Ancient, majestic and steadfast, these famous trees have witnessed the birth of religions, sheltered famous outlaws, and stood firm in the face of human folly. Visit them while you still can.
1: Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi, Sri Lanka
While not the actual tree that Buddha sat under and gained enlightenment, the Sri Maha Bodhi in Anuradhapura is a branch of that tree and the one with the oldest known planting date. It was brought to the city by an order of Buddhist nuns in the 3rd century BC, and a complex of monasteries and palaces have sprung up around it.
It is one of the most sacred Buddhist sites in Sri Lanka.
Temple of Sri Maha Bodhi, Anuradhapura (Dreamstime)
2: General Sherman, USA
General Sherman is the largest living tree, by volume, in the world. Named after the American Civil War general by a naturalist who had served under him, the giant sequoia is 83.8 metres high, with a diameter of 7.7 metres and an estimated volume of 1,487 cubic metres.
The tree is just one of many giant trees in Sequoia National Park in California’s Sierra Nevada, most bearing the names of American generals and luminaries. It is estimated to be between 2,300 and 2,700 years old, and was once even bigger, having shed a branch that was larger than most tree trunks, back in 2006.
Family posing in front of General Sherman (Dreamstime)
3: Burke & Wills Dig Tree, Australia
Located on the northern bank of Coopers Creek in outback Queensland, this unassuming Coolibah tree is arguably the most famous in Australia. It was here that a base camp was set up as part of Robert O’Hara Burke and John Wills' ill-fated expedition to the Gulf of Carpentaria, a camp that was abandoned just hours before Burke and Wills returned.
Before the camp was abandoned, provisions were buried in the remote chance of Burke and Wills returning, and instructions about where to dig were carved into the trunk of the tree. These instructions have been covered to protect the tree, but apart from the boardwalk built around the tree, the site is how Burke and Wills would have viewed it nearly 140 years ago.
Burke Burke and Wills Dig Tree, Coopers Creek (Creative Commons: Peterdownunder )
4: Major Oak, England
What a history this giant oak tree has had. Robin Hood is believed to have taken shelter inside its hollow trunk, as did prize-fighting cockerels in the mid-18th century. It was crowned England’s ‘Tree of the Year’ in 2014 after a popular vote held by the Woodland Trust.
Estimated to be between 800 and 1,000 years old, the tree stands in the heart of Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire. It was christened Major Oak after Major Hayman Rooke, an antiquarian who included the tree in a popular book about the oaks of Sherwood Forest (the book was published in 1790). The tree may in fact be several saplings that fused together, and since Victorian times its massive limbs have been supported by elaborate scaffolding.
A tree like Methuselah (Dreamstime)
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