out. Now, white snakeroot still grows wild, but more control in the agricultural industry has helped to prevent cows from eating it. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" /><br />
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5. The best plant to murder a dinner guest with</h3>
<span style="color: #ff3300; font-size: 11pt;"><strong>Monkshood: <em>Aconitum napellus</em></strong></span></div>
<img src="http://www.popularmechanics.com/cm/popularmechanics/images/danger-plants-5-0909-123985.jpg" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Stewart was once asked what the best plant would be to murder a dinner guest with--after much deliberation she landed on monkshood. "You could just chop up the roots and make a stew," she says. "You don't need a chemistry plant to do it." The vibrant purple plant, commonly found in backyard gardens, is loaded with the poisonous alkaloid aconite, which tends to cause asphyxiation. While Stewart is certainly joking about cooking up a batch of monkshood stew, she urges anyone who has the plant in their garden to wear gloves when handling it. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br />
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6. Most gruesome killer</h3>
<span style="color: #ff3300; font-size: 11pt;"><strong>Common Bladderwort: <em>Utricularia macrorhiza</em></strong></span></div>
<img src="http://www.popularmechanics.com/cm/popularmechanics/images/danger-plants-6-0909-54475551.jpg" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This aquatic meat eater relies on several submerged bladders to capture prey such as tadpoles and small crustaceans. An unsuspecting passerby will brush against an external bristle-trigger, causing the bladders to spring open and capture it. Once inside, the victim dies of suffocation or starvation and then decays into a liquid that is sucked up by cells on the walls of the bladder. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" /><br />
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7. Most animal-like</h3>
<span style="color: #ff3300; font-size: 11pt;"><strong>Venus flytrap: <em>Dionaea muscipula</em></strong></span></div>
<img src="http://www.popularmechanics.com/cm/popularmechanics/images/danger-plants-7-0909-89188387.jpg" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With the ability to clamp shut in a half-second, the Venus flytrap's reaction time seems fit for the animal kingdom. Insects need to touch two of the flytrap's hairs consecutively in order for the plant to react, but the precise mechanism that shuts the trap remains unclear. The Botanical Society of America notes that early theories suggested that a sudden change in the water pressure of cells triggered the response, but this theory has since been abandoned. It now seems that when the plant is touched, the electrical potential of the leaf is altered, triggering a host of cellular-level events. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" /><br />
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8. The most likely plant to turn a person into a zombie</h3>
<span style="color: #ff3300; font-size: 11pt;"><strong>Angel Trumpet: <em>Brugmansia</em></strong></span></div>
<img src="http://www.popularmechanics.com/cm/popularmechanics/images/danger-plants-8-0909-79417224.jpg" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The droopy, gorgeous angel trumpet, native to regions of South America, packs a powerful punch of toxins, containing atropine, hyoscyamine, and scopolamine. As documented in the 2007 VBS.tv documentary "Colombian Devil's Breath," criminals in Colombia have extracted scopolamine from the plant and used it as a potent drug that leaves victims unaware of what they are doing but entirely conscious. Scopolamine can be absorbed through the skin and mucous membranes, allowing criminals to simply blow the powder in a person's face. The documentary is filled with scopolamine-related horror stories, including one account of a man moving all of his possessions out of his apartment (and into the hands of his robbers) without remembering any of it. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br />
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9. The most enticing poison</h3>
<span style="color: #ff3300; font-size: 11pt;"><strong>Oleander: <em>Nerium oleander</em></strong></span></div>
<img src="http://www.popularmechanics.com/cm/popularmechanics/images/danger-plants-9-0909-73420764.jpg" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This extremely common evergreen shrub is one of the most poisonous plants in the world. "If I were a parent and covering every electrical outlet in the home to protect the kids, I would really have to ask myself why I had an oleander plant growing," Stewart says. The leaves, flowers and fruit contain cardiac glycosides, which have therapeutic applications but are likely to send someone into cardiac arrest should he eat part of the plant. Stewart points out that there is a woman in California currently on death row for trying to poison her husband with the plant, and two young boys were found dead after ingesting oleander a few years back. "People tend to be blasé, because the flowers are bright and pretty, sort of candy-colored. But it is a very poisonous plant that will stop your heart." </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br />
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10. Best home-security system</h3>
<span style="color: #ff3300; font-size: 11pt;"><strong>Mala Mujer: <em>Cnidoscolus angustidens</em></strong></span></div>
<img src="http://www.popularmechanics.com/cm/popularmechanics/images/danger-plants-10-0909.jpg" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Stewart describes this garden plant as more painful than poisonous. Mala mujer, which translates to "bad woman," can be found in parts of the southwest and Mexico and is covered with nasty thorns, which could be turned into makeshift barbwire if needed. The real danger, however, comes from the caustic, milky sap that can leak from the plant. The sap, a common feature among many plants in the Euphorbia genus, can cause painful skin irritations and unsightly discoloration. "I've had several people tell me they had euphorbia saps in their eyes," Stewart says. "And they had pretty surprisingly long-term eye damage."</span></div>

Top 10 Most Dangerous Plants in the World

1. Most likely to eat a rat Giant Pitcher Plant: Nepenthes attenboroughii Discovered more than 5000 feet above sea level on Mount Vi...

