Unusual trees of our planet. The most unusual trees of our planet. Amazing Mangrove Trees

The beauty of the nature of our Earth never ceases to amaze us. Throughout the planet, there are the most incredible trees that do not leave travelers indifferent. And among them there are unique specimens that can only be seen in one particular place. Therefore, it will be interesting to find out what are the most unusual trees in the world (photos of some of them are presented), and what exactly is their uniqueness. But, besides the fact that a plant can be interesting in itself because of its shape or size, people sometimes give it amazing names.

Baobab "Teapot"

An unusual tree grows on the island of Madagascar, which in its shape resembles a huge teapot. This plant is very famous here, and you will not surprise the locals with it. But it impresses all tourists. Scientists claim that this plant is already 1200 years old. In addition, like a kettle, it can hold a large volume of water. According to some estimates, its "capacity" is 117,000 liters!

This baobab has a very thick trunk, in which it accumulates moisture and uses it during the dry season. It is also interesting that its roots are impressive in size and spread over tens of kilometers. They can also collect moisture. During the drought period, this tree sheds all the leaves so as not to waste water on their maintenance. But buds come out instead.

These baobabs have very soft wood. When the elephant is thirsty, he breaks the trunk and eats out the inside to quench his thirst. But the unusual tree does not cease to exist on this. It is very tenacious and tries to take root again in order to continue growing.

Jaboticaba

This plant belongs to the Myrtle family. It is called Jaboticaba, or the Brazilian Ono, is fruitful and is cultivated in tropical latitudes. The plant has small leaves that are distinguished by a myrtle aroma. It can grow up to 12 meters, but on plantations it does not exceed five.

These plants differ in that their fruits do not appear at the ends of the branches, but on the trunk itself. Of course, these are not the only unusual trees (photo of the jaboticaba shown above) that bear fruit in this way, these include jackfruit, cocoa, and a few other tropical plants. With the advent of spring, the main branches and trunk are covered with a huge number of small white flowers. In one year, a tree can bring more than one crop. Fruit ripening lasts less than a month. Ripe "grapes" have an almost black tint. All fruits are no more than 4 cm in diameter. They are very similar to grapes, their flesh is the same consistency, but inside there is a large seed. The fruits are very juicy and sweet. They make jams and juices.

bottle tree

This tree species grows in Namibia. Each plant not only has an unusual shape, but is also distinguished by its dangerous secretions. Their juice is a poison that can cause death not only to an animal, but also to a person. It looks like milk. These unusual trees (pictured below) have been used as deadly weapons in the past. Bushmen dipped their arrowheads in poisonous wood secretions.

This vegetation can be found in the mountainous regions of Namibia. The strange shape of the trunk, which resembles a bottle with a wide bottom, led to the fact that the tree was called "bottle".

bombbucks

This rare plant can be seen in Cambodia, but not everywhere, but only in some places. These unusual peace trees (see photo below) are also found in Southeast Asia, near the Ta Prohm temple. The amazing thing about plants is that they seem to embrace this old building with their roots. Trees can be very impressive in size, rising up. And not less impressive ficus-stranglers grow not far from the temple. They also extended their roots to the building to envelop it.

peach palm

It is believed that the first representatives of this plant appeared in Nicaragua and Costa Rica, but today they are often found in South and Central America. These are by right the most unusual trees, because they look really strange. The entire trunk, from the roots to the top, is decorated with rows of sharp spikes that resemble large hedgehog needles.

The leaves of the plant are long, oblong. Some of them grow up to three meters in length! The tree itself usually does not exceed 20 meters. The fruits of this plant are edible. Interestingly, among the Native Americans, this “dish” was the basis of the diet. Today, the fermented fruit of this plant is a popular delicacy.

crooked trees

Another curiosity are plants that have curved trunks. They grow in Poland, in the forest near the town of Gryfino. There are a little more than 400 of them. The cause of the curved trunks is not exactly known. There are suggestions that each of these unusually shaped trees was obtained as a result of human intervention, but who needed it and for what remains a mystery.

