Today is Arbor Day, which means we are all about trees today. Whether you're planting a seed, donating to the Arbor Day Foundation to fund reforestation efforts or just sitting in the shade of a leafy canopy, today is the day to celebrate our arboreal friends. With that in mind, we thought we'd take this opportunity to crisscross the globe and bring you some of the most fascinating trees around the world.
World's Biggest Tree
Photo via Flickr/Upsilon Andromedae
General Sherman Tree at Sequoia National Park is the world's largest tree in terms of volume. It is a giant sequoia and located in the Giant Forest where several other large, named trees exist such as The Senate grove, The House Grove, General Grant Tree and more. The General Sherman Tree is supposedly named after American Civil War general William Tecumseh Sherman in 1879.
READ MORE: Three Fun Family Hikes in Sequoia National Park
World's Tallest Trees
Photo via Flickr/hobohikertrash
The distinction of world's tallest tree belongs to the coast redwood tree known as the Hyperion tree. The tree stands at 379 feet and is located in Redwood National and State Parks. Scientists believe that the tree could even have been taller than its 379 feet and reached more than 380 feet if woodpeckers hadn't damaged its top.
If you are looking to visit the redwood trees, a little known fact is that these California natives are fairly well traveled having set up shop in a small grove in Rotorua, New Zealand. Rotura is one of the only other places in the world you can find these tall trees.
Most Sacred Tree
Photo via Flickr/Kesara Rathnayake
You can find the Sri Maha Bodhi Tree in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka. It is one of the oldest living planted trees in the world, dating back to 288 B.C., and coming in at more than 2,200 years old. It is also said to have grown from a cutting of the original tree under which Buddha became enlightened.
Coolest Looking Tree
Photo via Flickr/quinn norton
The Baobab tree, or the monkey bread tree, is one of the coolest looking trees in the world. They are native to Madagascar and found on the continents of Africa and Australia. One of the "grandest" clusters of these trees can be found along Baobab Avenue in Morondava, Madagascar. Madagascar is also known for having some of the coolest shaped trees. In Ifaty, there are 1,000-year-old trees that look like bottles and other interesting shapes.
World's Oldest Tree
Photo via Flickr/Laura Camp
The Great Basin bristlecone pine tree is considered to be the world's oldest. Located in the White Mountains of California, which face the imposing Sierra Nevada Mountain Range, these ancient specimens look gnarled and stunted. It's hard to believe they have been in existence for more than 5,000 years. One tree is the oldest known living non-clonal organism on earth - it's around 5,065 years old.
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