The World's Oldest Tree

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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There are probably hundreds of <i><b>famous living trees</b></i> in the world. They are mostly known because of its location, age, size, unusual appearance, connections with some historical events or because of strange uses by humans. Most of these trees are visited by tens of thousands of tourists from around the world each year.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size: 12px; text-align: left;"><i><b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">1. Teapot Baobab, Madagascar</span></b></i></span><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-size: 12px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 4px; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<a href="https://draft.blogger.com/null" name="more" style="color: #105cb6;"></a><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Teapot Baobab takes the form of bottle and also looks like teapot, which is why its name has teapot in it. This tree and the trees similar like this are located in <i><b>Ifaty</b></i>, Madagascar.</span></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The famed Teapot Baobab is around 1200 years old and has the capacity of storing more than 31,000 US gallons (117.000 litres)</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> of water. It can show the endurance for severe drought conditions. </span></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><b><span style="font-size: medium;">2. Chandelier Tree, USA</span></b></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Chandelier Tree in Drive Thru Tree Park is a 315 foot (96 metre) tall coast redwood tree in Leggett, <b><i>California</i></b> with a 6 ft (1.83 m) wide by 6 ft 9 inch (2.06 m) high hole cut through its base to allow a car to drive through.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUFw9t1FkRfRZ2iRB7CHA8XethvSSYZIjq2KWCAEjsJ4IllnXFUhB3qxEFImlxAap64UdgVTlJKcdBNj8CkCLrk0meFWUHWoWrKFm9rLc9if1bmSUpC0BcmNY155H0ut1TIxA8OeKPqWd0/s1600/7163574539_a232baed76_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #105cb6; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUFw9t1FkRfRZ2iRB7CHA8XethvSSYZIjq2KWCAEjsJ4IllnXFUhB3qxEFImlxAap64UdgVTlJKcdBNj8CkCLrk0meFWUHWoWrKFm9rLc9if1bmSUpC0BcmNY155H0ut1TIxA8OeKPqWd0/s1600/7163574539_a232baed76_b.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; padding: 10px;" title="Chandelier Tree, USA" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The <i><b>Chandelier Tree</b></i> is a giant redwood located 175 mi (280 km) north of San Francisco on US 101. The massive tree had the ignoble fate of having a tunnel carved through its base more than 60 years ago and is now the centerpiece of a 200-acre grove of redwoods.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiekvqi9lhO7Cyc5YJL3Qspe-DD1h6CujlW-4ls1KDb3-PZJT9WYWYFTtVag2o8BB9AH-LvUP2L9YE39ha_axsdYdc3guBDw03esA3FYgTRqmR3Et8vt7cB_h2OMAwJYTs6gIELM2bEE86q/s1600/7385952364_2eefd73272_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #105cb6; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiekvqi9lhO7Cyc5YJL3Qspe-DD1h6CujlW-4ls1KDb3-PZJT9WYWYFTtVag2o8BB9AH-LvUP2L9YE39ha_axsdYdc3guBDw03esA3FYgTRqmR3Et8vt7cB_h2OMAwJYTs6gIELM2bEE86q/s1600/7385952364_2eefd73272_b.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; padding: 10px;" title="Chandelier Tree, USA" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><b>For $3</b></i>, you can drive your car through the tree - unless you are driving a Winnebago </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(a type of recreational vehicle)</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-align: left;"> - and set up a picnic at its base.</span></div>
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<i><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">3. </span><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Boab Prison Tree, Australia</span></span></span></b></i></div>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzedN0QgmqrtOQ0zNtsENoQveILQXaRm-QnNo0s2mvVLZVBwCN0xrx5X5FSpqMspzW_W88zgRYvXC_Qdi8WHXLVtRS0ke40UFn2IpVIuYMVvAvE6A9axtnOt0GxMAFqCdB22zlkwozTF3n/s1600/2747290475_b684220027_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #105cb6; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzedN0QgmqrtOQ0zNtsENoQveILQXaRm-QnNo0s2mvVLZVBwCN0xrx5X5FSpqMspzW_W88zgRYvXC_Qdi8WHXLVtRS0ke40UFn2IpVIuYMVvAvE6A9axtnOt0GxMAFqCdB22zlkwozTF3n/s1600/2747290475_b684220027_o.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; padding: 10px;" title="Boab Prison Tree, Australia" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Boab Prison Tree is a large hollow Adansonia gregorii (Boab) tree just south of Derby,<i><b>Western Australia</b></i>. It is reputed to have been used in the 1890s as a lockup for Indigenous Australian prisoners on their way to Derby for sentencing.</span></div>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn2ZccmLt7RweWQSJ7fA-Ixbi41y-kFyq3_7EovJ04Q_46bfcXFxkDTCaRuYkdkeizfBtjAdXY3b8vZkOwVmj_NQulems0Baa5myuw4D-hEdA4whhmjZKh-XhoUfm2-H8CyS13yqHfyXJg/s1600/5904050490_fe155a5db4_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #105cb6; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn2ZccmLt7RweWQSJ7fA-Ixbi41y-kFyq3_7EovJ04Q_46bfcXFxkDTCaRuYkdkeizfBtjAdXY3b8vZkOwVmj_NQulems0Baa5myuw4D-hEdA4whhmjZKh-XhoUfm2-H8CyS13yqHfyXJg/s1600/5904050490_fe155a5db4_b.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; padding: 10px;" title="Boab Prison Tree, Australia" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It is now a tourist attraction. In recent years a fence was erected around the tree to protect it from vandalism. </span></div>
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<i><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">4. </span><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Cotton Tree, Sierra Leone</span></span></span></b></i></div>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ1uglGMuj-GAkqnwc5QoPfnerwodY1Bi9elaaQggawWVrHWSFu8dlBK66kqR_LysebICepQCjjf9sY88Vtgg2hmFIp-A5KKsO-h-MJw0rl3cr2Xu-umihFtCjqkvGnrlv9abWn3gyAF2P/s1600/l.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #105cb6; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ1uglGMuj-GAkqnwc5QoPfnerwodY1Bi9elaaQggawWVrHWSFu8dlBK66kqR_LysebICepQCjjf9sY88Vtgg2hmFIp-A5KKsO-h-MJw0rl3cr2Xu-umihFtCjqkvGnrlv9abWn3gyAF2P/s1600/l.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; padding: 10px;" title="Cotton Tree, Sierra Leone" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Cotton Tree is a Ceiba pentandra (tropical tree), a historic symbol of <i><b>Freetown</b></i>, the capital city of Sierra Leone. According to legend, the "Cotton Tree" gained importance in 1792 when a group of former African American slaves, who had gained their freedom by fighting for the British during the American War of Independence, settled the site of modern Freetown.