According to some guesses, these plants were intended for the manufacture of curved wooden furniture, for agricultural implements, or for boat hulls. Because of the Second World War, the owners of these sites were forced to flee in a hurry, and now this story will remain a mystery.

"Burmis"

Also, unusual ones grow on Earth, for example, larch, which takes off its leaves in autumn. And near the city of Alberta (Canada) there is a soft pine, which is called "Burmis". This is the only extraordinary specimen of this genus, which has its own fascinating history. The tree is notable for the fact that it died back in the 1970s, but at the same time it continued to stand, without being subjected to decay and decomposition. Experts say that by the day of its death, the plant was about 600-750 years old.

In 1998, a strong wind hit the city, which knocked down this unusual tree, but caring residents picked it up and put it in its place - to stand in the same position. After a while, someone broke the branch, but people reattached it to the trunk. Today, travelers from all over the world come and take pictures near the Burmis tree.

Tree of Life

Another unusual tree is located in Bahrain. It has about 4 centuries. But it is remarkable not for this at all, but for the fact that it grows in the desert, where there is absolutely no water. There are no other trees within a radius of several kilometers. Its roots are deep in the soil, so some are sure that this is where the plant gets its moisture. But this has not been proven, and people still cannot understand how this tree manages to survive. In order to look at this amazing plant, about 50,000 tourists come to it every year.

"Banyan"

The national tree of India, which is called or banyan, is also an amazing plant. For a long time it was considered the widest. But the tree is still growing. A feature of the banyan tree is its roots, which hang from the branches. There are so many of them that it seems that this is not one tree, but a real forest. A tree can grow and occupy an area equal to a city block.

"Walking Tree"

Near Lake Baikal there are also unusual plants that are among the sights of this area. These are ordinary larches and pines, which differ in their roots. They protrude from the sandy soil. Over the years, the wind has blown away the sand, and the roots have been exposed for several meters. But a complex root system helps the tree to stay on the surface. From the outside it looks like the plants are standing on stilts. The most famous grove of "walking trees" grows in Peschanaya Bay. At this point, the roots go out more than two meters.

Other Amazing Trees

In addition to the listed 10 unusual trees, there are still a lot of mysterious plants. So, you can hear about which grow in Yemen and the Canary Islands. The plant got its name because of its resin and juice, which have a rich bloody color. The local population is sure that this liquid is a real cure for all diseases.

No less unique is the "iron tree". It can be found in Iran and Azerbaijan. stronger than iron and just as heavy, so it sinks if dipped in water. The plant is also impressive with its characteristics, planting from "iron trees" can grow into an impenetrable thicket. Over time, these plants grow together.

Also, many are impressed not only by strange structures, but also by unusual ones. So, on Earth you can meet candy, sausage, cabbage, silk trees. All of them have their own stories, characteristics and features that are interesting to learn and learn. Whatever country you go to, everywhere you can find an unusual plant that locals are ready to talk about for hours.

Ecology

Trees are known to be the lungs of our planet. Without these green representatives of the flora, it would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, for mankind to exist on earth. Their diversity is amazing, and the uniqueness of some of them is fascinating. Below is a list of the most unusual green "lungs" from around the world.

1. Bottle tree. It grows in Namibia. This tree is one of the most dangerous plants on earth. The deadly juice of the bottle tree has the consistency of milk. In the past, these poisonous wood secretions were used by Bushmen for arrowheads.

The tree grows in the mountainous regions of the deserts of Namibia. The striking resemblance to the bottle was the reason for this name. The flowers of this tree are amazingly beautiful in shape and color. Pale pink or white at the edges, they usually gradually turn into a rich red towards the center.

