Fun facts about trees

This is an excerpt from the Book called “Eyewitness Tree” by David Burnie. Continue reading to learn more about Fun facts about trees, thanks to the author.

Did You Know? 

Amazing Facts 

  • A mature oak tree grows about 250,000 leaves every year. In a good year it also produces about 50,000 acorns. 
  • The leaves of the African raffia palm can be as long as 83 ft. (25 m). 
  • The titan arum of the Indonesian rain forest is the world’s largest flower, standing up to 10 ft. (3 m) tall and 5 ft. (1.5 m) wide. However, its scent is the smell of rotten flesh. 
  • The needles on one of the oldest trees, the bristlecone pine tree, can live for 20 to 30 years. 
  • An ancient yew tree in France has a girth of over 33 ft. (10 m). In the 18th century, a French barber used the tree’s hollow trunk as his workplace. 
  • About 30 million Christmas trees and sold each year in the USA alone. 
  • When flood deposits raise the level of the ground, most trees die because their root systems are smothered. But coastal redwood trees are able to grow a new root system. Some coastal redwoods have survived a rise in ground level of up to 30 ft. (9 m). Redwoods can also survive for a long time in a flood. 
  • The chapel-oak at Allouville in Bellefose, France, is an amazing ancient oak tree that has two chapels inside its hollow trunk. The first chapel was established in 1669, and, later, a second chapel was built above it, together with a wooden entrance stairway. The oak is not as healthy as it once was, but it is still an impressive sight. 
  • The giant lime tree in Heede, Germany, is the biggest tree in Germany, and probably the biggest lime tree in Europe. Its enormous trunk has a girth of 56.7 ft. (17.3 m). 
oldest trees
oldest trees
  • About 4 million trees are planted in the USA every day. 
  • One Canadian aspen tree can be made into a million matchsticks. 
  • A fully grown birch tree can produce a million seeds in one year. 
  • The talipot palm produces a flower spike that is an amazing 33 ft. (10 m) high. The palm flowers only once before it dies. 
  • The baobab tree has soft, spongy wood that stores water absorbed by the roots. Elephants sometimes rip the tree open with their tusks to drink when water is scarce. 
  • People in England have less woodland to enjoy than almost any other European country. Only about 10 percent of England’s landscape is covered in trees. Whereas in Europe the average is about 30 percent. 
  • The ancient Mayans made chewing gum from the sap of the spruce tree, sapodilla, which is native to Central America. 
  • The bark of a giant sequoia tree can be up to 2 ft. (0.7 m) thick. When exposed to fire, the giant sequoia’s bark chars to form a heat shield, protecting the tree. 
  • The major Oak in Sherwood Forest Country Park, England, weighs 25.3 tons (23 metric tons), has a girth of 33 ft. (10 m), and a spread of 92 ft. (28 m). It is the biggest oak tree in Britain. 

Questions And Answers 

What is the tree line? 

The height above sea-level at which a tree cannot grow is called the tree line. The tree line in the Alps in Europe is between 6,560 ft. (2,000 m) and 8,200 ft. (2,500 m), but in northern Scandinavia; it can be as low as 820 ft. (250 m). 

How much timber do you need to make paper? 

It takes approximately 2.2 tons (2 metric tons) of timer to make 1.1 ton (1 metric ton) of paper. 

Why are tree fruits often red? 

Tree fruits are dispersed by animals. Many berries turn red when their seeds are ripe, since red is a preferred food color of birds. 

How do mangroves cope with all the salty water they absorb? 

Black mangrove trees get rid of a lot of the salt through their leaves, which can be covered in salt crystals. 

redwood trees
redwood trees
Christmas trees
Christmas trees

What information can you get from looking at tree tings? 

A tree rings provide-information about the climate in the past. They can show the effects of specific events, such as volcanic eruptions. Dendrochronology is the science of dating trees from their rings. 

Do all tree roots grow underground?  

 A Most do, but in the banyan tree, roots also grow down from branches. 

When is the best time of year to transplant a tree? 

In the summer time, a tree is busy making food and growing. In the autumn and winter, the tree is resting, and if you need to move a tree, this is the best time to do it. 

Where does resin come from? 

Resin is a sticky liquid that is produced by certain pine trees. It is used to make turpentine. 

Record Breakers 

  • THE WORLD’S LARGEST TREE 

A giant sequoia known as “General Sherman” is the largest tree in the world. It stands at 275 ft. (83.8 m) and its volume is 52,513 cubic ft. (1,487 cubic m). 

  • THE TALLEST TREE IN THE WORLD 

Hyperion, a coastal redwood in California, USA, is the tallest tree at 379 ft. (115.6 m). 

  • THE WORLD’S OLDEST TREE 

A spruce tree in Sweden is estimated to be almost 10,000 years, making it the oldest. 

  • THE HIGHEST HEDGE IN THE WORLD 

Planted in 1745, the highest hedge is in Scotland and is 118 ft. (36 m) tall. 

  • BRITAIN’S OLDEST TREE 

The Fortingall Yew in Tayside, Scotland, is about 3,000 years old, and Britain’s oldest. 

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