</span></div>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX9M2mxeUyGtNRK2zxMqFEJurfSRIPON_GHj6hjNwWf4QGsv-EwW9nFvyf_2abFI0EHYzCLUrPmF-mycUsrQoJFX2fllDZw5iNtzPq6kRxEoH1DJ9mBQ2E43S2ecUUJJ_MyVTo7JEcHA-L/s1600/sierra_leone_5-1600x1200.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #105cb6; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX9M2mxeUyGtNRK2zxMqFEJurfSRIPON_GHj6hjNwWf4QGsv-EwW9nFvyf_2abFI0EHYzCLUrPmF-mycUsrQoJFX2fllDZw5iNtzPq6kRxEoH1DJ9mBQ2E43S2ecUUJJ_MyVTo7JEcHA-L/s1600/sierra_leone_5-1600x1200.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; padding: 10px;" title="Cotton Tree, Sierra Leone" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">According to tradition, they landed on the shoreline and walked up to a giant tree just above the bay and held a thanksgiving service there, gathering around the tree in a large group and praying and singing hymns to thank God for their deliverance to a free land.</span></div>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha7oxz3puPOqM4nYJkwDz7SlZKZ2fsKIX53PXg9RnR_cV4bvx3CcEwT9qJlwOsdZijbjp50xGHEG2g1ii1XFjC9EiM1447_Nst3xI2AwPS-nmdWix6Ckf8yBkw8BSwdVtDMxp69HN-Wm8_/s1600/cotton_tree.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #105cb6; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha7oxz3puPOqM4nYJkwDz7SlZKZ2fsKIX53PXg9RnR_cV4bvx3CcEwT9qJlwOsdZijbjp50xGHEG2g1ii1XFjC9EiM1447_Nst3xI2AwPS-nmdWix6Ckf8yBkw8BSwdVtDMxp69HN-Wm8_/s1600/cotton_tree.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; padding: 10px;" title="Cotton Tree, Sierra Leone" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Today, a huge Cotton Tree stands in the oldest part of Freetown near the Supreme Court building, music club building and the National Museum. Sierra Leonians believe that this very tree was where the Nova Scotian settlers prayed more than two hundreds years ago, and they regard it as the <i><b>symbol of their capital city</b></i>. Its exact age is unknown, but it is known to have existed in 1787. </span></div>
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<i><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">5. </span><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Lone Cypress Tree, USA</span></span></span></b></i></div>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkigPtMVzwnkezw7d6t-UnETlRX7vGM6xiqarFnRIkiF2CMJIWgk7UQL53eR2hlOwh43pusito790kGtYE6QAYcOHaQCwcxuQ2OjBGryn982i6cjlzKkg_P06eixjBDsOVEtYYs77Ha8A-/s1600/1469308311_29c174aa7e_b+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #105cb6; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkigPtMVzwnkezw7d6t-UnETlRX7vGM6xiqarFnRIkiF2CMJIWgk7UQL53eR2hlOwh43pusito790kGtYE6QAYcOHaQCwcxuQ2OjBGryn982i6cjlzKkg_P06eixjBDsOVEtYYs77Ha8A-/s1600/1469308311_29c174aa7e_b+(1).jpg" style="border-width: 0px; padding: 10px;" title="Lone Cypress Tree, USA" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Chief among the scenic attractions at <i><b>17-Mile Drive</b></i> (</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">California) is the Lone Cypress Tree, a salt-pruned Monterey cypress (macrocarpa) tree which is the official symbol of Pebble Beach and a frequent fixture of television broadcasts from this area.</span></div>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4uk-GgbIH_LrwZexBEd64ZCux2Gu4yN-mvTXg9MlUu8OsGPehJj5mdmYG8eR_X74mj4-z_6xoWreG2EZymkNhkQS9xLCHuQAl_XRpn8fSksv_6CpUT_1mthEO6MMOHAYcYqjrY94jHFlJ/s1600/2284409243_d172621779_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #105cb6; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4uk-GgbIH_LrwZexBEd64ZCux2Gu4yN-mvTXg9MlUu8OsGPehJj5mdmYG8eR_X74mj4-z_6xoWreG2EZymkNhkQS9xLCHuQAl_XRpn8fSksv_6CpUT_1mthEO6MMOHAYcYqjrY94jHFlJ/s1600/2284409243_d172621779_b.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; padding: 10px;" title="Lone Cypress Tree, USA" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In 1990 the Monterey Journal reported that Pebble Beach's lawyer, Kerry C. Smith, said "The image of the tree has been trademarked by us," and that it intended to control any display of the cypress for commercial purposes. The company had warned photographers that "they cannot even use existing pictures of the tree for commercial purposes."</span></div>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMog9Hz1SD65QKXpGO7Rf-_DVqmn5li3JtXYK1WSFW68mOHh1OCyKEVtJkzTg94DchBT-MhtOF_kZL1anlMd9VVZr82-Dy2G3NRaOMgJf_NPmLx5z9P4OhL6xjsRD3qkj3DwH8YiF8dTvw/s1600/6877120330_729ef9d7cb_b+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #105cb6; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMog9Hz1SD65QKXpGO7Rf-_DVqmn5li3JtXYK1WSFW68mOHh1OCyKEVtJkzTg94DchBT-MhtOF_kZL1anlMd9VVZr82-Dy2G3NRaOMgJf_NPmLx5z9P4OhL6xjsRD3qkj3DwH8YiF8dTvw/s1600/6877120330_729ef9d7cb_b+(1).jpg" style="border-width: 0px; padding: 10px;" title="Lone Cypress Tree, USA" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Other legal commentators have questioned the Pebble Beach Company's ability to invoke intellectual property laws to restrict others' use of such images.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><i><b>6. Chêne Chapelle, France</b></i></span></div>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1CJaK3bUBXQVd-w5S-5Xvr552-NEEjq_wuzg6QxHZMHXJCbWWJa0UzEqllQ0y9OUFi7XEEq9SMP7sq0xmQxu0I6vlul_YkquLrQmNXAd_0Q1q-P9sinHa9KQryGZcrXKk22yRPtf2bhrr/s1600/Ch_ne_Chapelle_1_Allouville_Bellefosse_Seine_Maritime.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #105cb6; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1CJaK3bUBXQVd-w5S-5Xvr552-NEEjq_wuzg6QxHZMHXJCbWWJa0UzEqllQ0y9OUFi7XEEq9SMP7sq0xmQxu0I6vlul_YkquLrQmNXAd_0Q1q-P9sinHa9KQryGZcrXKk22yRPtf2bhrr/s1600/Ch_ne_Chapelle_1_Allouville_Bellefosse_Seine_Maritime.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; padding: 10px;" title="Chêne Chapelle, France" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Chêne chapelle (Oak Chapel) is an oak tree located in <i><b>Allouville-Bellefosse in Seine-Maritime</b></i>, France. The oak tree is between 800 and 1,200 years old. It is 15m (50ft) high and its base has a circumference of 16m (53 ft).</span><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-size: 12px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 4px; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqbFfKmRKzzeda6XFuK0AV4xboSghnMXE9hupqmU7f5Ks83YhjYfEUo8Ps9kFAy2huY2fUEcSajlyGZ8wyh5L-K4NtWa_Ug2F7AumamGW7GyhUspOoF_jZWxURCBIu0_0JNbC3GSBR_pT6/s1600/AllouvilleBellefosseCh%C3%AAne.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #105cb6; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqbFfKmRKzzeda6XFuK0AV4xboSghnMXE9hupqmU7f5Ks83YhjYfEUo8Ps9kFAy2huY2fUEcSajlyGZ8wyh5L-K4NtWa_Ug2F7AumamGW7GyhUspOoF_jZWxURCBIu0_0JNbC3GSBR_pT6/s1600/AllouvilleBellefosseCh%C3%AAne.