2. Wavon tree. This former Sequoia used to grow in the small forest of Mariposa (Mariposa Grove), located in Yosemite National Park (Yosemite National Park), USA. After a strong hurricane, the sequoia fell down, then it was turned into a tunnel.

A passage was cut into the tree back in 1881, and since then it has been a popular attraction for tourists from all over the world. According to rough estimates, the sequoia is very ancient, its age is 2300 years.

3. Madagascar baobab. From the name itself, the habitat of this plant becomes clear. The trees are over a thousand years old. Baobab is officially listed in the Red Book as a rare endangered species. Some trees reach 80-90 meters in height, while the girth of the trunk is up to 25 meters.

During the dry seasons, swollen trunks of baobabs provide water for entire regions. Trees bloom for only 24 hours. The flower of the power tree of Madagascar was decided to be transferred to a denomination of 100 francs.

4. Bombaxes. These trees grow in Cambodia, but even there they are not everywhere, there are only certain places where they can be seen. Traveling in Southeast Asia, they can be found near the Ta Prohm temple. Tree roots seem to hug an ancient temple.

It is amazing that the trees grow to an impressive dizzying height. Strangler Ficuses grow not far from the same temple, which, like their neighbor trees, cover the walls of the temple. The temple building itself is included in the UNESCO list as one of the objects of "World Heritage Sites".

5. Hyperion is considered a California sequoia. This is the tallest tree in the world. Slender and graceful, it amazes with its beauty. Usually hyperions live about 1200-1800 years. The tree is very impressive in size. It reaches 115.5 meters in height and almost 10 meters in diameter.

From which we can conclude that Hyperion is as much as 5 floors higher than the famous Statue of Liberty. According to experts, about 95% of all sequoias died due to their cutting down. Today, these amazing giant trees are especially carefully protected as an endangered species.

6. Peach palm. This tree is often found in Central and South America. However, its official homeland is Costa Rica and Nicaragua. The peach palm tree looks very, very strange: rows of black sharp spikes, resembling cold weapons or hedgehog needles, encircle the entire trunk from the roots to the top of the tree.

Usually these trees grow up to about 20 meters. The leaves are also large and long, sometimes reaching 3 meters in length. The Indians used to eat the fruits of this palm tree. It was this kind of food that made up the bulk of the diet of Native Americans. If you think that this fruit was consumed exclusively in the Middle Ages, you are mistaken. The fermented fruit of the peach palm remains a favorite and popular delicacy to this day.

7. Crooked trees in the forest of the city of Gryfino. In Western Poland, near the town of Gryfino, more than 400 of these trees, unusual in shape and curves, grow. The reason why trees have such strange curves is still not exactly known. According to some assumptions, these trees were twisted due to human intervention, but why this was done remains a mystery.

Some believe that the tree hulls were used to make bent wooden furniture, parts for boat hulls, or were used to make ox-drawn plows or other agricultural implements. The outbreak of World War II caught those who grew these amazing trees by surprise, people had to rush to leave these trees, and now the story of their appearance in these forests is a mystery.

8. Baobab Sunland. The location of this tree is South Africa. Baobab Sunland is a tree that grows near Modjadjiskloof, Limpopo province, a famous region of South Africa. This woody plant has been turned into a bar. The baobab is completely hollow inside, which creates a natural space inside it.

In 1933, a small bar was opened in it, which can easily accommodate 15-20 people. It is one of the largest baobabs in South Africa, and in all likelihood the widest tree on the entire African continent. The tree reaches 4 meters in girth and 20 meters in height. In addition, the bar tree is one of the oldest plants in the world, over 6,000 years old.

9. Burmis tree. The Burmis tree is a soft pine that grows near the Canadian city of Alberta. What is unique about this tree? It is unusual in that it died more than 40 years ago in the 1970s of the last century. Surprisingly, it still stands without any signs of decay. According to experts, at the time of his death he was at least 600-750 years old.

