Trees are not as simple as they may seem at first glance. Here are some amazing tree facts shared by TechInsider:
- A tree is made up of 98% dead cells.
- The islands of Venice rest on two million piles of Alpine larch, which is rot resistant. And due to the minerals contained in the water, the wood eventually petrifies (basically, turns to stone).
- The aspen forest in Utah covers 43 hectares and has been growing for at least 80,000 years.
- Residents of Tana Toraja, a remote regency of Indonesia’s South Sulawesi Province, are famous for their special attitude to trees. The Torajans bury children, who die before they have started teething, inside tree trunks.
- Trees almost always grow so that the total thickness of their branches at a particular height is equal to the thickness of their trunks.
- Rainbow eucalyptus is the only eucalyptus tree indigenous to the northern hemisphere. Its bark comes in different shapes and colors, forming interesting patterns.
- There are very few really old, free-standing trees on Earth, and their location is kept a secret to protect them from tourists.
- The manchineel tree is native to Central America. Its sap can cause a chemical burn.
- American researchers have come up with a substance that does not produce oxygen, but absorbs carbon dioxide much better than natural counterparts.
- The sandbox tree’s fruits are edible, but its sap and seeds are poisonous. The fruit explodes when ripe, launching seeds as far as 45 meters.