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; padding: 10px;" title="Chêne Chapelle, France" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A staircase spirals around its twisted trunk but neither is this an everyday tree house. Instead of a dwelling place atop or amongst its branches the visitor will discover that the interior holds the secret of this ancient oak.</span><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-size: 12px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 4px; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvo4Bgtz1_gzRVboqoLDqGR-9lm2BUgbD-LtxnrUJB9FhbUsI1oFMPPanU7LhDIHryCG_FLaneF1OsDuqnoRxB0T7A9XJBsJcQCRAKtNq19KPgsQlQHgvWw0g3Z79-GQ-yPyBpMwYr9CLw/s1600/4989667344_3095b267a0_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #105cb6; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvo4Bgtz1_gzRVboqoLDqGR-9lm2BUgbD-LtxnrUJB9FhbUsI1oFMPPanU7LhDIHryCG_FLaneF1OsDuqnoRxB0T7A9XJBsJcQCRAKtNq19KPgsQlQHgvWw0g3Z79-GQ-yPyBpMwYr9CLw/s1600/4989667344_3095b267a0_b.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; padding: 10px;" title="Chêne Chapelle, France" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Within there are two small chapels, which were built there in 1669. How old the tree is exactly is the subject of some debate but it is without doubt the oldest known tree in France. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">While it has persevered the centuries, others have come and gone but Chêne chapelle has remained.</span><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-size: 12px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 4px; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhqcIZ8c1UgChWiWeARR_RN71dWHCeAiOE9wVPHR7fGR3wUA0t515DUbhYk6h3K28sHzTyxuFsAanNofhhDoDDMUlo7y0o6p_VFnjdn8TsEXUXrEAE725Ps5PN1AUIg1w2SMANUoodLGGX/s1600/2639107209_ba3d2b1e87_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #105cb6; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhqcIZ8c1UgChWiWeARR_RN71dWHCeAiOE9wVPHR7fGR3wUA0t515DUbhYk6h3K28sHzTyxuFsAanNofhhDoDDMUlo7y0o6p_VFnjdn8TsEXUXrEAE725Ps5PN1AUIg1w2SMANUoodLGGX/s1600/2639107209_ba3d2b1e87_b.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; padding: 10px;" title="Chêne Chapelle, France" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Today the common oak is showing signs of age and stress. Now held up by poles, part of the 33-foot (10 m) trunk has died and the majority of the tree has been covered over with wooden shingles where the bark has fallen away. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><i><b>7. Sunland Baobab, South Africa</b></i></span><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-size: 12px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 4px; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4eeicpeJlUMNOb7iFlOd1iyKx-BwPDQ5DPAZ7jReQDd8hN7z3KLHT8XX6rFCx_VgSWsVL2MFgHGM5BLoEHTDdnyZyrBagjYUK5GUJhsACVEwPafuOSgqa7uGvKxvbMoKprarcucSxS9bF/s1600/3170624537_cc7540bc88_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #105cb6; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4eeicpeJlUMNOb7iFlOd1iyKx-BwPDQ5DPAZ7jReQDd8hN7z3KLHT8XX6rFCx_VgSWsVL2MFgHGM5BLoEHTDdnyZyrBagjYUK5GUJhsACVEwPafuOSgqa7uGvKxvbMoKprarcucSxS9bF/s1600/3170624537_cc7540bc88_b.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; padding: 10px;" title="Sunland Baobab, South Africa" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sunland Baobab is a well-known enormous baobab (Adansonia digitata) in South Africa. The tree is located on <i><b>Sunland Farm</b></i> (Platland Farm), near Modjadjiskloof (previously known as Duiwelskloof), Limpopo Province. The Sunland Big Baobab is renowned because in its hollowed trunk there is established a bar and a wine cellar.</span><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-size: 12px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 4px; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtk5iIawj91R3_2DyahmZwmX9nNaSCMxzbYEFU4l5Acxxm2Ij6jyLFJ55eE5zUTfkBCr_tF2pgK4sNV3SgcP86PFJhvaU__naQjs9wUheYrb6d6eVYOP-74b_wwG58khr1s2xkjivVv8Ui/s1600/5613341398_8c60bcba94_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #105cb6; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtk5iIawj91R3_2DyahmZwmX9nNaSCMxzbYEFU4l5Acxxm2Ij6jyLFJ55eE5zUTfkBCr_tF2pgK4sNV3SgcP86PFJhvaU__naQjs9wUheYrb6d6eVYOP-74b_wwG58khr1s2xkjivVv8Ui/s1600/5613341398_8c60bcba94_b.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; padding: 10px;" title="Sunland Baobab, South Africa" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 10px;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The tree has been carbon dated and is estimated to be around 1060 years old.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The trunk of the tree consists of two connected parts. Each of these parts has its own enormous hollow connected with a narrow passage.</span><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-size: 12px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 4px; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj335mtLnIJEURJc9St0b9d8JGyZp1tdjaxWHEvP0TN92i5xrmdYYe2P1J8vj_P0scMPEyLP5h66SKJ951Y1OsVE2DBLAt_ZKmIPOQ09kn4neDDY3LVDggQ9PkHRf8_lYu0En9yqPJT7IlN/s1600/3171465162_1fe97b92e1_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #105cb6; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj335mtLnIJEURJc9St0b9d8JGyZp1tdjaxWHEvP0TN92i5xrmdYYe2P1J8vj_P0scMPEyLP5h66SKJ951Y1OsVE2DBLAt_ZKmIPOQ09kn4neDDY3LVDggQ9PkHRf8_lYu0En9yqPJT7IlN/s1600/3171465162_1fe97b92e1_b.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; padding: 10px;" title="Sunland Baobab, South Africa" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Diameter of the tree - 10.64 metres or 35 ft (only Glencoe Baobab up to recent split had larger diameter), height 19 metres (62 ft) and crown diameter - 30.2 metres (99 ft). Circumference of the trunk - 33.4 metres (110 ft).</span><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-size: 12px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 4px; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdf5o_lraLbAOloSmWCvkRXkgwA87A8Ok9KDMb_kyRdu1iKYmzPioJFmt_D9iuBgT_JOTIYVDWA8Ep7fFN0ADeyTgaCA2Di7fW6oIuWoB9naJUtsQDMGV4UWWg1yQeMKY7c91jMjwAquYe/s1600/3170629151_ced26341f7_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #105cb6; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdf5o_lraLbAOloSmWCvkRXkgwA87A8Ok9KDMb_kyRdu1iKYmzPioJFmt_D9iuBgT_JOTIYVDWA8Ep7fFN0ADeyTgaCA2Di7fW6oIuWoB9naJUtsQDMGV4UWWg1yQeMKY7c91jMjwAquYe/s1600/3170629151_ced26341f7_b.