In 1998, due to strong winds, the tree was felled, but the locals picked it up and put it back in the position it stood before the storm. Some time later, the hooligans broke one of the branches, and again the locals came to the rescue, they fixed the broken part of the branch back to its original place. The Burmis tree is one of the favorite attractions of tourists from all over the world. The tree is considered the most photographed.

10. And finally, the Tree of Life. The location of this amazing plant is Bahrain. This tree, reaching a height of almost 10 meters, is approximately 4 centuries old. It is unusual in that it grows in the desert and is the only tree growing in an area of ​​​​a few kilometers around. Surprisingly, he does not have access to water. The roots of this tree go deep underground.

Many believe that this is how the tree reaches the water, but people fail to solve this riddle to the end. The tree is one of the main tourist attractions. Every year, 50,000 people come here from many countries of the world to see this place. Locals believe that this is where the Garden of Eden was located. The Tree of Life is under the protection of UNESCO and, like Bombax, is included in the list of "World Heritage Sites".

All these trees are amazing in their appearance, age, and a number of other features. They perfectly characterize the area in which they grow. If you ever get the chance to see these countries, be sure to visit the places where the trees grow.

I have detailed about the most incredible trees on the planet. But life does not stand still and it's time for the second part of the story about the most unusual and interesting trees on our planet.

Baobabs in Madagascar

Baobab is the national symbol of the island of Madagascar, and is also painted on the coats of arms of Senegal and the Central African Republic. There are 10 types of baobabs in the world. This is a very amazing tree, which is interesting, no one can accurately state the age of the tree. Since it does not have annual rings, these trees are long-lived and there are trees with an age of about a thousand years. Scientists say that these trees can live up to five thousand years. At first glance, you can understand that this is a very large tree with a solid trunk size and height (the trunk is up to 11 meters wide, up to 25 meters high, and the crown spreads branches up to 40 meters in diameter).

Ficus, Philippines, or we talked about it in sufficient detail in the article.



Young mangrove trees underwater


Mangrove trees are evergreen deciduous plants that have settled on tropical and subtropical coasts and have adapted to life in conditions of constant ebb and flow. They grow up to 15 meters and have bizarre types of roots: stilted (lifting the tree above the water) and respiratory (pneumatophores), sticking out of the soil, like straws, and absorbing oxygen. Few plants would survive in salt water, but this is not the case with mangroves. They developed filtering mechanisms. The water sucked up by their roots contains less than 0.1% salt. The remaining salt is excreted by the leaves through special leaf glands, forming white crystals on the surface.

Cypresses, Lake Caddo


Lake Caddo is a large lake in the United States, lying in eastern Texas on the border with Louisiana. This is a protected area that contains the largest cypress forests on the planet. The area of ​​the lake is about 106 sq. km.

Wisteria, Japan


Wisteria, or, as it is also called, wisteria (Wisteria), is widely used in decorative floriculture. Looking at the flowing green waterfalls of stems and long feathery leaves, densely covered with large clusters of blue, purple, white or pink delicately scented flowers, it is difficult to imagine that wisteria is the closest relative of peas and beans. But this is true, because this fragrant vine belongs to the legume family, and its fruits are elongated pods with seeds similar to lentils.

Bottle trees of Socotra Island


The bottle tree This impression is correct, for the trunk of the bottle tree is indeed shaped like a pot-bellied bottle. The tree can reach 15 meters in height. As for the diameter of such a tree, it can be three meters. The tree grows in Eastern Australia and is very loved by the local population. When periods of drought come, the leaves of the tree go to feed livestock. But the trunk of the bottle tree is a source of drinking water! In addition, very sweet juice accumulates in special cavities in the upper part of the trunk. This is real nectar! The whole plant is involved. So, the seeds of the bottle tree are roasted or eaten raw. The roots of young trees are very juicy and are eaten as root crops.

