Earth is a weird place. Just like plants, there are trees which are strange and weird. Fossil of old trees is a source of knowledge about Earth. There are trees which are as old as dinosaurs. Studying about such trees can reveal a lot of secrets about Earth. It is amazing to know that some of the weirdest trees can produce blood, rainbow-colored barks, and flowers that resemble hands. Which are the weirdest trees in the world?
Check out the list of ten weirdest trees on Earth that have some amazing features:
10. Bloodwood Tree (Corymbia Opaca)
Bloodwood trees are the most amazing trees in the wild. It is known for bleeding a red-colored gum which looks exactly like blood. The other name of the bloodwood tree is desert bloodwood. These trees are native to the desert climates of Australia. The desert bloodwood occasionally shed a piece of bark forming a wound. Through the wound, a thick red kino oozes out. The gum crystallizes covering the entire bark. The gum is collected as a bush medicine which is known to have antiseptic properties.
By far, this must be one of the weirdest trees secreting weird blood-colored fluid.
9. Giant Sequoia (Sequoiadendron Giganteum)
Giant sequoias are giant redwood trees which are the only living species in the genus Sequoiadendron. These types of coniferous trees are native to only western slopes of the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California. They are simply called Big Tree. These trees are the world’s largest single trees and largest living thing by volume. On an average, these trees can grow up to a height of 50–85 m (164–279 ft) and has a diameter of 6–8 m (20–26 ft). They are among the oldest living things on Earth. The giant sequoias are resistant to fire. These trees are evident that giant dinosaurs once inhabited our Earth. In the prehistoric times, these species were widely distributed in North American and Eurasian coniferous forests. In the last ice age, they were widely reduced. Today, they are confined to small areas of California.
8. The Bottle Tree (Adansonia Gregorii)
Boab is the common name of the bottle tree. It got its name for its weird bottle like shape. Bottle trees are from the family Malvaceae. These weird trees are endemic to Australia, more accurately Kimberley region of Western Australia and east into the Northern Territory. The tree is known to store water through the dry seasons. This feature of the tree has been exploited by the indigenous Australians. They used to obtain water from the hollows of the trees. They are medicinal in nature. Most parts of the trees are edible. The bottle trees are also called an upside down tree.
Another variation of the tree is found in Namibia and Angola which are extremely drought tolerant and toxic. They also have slender thorns up to 30 cm long. It is one of the deadliest trees in the world.
7. Jabuticaba (Plinia Cauliflora)
Jabuticaba is a strange tree which grows berry-like fruits on their branches and stems. They are Minas Gerais and São Paulo states in Brazil. Other species of the family Myrtaceae are native to Brazil, Peru, Paraguay, Argentina, and Bolivia. The tree is studded with purplish-black, white-pulped fruits. These raw fruits are edible or can be made into jellies, wines or juices. When the fruits cover the entire tree, it looks like as if some small animals are engulfing it. These fruits are known to possess medicinal properties.
6. Jellyfish Tree (Medusagyne Oppositifolia)
Jellyfish tree is one of the most unusual and odd trees in the world. It is an unusual tree endemic to the island of Mahé, of Seychelles. It is the only member of the Medusagyne genus. These trees are extremely endangered. It gets its name from the distinctive jellyfish-like shape of its dehisced fruit. Jellyfish tree was first thought to be extinct until some were found in the 1970s.
5. Boojum Tree (Fouquieria Columnaris)
The boojum tree is unusual for its appearance and peculiar distribution. It is endemic to Baja California Peninsula and with a small population in Sonora, Mexico. At one point it looks like a slender upside-down carrot and at another angle, it looks like a fork. If you look closer, it looks like a large cactus. The flower of the tree is creamy yellow with a honey scent. The branches of the tree stick out at right angles. They can grow up to 20 meters in height.
4. Kapok Tree (Ceiba Pentandra)
The kapok tree is unique for its large simple thorns crowded all over their branches. The strange species are native to Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean, northern South America. Some of their species are to tropical to West Africa. The tree is well-known for its cotton-like fluff obtained from the seed pods. According to Maya mythology, these trees are a symbol of sacredness. They are among the largest trees in the world. In Miami, Florida lives the oldest tree in the world (200 years old).
3. Wollemi Pine Tree (Wollemia)
The Wollemi pine tree is often referred to as ‘dinosaur tree’. The coniferous tree is a living fossil. What is so unique about it? The fossil records of the tree date back to over 200 million years ago when dinosaurs were roaming the Earth. Wollemia was only known to the world after the discovery of their fossil in 1994. They are slow-growing and extremely long-lived. Some of the living trees are as old as 500 to 1,000 years. They are also extremely weather tolerant. It can tolerate temperatures ranging from −12 and 45 °C. The endangered species is extremely amazing and truly unbelievable.
2. Devil’s Hand Tree (Chiranthodendron Pentadactylon)
Devil’s hand tree is a flowering tree which is known for their strikingly red five-fingered flowers. This must be one of the weirdest trees on the planet. Other names of the tree include monkeys or Mexican hand tree. The odd flowering tree is native to Guatemala and southern Mexico. The red flowers from the tree have medicinal properties which can cure some heart ailments. The tree had religious significance to pre-Columbian Aztec people. Since the 1940s, these trees have been an iconic symbol of the Botanical Society of Mexico. They are a popular ornamental tree among cultivators.
1. Rainbow Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus Deglupta)
The rainbow Eucalyptus is unique for their multi-colored bark. The tall tree is also called as Mindanao gum or rainbow gum. This Eucalyptus species are found in New Britain, New Guinea, Seram Islands, Sulawesi, and Mindanao. It is the only Eucalyptus species to span across the northern hemisphere. The outer layer of the bark peels off every year revealing a bright green inner bark. The green bark then darkens to blue, purple, orange and maroon shades. The previous season’s bark then peels off to form vertical streaks of red, orange, green, blue, and gray. The unique feature of the tree makes it one of the widely cultivated ornamental trees. The rainbow barks are a distinctive landscape design element in some regions.