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; padding: 10px;" title="Sunland Baobab, South Africa" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 10px;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Carbon investigations inside the hollows of the tree testify that there have been fires in the hollow in 1650 AD, 1750–1780, 1900, 1955 and 1990. Hollows have been turned into pub in 1993 by the owners of Sunland farm and this unusual landmark since then has turned into<i><b>popular tourist destination</b></i>. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><i><b>8. Bartek, Poland</b></i></span><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-size: 12px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 4px; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCYXXiIa3Uzxm44rX0dtJ_Y6gOBdoJygEYGTDavtsYkfhUSb0JMQloXTbgVSuK8F_VHhvvCY_NyOojX6Se9eN5C8-HQ6TSJwiJj0bETCoC8gFNxBoHzg240_k7NRJWLSOKcozFzrbXkW2E/s1600/Lipiec.2010_+278.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="color: #105cb6; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCYXXiIa3Uzxm44rX0dtJ_Y6gOBdoJygEYGTDavtsYkfhUSb0JMQloXTbgVSuK8F_VHhvvCY_NyOojX6Se9eN5C8-HQ6TSJwiJj0bETCoC8gFNxBoHzg240_k7NRJWLSOKcozFzrbXkW2E/s1600/Lipiec.2010_+278.JPG" style="border-width: 0px; padding: 10px;" title="Bartek, Poland" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Bartek is an ancient oak tree in Poland. It grows in <i><b>Zagnańsk near Kielce</b></i> in the Świętokrzyskie Mountains. Its age, previously estimated at up to 1200 years, has recently been established to be 650–670 years, with a corer used to extract a sample for a ring count. An accurate count is impossible, as Bartek's interior has hollowed with age. There are several older trees in Poland, both oaks and yews (some over 1000 years old), yet none of them has matched Bartek's fame.</span><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-size: 12px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 4px; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi066GlY7WVQuXiuU9wvZuf5BMqcOezKrkVjajsYD4BAmZTNG_irBjag0zCP2VXWXe-vx9FTKcoNq8aavc6wupRN1xLa6gg-vG07cTZ_NGA-GFliRaCNlkZAhYQ1YlHkg5Qw6GDBPoMRSv3/s1600/3628171611_1c7f78c3b0_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #105cb6; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi066GlY7WVQuXiuU9wvZuf5BMqcOezKrkVjajsYD4BAmZTNG_irBjag0zCP2VXWXe-vx9FTKcoNq8aavc6wupRN1xLa6gg-vG07cTZ_NGA-GFliRaCNlkZAhYQ1YlHkg5Qw6GDBPoMRSv3/s1600/3628171611_1c7f78c3b0_b.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; padding: 10px;" title="Bartek, Poland" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The 30-metre (98 ft) tall Bartek measures 13.5 metres (44 ft) in girth at its base. Its crown spreads about 40 metres (131 ft). King Casimir III (1310–1370) is known to have held court under Bartek. King Jan III Sobieski rested under the oak on his way back from the Battle of Vienna (1683). He reputedly hid a Turkish sabre, an arquebus and a bottle of wine inside it to commemorate the victory.</span><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-size: 12px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 4px; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLnIEwW_JskUiY1RUhhi2cqirHFFiQW6El5qLUqmpLA2dFJj2qU6NfIpSBYh9jAqdYxWV10JaPIXH5RcQrQ-8BVNfSFhBpheTtzrVgDSyqw88VNiyaGSPLQw2ZWZGGo-tvvdTp1HwbnENt/s1600/Untitled.png" imageanchor="1" style="color: #105cb6; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLnIEwW_JskUiY1RUhhi2cqirHFFiQW6El5qLUqmpLA2dFJj2qU6NfIpSBYh9jAqdYxWV10JaPIXH5RcQrQ-8BVNfSFhBpheTtzrVgDSyqw88VNiyaGSPLQw2ZWZGGo-tvvdTp1HwbnENt/s1600/Untitled.png" style="border-width: 0px; padding: 10px;" title="Bartek, Poland" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The oak is still alive, but is in decline. In 1829 it had 14 main branches, today only 8 are left. In the 1920s the hollow inside the trunk was covered with limestone. The limestone was removed in the 1960s, replaced with resin-based filling and covered with bark. The living sapwood is very thin (5–20 cm or 2-8 inches). The weakened trunk has begun to lean toward the heavy branches. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><i><b>9. Basket Tree, USA</b></i></span><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-size: 12px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 4px; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_DY6VF6_mr6DOeIKpRebVxccwryleGK5ljHUXHpw5pHaSYsn2Z9hHFtWEoUgjVR7hQCSBIi03dOcmbYohlX9zvnwU2Uqtt5zYOAsPtwwrTnU6B6q6vJU-rz_DxsRr_dLXFkgnBQ1gDius/s1600/114981903_bc021fd7e2_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #105cb6; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_DY6VF6_mr6DOeIKpRebVxccwryleGK5ljHUXHpw5pHaSYsn2Z9hHFtWEoUgjVR7hQCSBIi03dOcmbYohlX9zvnwU2Uqtt5zYOAsPtwwrTnU6B6q6vJU-rz_DxsRr_dLXFkgnBQ1gDius/s1600/114981903_bc021fd7e2_b.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; padding: 10px;" title="Basket Tree, USA" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is the famous "Basket Tree" authored by <i><b>Axel Erlandson</b></i> (1884-1964), well-known Swedish American farmer, who shaped trees as a hobby, and opened a horticultural attraction in 1947 advertised as "See the World's Strangest Trees Here," and named "The Tree Circus."  Basket tree and all the other masterpieces of Axel Erlandson is located in Gilroy Gardens - a garden-themed family theme park in Gilroy, <i><b>California</b></i>.</span><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-size: 12px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 4px; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm13wEJ7IRNf9pY5LiDfXsKs7HgkTKRvwFH0CQ7SUlTqyWp83VqnhQwzXeFeYJqTZbSqEsDhU0RrMd1XqwWVXPm2_RkMg82oQiLKfrc58G09xL5u1HvP5XPg2NUVc9Wpoxry98_3WHFgct/s1600/Circus-Trees-Bonfante-Gardens.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #105cb6; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm13wEJ7IRNf9pY5LiDfXsKs7HgkTKRvwFH0CQ7SUlTqyWp83VqnhQwzXeFeYJqTZbSqEsDhU0RrMd1XqwWVXPm2_RkMg82oQiLKfrc58G09xL5u1HvP5XPg2NUVc9Wpoxry98_3WHFgct/s1600/Circus-Trees-Bonfante-Gardens.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; padding: 10px;" title="Basket Tree, USA" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">To create the "Basket Tree", Erlandson planted six sycamore trees in a circle, topped them all at one foot, then approach-grafted them together one to another to form the diamond patterns. For the first 2.5 meters (8') he left an opening at the top. This specimen today is featured as the <i><b>centerpiece</b></i> of Gilroy Gardens.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><i><b>10. Árbol del Tule, Mexico</b></i></span><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-size: 12px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 4px; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyHVTfY3KHrD8z93-ZpeTE33jmCVvQhA41JihKbYKuX7JQ3NqjLB6d0vt-3t7o2ViE7GWv5UVQzxcJuFxDpS8bLMjqxXSPIfNOvYZBMEVlMpM3wUow-0aoUbJPcnwEsbVB_wNwhJHYpt60/s1600/3094091462_163a471251_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #105cb6; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyHVTfY3KHrD8z93-ZpeTE33jmCVvQhA41JihKbYKuX7JQ3NqjLB6d0vt-3t7o2ViE7GWv5UVQzxcJuFxDpS8bLMjqxXSPIfNOvYZBMEVlMpM3wUow-0aoUbJPcnwEsbVB_wNwhJHYpt60/s1600/3094091462_163a471251_o.