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Dragon Tree, Socotra Island


An old Indian legend tells that a long time ago in the Arabian Sea on the island of Socotra, there lived a bloodthirsty dragon who attacked elephants and drank their blood. But one day, one old and strong elephant fell on the dragon and crushed it. Their blood mixed and wetted the ground around. At this place grew trees called dracaena, which means "female dragon". The dragon tree (or Dracaena dragon) grows in
tropics and subtropics of Africa and on the islands of Southeast Asia. Socotra is one of six islands off the coast of Somalia in the Indian Ocean where this amazing plant grows.

Quiver tree, Namibia

Japanese maple


Japanese maples are exceptionally showy ornamental trees and shrubs. Even in winter, deciduous Japanese maples captivate the eye with an unusual shape of a bare crown, resembling a mushroom or an umbrella, and many thin fan branches. However, the peak of beauty of Japanese maples occurs in autumn, when their leaves are painted in stunning bright colors: red, orange, gold ...

There are over 100,000 species of trees in the world. Depending on the nature of the terrain and climate, they grow tall or low, strewn with dense 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. worlds are not 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 poisonous agent, with which they moistened arrowheads.

It got its name due to the unusual shape of the barrel - its resemblance to a bottle is amazing! The tree grows in the mountainous regions of the country. Its flowers are usually white or pink, which turns into a dark red towards the center.

Wavon tree

What other unusual trees are there in the world? There are many of them, and one of them is Wawona (Wawona), which grew in the USA. This is a sequoia from the Mariposa Grove, located in one of the country's national parks. 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 was 7.9 meters. For environmental reasons, they decided to leave Uavona 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 cut out in 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.

bombbucks

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. Mighty roots twine around the ancient temple, and the height of the bombax grows up 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. In the past, the natives used the fruits of this tree for food after they had fermented a little. But even today, fermented remains a favorite delicacy.

milk tree

Such unusual grow in South and Central America. They were named so because of the milky juice, both externally and tasting reminiscent of cow's milk. It is tasty and healthy, contains vegetable wax, water, sugar. But more viscous and thicker than real milk.

To obtain a woody drink, an incision is made on the bark, to which a container is substituted. About 1 liter of juice is collected per hour. Unlike natural cow's milk, milky juice, even in the tropics, does not spoil within a week.

Trees of the World: Breadfruit

There are many unusual plants in Oceania. Along with the coconut palm, which gives butter and milk, the amazing breadfruit tree grows in this area. It bears fruit in "rolls" weighing up to 12 kg. The pulp of oval fruits accumulates starch, which, as the fruits ripen, turns into dough. Ripe fruits of the tree, having a yellow-brown shell, are baked, and after that their taste resembles a slightly sweet wheat bread. By the way, raw pulp is stored poorly, 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 Southeast Asia in the forests you can see sweet hovenia - a tree that looks like a linden, more than 15 meters high.

Its juicy and thick stalks are half (47%) sucrose and taste like raisins with a hint of rum. In autumn, it is enough to shake the tree, as these fragrant "candies" fall in whole bunches. More than 35 kilograms are harvested from one Hovenia.

Candleberry

In the Panama Canal area, you can see real candles on the trees. The fruits of such plants contain a large amount of fat. Locals insert a wick into 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

Agree, the trees of the world can surprise even the most experienced botanist. Take, for example, the unique oil tree (hanga) that grows in the Philippine Islands.

Soapberry

But the natives of America were able to solve the problem with detergents with the help of soap trees. Sapindus grows on the Florida peninsula. By lightly rubbing its ripe fruits, you will get a rich soapy suds. It should be noted that the locals do not use any other soap.

And quilaya, growing on the western slopes of the Andes, is covered with a bark containing saponin, a substance that creates soap suds. Things washed with this bark do not fade or shed.

Keppel tree

In India, another amazing tree grows - keppel. Its fruits are so fragrant that the person who has tasted them, the sweat acquires the smell of violets.

