In the world there are more than 100 thousand species of trees. Depending on the nature of the terrain and climate, they grow tall or low, strewn with thick and large foliage or small needles. And there are also specimens that have outlandish edible fruits. Today we will tell you what unusual and rare trees of the world live on our planet.
Bottle tree
This is a native of Namibia. Unusual trees of the world are far from always useful and pleasing to the eye. The bottle tree is one of the most poisonous plants on our planet. Its milky juice is extremely dangerous. Previously, the Bushmen used it as the strongest poisoning agent with which they moistened arrowheads.
It got its name due to the unusual shape of the barrel - its similarity to the bottle is amazing! A tree grows in the mountainous regions of the country. Its flowers are usually white or pink in color, which turns to the center in a dark red hue.
Tree of babon
What other unusual trees of the world are there? There are many of them, and one of them is Wavona (Wawona), which grew in the USA. This is a sequoia from the Mariposa grove, located in one of the national parks of the country. According to some reports, the giant tree is about 2100 years old. In 1969, it collapsed, unable to bear the weight of the snow on its crown. The height of the giant was 71.3 meters, the diameter of the trunk at the base is 7.9 meters. For environmental reasons, they decided to leave Uavonu in place, since such a whopper is quite capable of creating its own mini-ecosystem for insects, small animals and many plants.
In 1981, a passage was carved into a huge tree. The tunnel turned out to be quite spacious: 2.1 meters wide, 2.7 meters high and 7.9 meters long. Since then, the amazing tree has become one of the attractions of the United States.
Bomb bombs
These interesting trees of the world are quite difficult to find. Most often they can be found in Mexico. They are a distinctive feature and attraction of the Ta Prohm temple. The mighty roots of the cotton tree braid the ancient temple, and in height the bombaks grow to 60-70 meters.
Peach palm
These amazing trees of the world grow in Costa Rica and Nicaragua. In addition, they are found in South and Central America.
Peach palms have rows of sharp black spikes arranged in rings along the entire surface of the trunk - from the roots to the very top.
The plant reaches a height of 20 meters, and the leaves grow up to three meters in length. Indigenous people used to eat the fruits of this tree after they fermented a bit. But even today the fermented palm fruit remains a favorite treat.
Milk tree
Such unusual trees of the world grow in South and Central America. They were called so because of the milky juice, both in appearance and in taste resembling cow's milk. It is tasty and healthy, contains vegetable wax, water, sugar. But more viscous and thicker than real milk.
To obtain a wood drink, an incision is made on the bark, to which any container is substituted. About 1 liter of juice is collected per hour. Unlike natural cow's milk, milky juice does not deteriorate even in the tropics for a week.
Trees of the world: breadfruit
Oceania has many unusual plants. Along with the coconut palm, which produces butter and milk, an amazing breadfruit grows in this area. It bears fruit "rolls" weighing up to 12 kg. The flesh of oval fruits accumulates starch, which, as the fruit grows, turns into dough. Ripe gifts of the tree, with a tan shell, are baked, and after that their taste resembles a bit sweetish wheat bread. By the way, raw flesh is poorly stored, but crackers do not deteriorate for a long time.
Candy tree
Often, the trees of the world amaze not only with their unusual appearance, but also with amazing fruits. For example, in the Southeast of Asia, in the forests you can see sweet whip - a tree that looks like a linden, more than 15 meters high.
Its juicy and thick stalks are half (47%) composed of sucrose and taste like raisins with a rum flavor. In autumn, it’s enough to shake the tree, as these aromatic “sweets” fall in whole clusters. More than 35 kilograms of crops are harvested from one plant.
Candleberry
In the area of the Panama Canal you can see real candles on the trees. The fruits of such plants contain a large amount of fat. Local residents insert a wick in their middle and use them to illuminate their homes. It is important that the flame of these "candles" burns brightly and does not smoke at all.
Oil tree
You must admit that the trees of the world can surprise even the experienced expert on botany. Take at least a unique oil tree (Hanga), which grows in the Philippine Islands.
Its fruits contain almost pure oil. In recent years, a new technology has been developed in the country to use the fruits of this tree as a fuel source for engines.
Soapberry
But the natives of America were able to solve the problem with detergents using soap trees. Sapindus grows on the Florida Peninsula. Lightly rubbing its ripened fruits, you will receive a plentiful soap foam. It should be noted that the locals do not use another soap.
And quilted, growing on the western slopes of the Andes, is covered with bark containing saponin - a substance that creates soap suds. Things washed with this bark do not fade and do not fade.
Keppel tree
In India, another amazing tree grows - a keppel. Its fruits are so fragrant that sweat takes on the smell of violet in a person who has tasted them.
These apple-sized fruits are covered with thick skin and have a sweet and juicy flesh. They taste like mangoes and grapes. They grow on a tree trunk in small groups (several each).
The most beautiful trees in the world
The flora of our planet is very diverse, its representatives can not be counted. Trees, shrubs, flowers … Dwarfs and giants, useful and not very, beautiful and homely in appearance - all of them are unconditional, interesting and worthy of attention. Now we are interested in the most beautiful tree in the world. According to experts, it grows in a park in Tochigi (Japan). This is wisteria, planted in 1870.
Its branches are supported so that they form a floral umbrella. From mid-April to mid-May, unusually beautiful flowers can be seen on the wisteria.
Albitsia
The trees of the world, photos of which you can see in our article, amaze with their diversity. Albition, or a sleeping tree, is a large plant belonging to the legume family. Its height is about 12 meters. The tree has a sprawling umbrella-shaped crown. Distributed in the Caucasus and Central Asia.
Rare trees
The oldest tree on Earth is Methuselah pine. Her age is more than 4850 years. It got its name in honor of the Biblical hero, who was considered the main centenarian in the world.
This tree grows in the United States, more precisely, in the White Mountain massif. The exact place where the pine grows is known only to botanists who observe it. Such secrecy is explained by the desire to protect this old-timer from vandals. Many tourists go to the mountains to find a relic, but their attempts, as a rule, fail.
Methuselah pine is not just a tree, it is a symbol of eternity. It seems dead, but at the same time each of its branches is full of life.
"Tree of Life"
Perhaps this is the most lonely tree in the world. And the only one growing in the sands of the desert of Bahrain.
The "Tree of Life", or "Hajarat al-Hayah", as the locals call this unique, turned 400 years old, but the most interesting is not in his age or in the fact that this is a very rare instance. Scientists cannot understand how acacia managed to live several centuries in the desert, completely without water, while exuding vital energy.
Dragon tree
This amazing tree grows on one of the Canary Islands. Scientists believe that he is from 650 to 1500 years old. It consists of several trunks that tightly wrap around each other and grow up. Dragon tree crowns a canopy of dense foliage. It was called so because of the resin that stands out when cutting leaves or bark. Locals believe that this is the blood of a dragon that has dried up. This resin is used to treat various diseases.
Thule tree
This is a very large tree belonging to the species Mexican Taxodium, which grows in the city of Oaxaca (Mexico). He has the largest girth of the trunk (58 meters). His age is about 2000 years. Earlier, many claimed that this was not one tree, but three, fused together. But all doubts disappeared after analysis. It was found to be one plant. Perhaps this is the most unusual tree in the world. A photo of him can be seen in many textbooks on biology and, of course, on this page.
In 1994, the relic leaves turned yellow, and the branches began to dry out. Scientists decided that the tree was dying, but when experts in wood diseases examined it, it turned out that this giant simply did not have enough moisture.