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; padding: 10px;" title="Árbol del Tule, Mexico" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">El Árbol del Tule (Spanish for The Tree of Tule) is a tree located in the church grounds in the town center of <i><b>Santa María del Tule</b></i> in the Mexican state of Oaxaca, approximately 9 km (5.6 mi) east of the city of Oaxaca on the road to Mitla. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In 2001 it was placed on a UNESCO tentative list of World Heritage Sites.</span><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-size: 12px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 4px; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_DE5xq-9mfS6Pru-MZ_bJQbT51mhc7lvS-oFKvLBWA1G5gDXjW0g17qAYwP8YJaoaZhxR91xJxdVbwcZCbeD3eDu2QIKFX_Ju9PIDUOnTY36r86euQxFTz-FMOWxUggW_LPwPsngIYg_D/s1600/4255210421_cc41ce11d2_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #105cb6; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_DE5xq-9mfS6Pru-MZ_bJQbT51mhc7lvS-oFKvLBWA1G5gDXjW0g17qAYwP8YJaoaZhxR91xJxdVbwcZCbeD3eDu2QIKFX_Ju9PIDUOnTY36r86euQxFTz-FMOWxUggW_LPwPsngIYg_D/s1600/4255210421_cc41ce11d2_b.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; padding: 10px;" title="Árbol del Tule, Mexico" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It is a Montezuma cypress (Taxodium mucronatum), or ahuehuete (meaning "old man of the water" in the local language). It has the stoutest trunk of any tree in the world. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In 2005, its trunk had a circumference of 36.2 m (119 ft), equating to a diameter of 11.62 m (38.1 ft), a slight increase from a measurement of 11.42 m (37.5 ft) m in 1982.</span><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-size: 12px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 4px; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVskrAAW3glRiC3f_WkiA9SNtTuUta-pOFttbRdX1Lko4OXcWhatpcpuaw97ToK-tKX_kHJ2keSVm3llvXj2lf3lLbykfcRIpw_EC_O6IYIdCjVdsM9Gi71XuWXonSMQkDOL0Hz2iv8uCY/s1600/5667894199_87919b19a6_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #105cb6; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVskrAAW3glRiC3f_WkiA9SNtTuUta-pOFttbRdX1Lko4OXcWhatpcpuaw97ToK-tKX_kHJ2keSVm3llvXj2lf3lLbykfcRIpw_EC_O6IYIdCjVdsM9Gi71XuWXonSMQkDOL0Hz2iv8uCY/s1600/5667894199_87919b19a6_b.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; padding: 10px;" title="Árbol del Tule, Mexico" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The tree is occasionally nicknamed the "Tree of Life" from all the <i><b>images of animals</b></i> that are reputedly visible in the tree's gnarled trunk. As part of an official project local schoolchildren give tourists a tour of the tree and show all manners of creatures that the trunk features, including jaguars and elephants.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><i><b>11. The Great Banyan, India</b></i></span><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-size: 12px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 4px; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiog3uJ_ueopj_JxvmQxVZq3YLe-zFWqRaZLDNRye6dio_Qf8Ue7WX8l7izHRUBq_dl5kIX0mlvwsfQ41A6kc2drJ5g-X_CjC0-7ClB3chLBsbn0aX8StCJUcUCJcGukOt9IvtVuzcdc4w0/s1600/Acharya_Jagadish_Chandra_Bose_Indian_Botanic_Garden_-_Howrah_2011-01-08_9728.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #105cb6; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiog3uJ_ueopj_JxvmQxVZq3YLe-zFWqRaZLDNRye6dio_Qf8Ue7WX8l7izHRUBq_dl5kIX0mlvwsfQ41A6kc2drJ5g-X_CjC0-7ClB3chLBsbn0aX8StCJUcUCJcGukOt9IvtVuzcdc4w0/s1600/Acharya_Jagadish_Chandra_Bose_Indian_Botanic_Garden_-_Howrah_2011-01-08_9728.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; padding: 10px;" title="The Great Banyan, India" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Great Banyan is a banyan tree (Ficus benghalensis) located in Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Indian Botanic Garden, Howrah, <i><b>near Kolkata</b></i>, India. It was the widest tree in the world in terms of the area of the canopy and is estimated to be about 200 to 250 years old.</span><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-size: 12px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 4px; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpqkSQSucNkekPuFVVd00C073JelC6REL9ceh_ueGG4jlS9jDJl_3tl4CC0sFr1E159QoAbphGOsw_KOkJzh6gnHhKQQEJGcCcjozqBLbvBmWrzEbKdpO43BA5zsedEg84e0GRP21VPvyt/s1600/DSCN0953.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="color: #105cb6; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpqkSQSucNkekPuFVVd00C073JelC6REL9ceh_ueGG4jlS9jDJl_3tl4CC0sFr1E159QoAbphGOsw_KOkJzh6gnHhKQQEJGcCcjozqBLbvBmWrzEbKdpO43BA5zsedEg84e0GRP21VPvyt/s1600/DSCN0953.JPG" style="border-width: 0px; padding: 10px;" title="The Great Banyan, India" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It became diseased after it was struck by lightning, so in 1925 the middle of the tree was excised to keep the remainder healthy; this has left it as a clonal colony, rather than a single tree. A 330 metre (1,080ft) long road was built around its circumference, but the tree continues to spread beyond it.</span><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-size: 12px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 4px; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4JJVIYPZ0NFwq3DtAmC96Y-IGbon4XvWwjWVppDWyv4Jqz2Guno4s7VDHdWz1fm-Xy_QSWoCjKjVXzjYvPHQiX4Xj7dErPVVvMFs8JSb5c872lEft4rKraLu4ltGz-Dj3advObU1rKUct/s1600/great-banyan-tree5%5B2%5D+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #105cb6; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4JJVIYPZ0NFwq3DtAmC96Y-IGbon4XvWwjWVppDWyv4Jqz2Guno4s7VDHdWz1fm-Xy_QSWoCjKjVXzjYvPHQiX4Xj7dErPVVvMFs8JSb5c872lEft4rKraLu4ltGz-Dj3advObU1rKUct/s1600/great-banyan-tree5%5B2%5D+(1).jpg" style="border-width: 0px; padding: 10px;" title="The Great Banyan, India" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The <i><b>Great Banyan tree</b></i> is over 250 years old and in spread it is the largest known in India, perhaps in Asia. There is no clear history of the tree, but it is mentioned in some travel books of the nineteenth century. It was damaged by two great cyclones in 1884 and 1886, when some of its main branches were broken and exposed to the attack of a hard fungus. With its large number of aerial roots, The Great Banyan looks more like a forest than an individual tree.