These apple-sized fruits are covered with thick skin and have sweet and juicy flesh. They taste like mangoes and grapes. Grow in small groups (several pieces).

The most beautiful trees in the world

The flora of our planet is very diverse, its representatives cannot be counted. Trees, bushes, flowers... Dwarfs and giants, useful and not very useful, beautiful and nondescript in appearance - all of them are certainly interesting and worthy of attention. Now we are interested in the most beautiful tree in the world. According to experts, it grows in the park of the city of Tochigi (Japan). This is a wisteria planted in 1870.

Its branches are supported so that they form a flower umbrella. From mid-April to mid-May on wisteria you can see an unusual

Albizia

The trees of the world, photos of which you can see in our article, are striking in their diversity. Albizia, or sleeping tree, is a large plant belonging to the legume family. Its height is about 12 meters. The tree has a spreading umbrella-shaped crown. Distributed in Transcaucasia and Central Asia.

rare trees

The oldest tree on earth is the Methuselah pine. Its age is over 4850 years. It got its name in honor of the Biblical hero, who was considered the main long-liver in the world.

This tree grows in the United States, more precisely, in the White Mountains. The exact place where the pine grows is known only to botanists who monitor 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.

This 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 loneliest tree in the world. And the only one that grows in the sands of the Bahrain desert.

The Tree of Life, or Shajarat al-Hayah, as the locals call it, is 400 years old, but the most interesting thing is not its age or the fact that it is a very rare specimen. Scientists cannot understand how the acacia managed to live for several centuries in the desert, completely without water, while exuding life 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 upwards. The dragon tree is crowned with a canopy of dense foliage. It was named so because of the resin that is released when the leaves or bark are cut. Locals believe that this is the blood of a dragon that has dried up. This resin is used to treat various diseases.

tule tree

This is a very large tree belonging to the species Taxodium mexican, which grows in the city of Oaxaca (Mexico). It has the largest girth of the trunk (58 meters). Its age is about 2000 years. Previously, many argued that this is not one tree, but three, fused together. But all doubts disappeared after the analysis. It was found to be one plant. Perhaps this is the most unusual tree in the world. His photo can be seen in many biology textbooks and, of course, on this page.

In 1994, the leaves of the relic 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.

Shri Maha Bodhi Tree

The Bodhi tree has an unusual structure: it has a huge dome and aerial roots hanging down to the ground. To see this amazing plant with your own eyes, you will have to go to Sri Lanka and visit the temple in Bodhgaya. This representative of the plant world is allegedly named after the Hindu traders who sold goods while sitting under it, but, according to another version, it was not at all like that. Bodhi is believed to have grown from the sprout of a sacred tree under which the great Buddha attained Enlightenment in the 6th century BC.

The fantasy of mother nature can only be envied - it is truly inexhaustible. There are so many interesting and unusual corners on earth that even a lifetime will not be enough to explore them. Each continent is unique in its own way, and above all, its flora. There are more than 100,000 species of trees alone. Some of them are so peculiar in appearance, texture and dimensions that I would like to pay special attention to their description.

Trees of the world: the amazing-incredible among us

An impromptu top ten of the most amazing trees in the world might look like this. Moreover, the order does not play any role at all - they all deserve a prize, if not for beauty, then for strangeness and originality, for sure.

The place of "deployment" is the island of Socotra (an archipelago of the same name in the Indian Ocean). Visually resembles an umbrella turned inside out or a giant russula mushroom with a green hat. The massive trunk of this miracle of nature reaches up to 10 m in height, and the crown circumference radius can be tens of meters. The tree got its exotic name because of the resinous juice of a red hue resembling blood. During the monsoon rains, dragon "umbrellas" begin to bloom, covered with funny branched panicles.

A distinctive feature of this tall and proud handsome man is a multi-colored trunk. It seems that some impressionist artist did a good job of creating such a bright and unusual palette. In fact, the whole trick is that the bark of a tree, renewing itself in a natural way, changes color from pale light green to brick-raspberry. And on the way from "youth" to "old age" it still manages to transform into orange, purple, green and even blue. In addition to their multicolor, chameleon eucalyptus can be safely called one of the planet's longest-lived trees. Their age often jumps over a thousand-year bar, and the height reaches 100 meters or more.

Of course, it has nothing to do with military topics, but the fruits unequivocally resemble combat nuclei - hence the name. Often found in subtropical botanical gardens. The original fruit-balls tightly stick around the tree trunk, representing a real threat to the lives of those who dare to stand next to this outlandish representative of the forest flora.

At first glance, nothing extraordinary - many will think. Few people are surprised by ficuses, and they grow in almost every home. But all the smirks instantly disappear from the face at the sight of a huge and semi-mysterious tree growing in the botanical park of the Indian city of Khauri. Among the people, it received the name "Forest Tree", representing a real forest grove with hundreds of individual trunks and a shady upper crown. And in order to completely lose the gift of speech, it is worth mentioning its size - about 1.5 hectares in volume. According to scientists, the old ficus is about 250 years old.

It is easy to guess that this relative of the baobab got its name because of its resemblance to a glass bottle. Of course, not a single botanist will undertake to give him a prize for grace and aesthetics, but there is a certain eccentricity in his appearance - this is a fact. It grows in Namibia, feels great under the scorching African sun and even pleases the eye with pink-red flowers, vaguely similar to magnolias. And the bottle tree is very poisonous, which Bushmen warriors did not neglect to use, smearing hunting arrows with its juice.

The tree is native to Nicaragua and Costa Rica. It has a rather warlike appearance, thanks to the spiraling coils of sharp spikes that wrap around the trunk from the roots to the very top. The height of the palm tree can reach up to 20 m, and the length of the leaves often exceeds 3 m. It is noteworthy that the fruits of the peach "ruff" are still popular among the inhabitants of Central and South America, making up a significant part of the daily diet. And the most interesting thing is that they acquire the brightest taste precisely in the fermented form.

In mythology, the Maya was one of the sacred symbols, and today the baton of worship has migrated to Puerto Rico, a South American state under the jurisdiction of the United States. The fruits of adult trees are large boxes, which contain a fluffy shiny fiber resembling cotton. But the most amazing thing about this 60-meter giant is that the trunks and large branches are simply strewn with prickly thorns. Such a frightening "outfit" helps the tree retain moisture and feel good in the tropical heat.

Its discoverers were English navigators who moored to the shores of New Guinea and watched with surprise how the local natives ate juicy fruits resembling bread on both cheeks. Later, the tree was cultivated in Jamaica, and it was used for a long time to feed slaves on plantations. Bread "loaves" by weight can reach up to 4 kg, heaping on the trunk or large branches. On average, seven hundred fruits are harvested from one adult tree per year - a good harvest! And these powerful handsome men with a spreading crown live up to 70 years.

It turns out that you can milk not only a cow, but also trees - an amazing discovery for the inhabitants of Russia and a phenomenon of everyday life for the inhabitants of Central and South America. An incision is made on mature fruits, and then, by analogy with birch sap, a container is substituted, and the liquid gradually drains into the prepared container. At one time, you can "milk" up to 4 liters of juice. When such milk is boiled, wax is released, which is then used to make candles or impromptu chewing gum.

The second name is kigelia. It continues the food theme, although in its raw natural form, its fruits are not eaten. Large sausage-shaped cucumbers hang between the branches, acquiring a brown color in the process of ripening. Among Africans, kigelia is still considered a panacea for all diseases, being actively used to treat skin and venereal diseases, wounds and insect bites, ulcers, as well as for various shamanic rituals. And alcoholic drinks are also made from “sausages”, adding honey to start the fermentation process.

The world of trees is really unpredictable and amazing. And no matter how hard technical progress tries to subdue our attention, it will never surpass nature.