</span><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-size: 12px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 4px; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7wX1mT4uH7GBMkULh7z0WcKsVsGZlkQLHWj_7bZNAu_u1_83xxvJboVEXqgq-CwKXWDvnBRh_vOSP5cwXdOezZrRrOxqCCuM9QrS48FflYwEhLaFAOWmdYgBVfe8oyuq7BN25gmrQvEtb/s1600/Great_banyan_tree_kol.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #105cb6; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7wX1mT4uH7GBMkULh7z0WcKsVsGZlkQLHWj_7bZNAu_u1_83xxvJboVEXqgq-CwKXWDvnBRh_vOSP5cwXdOezZrRrOxqCCuM9QrS48FflYwEhLaFAOWmdYgBVfe8oyuq7BN25gmrQvEtb/s1600/Great_banyan_tree_kol.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; padding: 10px;" title="The Great Banyan, India" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The tree now lives without its main trunk, which decayed and was removed in 1925. The circumference of the original trunk was 1.7 m (5.6ft) and from the ground was 15.7 m (51.5ft). The area occupied by the tree is about 14500 square metres (about 1.5 hectares or 4 acres). The present crown of the tree has a circumference of about 1 kilometre (0.6mi) and the highest branch rises to about 25 m (82ft); it has at present 3300 aerial roots reaching down to the ground. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><i><b>12. Angel Oak, USA</b></i></span><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-size: 12px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 4px; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA_VlNDPEu7ThcplyeStJjObq2VyiRel-cFxKiGUktrenCIogW32Dl4TnKa5UZPJWJPB_dsJbCRjCNYt311FgsKWWQcgonavnc65vqGmKwSN-v7K7Z40lddtt0V0QXltSWrLn5JRPJabGb/s1600/AngelOak.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #105cb6; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA_VlNDPEu7ThcplyeStJjObq2VyiRel-cFxKiGUktrenCIogW32Dl4TnKa5UZPJWJPB_dsJbCRjCNYt311FgsKWWQcgonavnc65vqGmKwSN-v7K7Z40lddtt0V0QXltSWrLn5JRPJabGb/s1600/AngelOak.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; padding: 10px;" title="Angel Oak, USA" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This famous tree is a Southern live oak (Quercus virginiana) located in Angel Oak Park on Johns Island near Charleston, <i><b>South Carolina</b></i>.</span><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-size: 12px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 4px; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw_TXdWCIVCmz2o_0UY5mNjuXSH3lY4PU1be-FyiusSfpozpQY8Yy1h4PFnx9-i3oBfuxj6GykaN8cvT33YNGorMkhdNTr7noS2aQZWe7RAoqe43jGcj0D8ziCHMNBNiJ7R4Uytl7NmOX5/s1600/Angel-Oak-by-Charlestons-TheDigitel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #105cb6; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw_TXdWCIVCmz2o_0UY5mNjuXSH3lY4PU1be-FyiusSfpozpQY8Yy1h4PFnx9-i3oBfuxj6GykaN8cvT33YNGorMkhdNTr7noS2aQZWe7RAoqe43jGcj0D8ziCHMNBNiJ7R4Uytl7NmOX5/s1600/Angel-Oak-by-Charlestons-TheDigitel.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; padding: 10px;" title="Angel Oak, USA" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Angel Oak Tree</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> is estimated to be in excess of 500 years old, stands 66.5 ft (20 m) tall, measures 28 ft (8.5 m) in circumference, and produces shade that covers 17,200 square feet (1,600 m2). From tip to tip Its longest branch distance is 187 ft (57 m).</span><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-size: 12px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 4px; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilxOewaaxq6zMqpNRzy-L7Pu_cAYGIRTRqFcte-UdYCpmKh7rMxLPFMP4NaQWvubaytWQzt8S2rJzd_Tur5ZoONAZWP6-okKgQKWYWBGqXtGVfhhNnClwbjODoLC5TFP0lkwpGVR1oZn8Q/s1600/142+%25281%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="color: #105cb6; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilxOewaaxq6zMqpNRzy-L7Pu_cAYGIRTRqFcte-UdYCpmKh7rMxLPFMP4NaQWvubaytWQzt8S2rJzd_Tur5ZoONAZWP6-okKgQKWYWBGqXtGVfhhNnClwbjODoLC5TFP0lkwpGVR1oZn8Q/s1600/142+%25281%2529.JPG" style="border-width: 0px; padding: 10px;" title="Angel Oak, USA" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The <b><i>Angel Oak</i></b> was damaged severely during Hurricane Hugo in 1989 but has since recovered. The City of Charleston has owned the tree and surrounding park since 1991. This tree is one of the most visited oaks in the United States.</span><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-size: 12px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 4px; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga8DB5PVprPbCv-le-BImRAS_UEQL1p7MCL44kjZD5R4m9GbsH6A3UHupHYQX7RPlai3Fb0c80SoxEpZLGd8K_fcQG7I8oecZuwiUEwbb8AHyAKzb6-7zbRsPgCS-ukzL1e-TuvjTIAI4Y/s1600/angel-oak-tree.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #105cb6; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga8DB5PVprPbCv-le-BImRAS_UEQL1p7MCL44kjZD5R4m9GbsH6A3UHupHYQX7RPlai3Fb0c80SoxEpZLGd8K_fcQG7I8oecZuwiUEwbb8AHyAKzb6-7zbRsPgCS-ukzL1e-TuvjTIAI4Y/s1600/angel-oak-tree.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; padding: 10px;" title="Angel Oak, USA" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Recently, a plan for apartment development nearby the Angel Tree has been scrutinized and fought against by the S.C. Coastal Conservation League. They argue that the development would alter the groundwater flow to the tree and clear the nearby forests whose root systems are intimately related with the Angel Tree. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><i><b>13. Dragon Tree at Icod, Spain</b></i></span><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-size: 12px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 4px; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMkVTSp_ZzX86-RqhI_6M4qwLxRiX_0UqZvQz9DTrTIW8XE7J-Ar5yu_iuCWx6jsqJoPTNMWWSPAjkSGPjmcoLL96gFG0zBRyH6I98qu44TvtNbOBGoG_4RrkxTgysF9pSOkWCUxYJC8mI/s1600/03315.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #105cb6; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMkVTSp_ZzX86-RqhI_6M4qwLxRiX_0UqZvQz9DTrTIW8XE7J-Ar5yu_iuCWx6jsqJoPTNMWWSPAjkSGPjmcoLL96gFG0zBRyH6I98qu44TvtNbOBGoG_4RrkxTgysF9pSOkWCUxYJC8mI/s1600/03315.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; padding: 10px;" title="Dragon Tree at Icod, Spain" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In Icod (a municipality on the island of Tenerife, in the <i><b>Canary Islands</b></i>), close to the Church of San Marcos, stands a famous dragon tree (22 m or 72 ft high, lower trunk diameter 10 m or 33 ft, estimated weight 70 t), which is reputed to be a thousand years old. While no study seems to have confirmed such longevity for the tree (dracos do not produce annual rings with which to tell their ages; the tree is more likely to have an age in the hundreds of year), it is the long-time <i><b>symbol of Icod</b></i>. After an abortive attempt by the city council in 2002, another bid to list the Icod Dragon Tree as a UNESCO World Heritage Site was made in 2011. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><i><b>14. Gloucester Tree, Australia</b></i></span><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-size: 12px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 4px; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8n8alNXbPxYbJt1dtMcK23PxSeddoyWuTUphb7J93JQcHjOjPIcbDAZVn8Eg9JgAd-Rje7hIrYWeI7ErLSuO-hezH0pAEXTjSKwfbcQs0IfRyYbF0P-1OW6Yih6it2YZYG6AJWjWOhhnE/s1600/p1040802.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #105cb6; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8n8alNXbPxYbJt1dtMcK23PxSeddoyWuTUphb7J93JQcHjOjPIcbDAZVn8Eg9JgAd-Rje7hIrYWeI7ErLSuO-hezH0pAEXTjSKwfbcQs0IfRyYbF0P-1OW6Yih6it2YZYG6AJWjWOhhnE/s1600/p1040802.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; padding: 10px;" title="Gloucester Tree, Australia" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Gloucester Tree is a giant karri tree (Eucalyptus) in the Gloucester National Park of<i><b>Western Australia</b></i>. At 72 metres (236 ft) in height, it is the world's second tallest fire-lookout tree, and visitors can climb up to a platform in its upper branches for a spectacular view of the surrounding karri forest.</span><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-size: 12px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 4px; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9IwtEr1y5bq4Vnv-2a3zmetRrlIZg_fn0Klp556eSB65tIM5LSZJCsNi6t8NHn6G4tvvSHIJtKpzA1b8pNAaqWO7QYEYtI9V5n2GH89-we7rrxCzRvBzdnT9ms5j-cbl_tO1z8cknenYo/s1600/3418532171_c5b27444ec_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #105cb6; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9IwtEr1y5bq4Vnv-2a3zmetRrlIZg_fn0Klp556eSB65tIM5LSZJCsNi6t8NHn6G4tvvSHIJtKpzA1b8pNAaqWO7QYEYtI9V5n2GH89-we7rrxCzRvBzdnT9ms5j-cbl_tO1z8cknenYo/s1600/3418532171_c5b27444ec_b.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; padding: 10px;" title="Gloucester Tree, Australia" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Built in 1947, the <i><b>Gloucester Tree</b></i> was one of eight karri trees that between 1937 and 1952 were made relatively easy to climb so that they could be used as fire lookout spots. The suitability of the tree as a fire lookout was tested by forester Jack Watson, who climbed the tree using climbing boots and a belt. Another forester, George Reynolds, pegged the ladder and lopped branches to facilitate climbing the tree, and a wooden lookout cabin was built 58 metres (190 ft) above the ground. The Governor-General of Australia, Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, visited the site during construction, and the tree and national park are named in his honour.</span><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-size: 12px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 4px; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho8WkXoh9sj6-edkMYGzfWu9tzX9v1tZPgdo-3AWlJHKPPZNnPmQBCpyz649Gqb-BAJXMKUOeV526zWu1nxfGz4I3XCCZNaWAqL7h1_JXe676_uYVynTRR-yM0qfBan0UuSjuBPRrK515e/s1600/4708874248_102a8a1157_b+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #105cb6; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho8WkXoh9sj6-edkMYGzfWu9tzX9v1tZPgdo-3AWlJHKPPZNnPmQBCpyz649Gqb-BAJXMKUOeV526zWu1nxfGz4I3XCCZNaWAqL7h1_JXe676_uYVynTRR-yM0qfBan0UuSjuBPRrK515e/s1600/4708874248_102a8a1157_b+(1).jpg" style="border-width: 0px; padding: 10px;" title="Gloucester Tree, Australia" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 10px;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">View from lookout cabin  </span></i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The wooden lookout cabin was demolished in 1973 for safety reasons, and was replaced with a steel and aluminium cabin and visitors' gallery. Currently the climb is done by stepping on <i><b>153 spikes</b></i> that spiral the tree. Only 20 percent of visitors climb to the top of the tree; most make it only part of the way before turning back. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><i><b>15. Ying Ke Pine, China</b></i></span><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-size: 12px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 4px; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiUBWLxAfMBYlvwEZ8sGw6jbp18uvB5ZxDevUSIchftZSuxh7oMxukrLZDY10MlPVjgYwCz-uHgkwidHiAcYeXqyn3iQZkgl3hZvn4th-Kb4lAirsaxJXeh5bpYJgshF0y4W1gZI1mwdrW/s1600/tumblr_mm9puhLJly1s2px63o1_1280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #105cb6; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiUBWLxAfMBYlvwEZ8sGw6jbp18uvB5ZxDevUSIchftZSuxh7oMxukrLZDY10MlPVjgYwCz-uHgkwidHiAcYeXqyn3iQZkgl3hZvn4th-Kb4lAirsaxJXeh5bpYJgshF0y4W1gZI1mwdrW/s1600/tumblr_mm9puhLJly1s2px63o1_1280.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; padding: 10px;" title="Ying Ke Pine, China" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><b>Welcoming Guest Pine</b></i> (The Ying Ke Pine</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">) is located on the east side of Jade Screen Peak, by Wenshu Cave. It's about 10 meters (33 feet) high. The diameter of its trunk is 64cm (25 inches), and the diameter of its roots is 75 meters (246 feet). Half way up the trunk, two main lateral branchess, which are 7.6 meters (25 feet) long, stretch forwards. It looks like a hospitable host who flings his arms out to warmly welcome guests from China and abroad.</span><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-size: 12px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 4px; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXfTOIc7x0KmjjIspMB0PEhxFoZ9zlZVoLj8__jLiwL_2CyNy1czwaO3GRs26RWQFSCIPIA8hiymbbXthAwA0AImRTgYfBpIOyy2vhSdGJpOMg_N3ALBEYplN8w4Ibv3ahNLYB0teIZ0IS/s1600/1_130312211738_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #105cb6; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXfTOIc7x0KmjjIspMB0PEhxFoZ9zlZVoLj8__jLiwL_2CyNy1czwaO3GRs26RWQFSCIPIA8hiymbbXthAwA0AImRTgYfBpIOyy2vhSdGJpOMg_N3ALBEYplN8w4Ibv3ahNLYB0teIZ0IS/s1600/1_130312211738_1.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; padding: 10px;" title="Ying Ke Pine, China" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This pine is the representative example of Huangshan's pines, and seems to act as an ambassador for the Yellow Mountains. Being the <i><b>most photographed thing in Huangshan</b></i>, its image appears as decoration in restaurants and homes all over China. It's a treasure of China. A huge iron relief of Welcoming Guest Pine is exhibited in Anhui Hall in Beijing's Great Hall of the People. </span></div>
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The World's Oldest Tree

There are probably hundreds of famous living trees in the world. They are mostly known because of its location, age, size, unusual appe...