Ancient Trees Portraits of Time

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1 heart-of-the-dragonThis dragon blood tree can live up to five hundred years (Beth Moon/Abbeville Press)

2 wakehurst-yews1Yews of Wakehurst taken in Ardingly, West Sussex, England in 1999: Its tentacle-like roots ride over the cliff’s edge to find soil to sink into and its drooping branches filter out daylight, according to Moon, giving the woods an eerie ambience.(Beth Moon/Abbeville Press)

3 rilkes-bayon1Rilke’s Bayon taken in Ta Prohm, Siem Reap Province, Cambodia in 2007: Of the species Tetrameles nudiflora, it can reach a height of 150 ft (46 m) and is found in the Indo-Malayan region, according to the US Department of Agriculture.(Beth Moon/Abbeville Press)

4 bowthorpe-oak2The Bowthrope Oak taken in Bourne, Lincolnshire, England in 2002: With a circumference of 40 feet (12 m), it’s one of the largest-girthed living oaks in Britain and one of the oldest living oak trees at about 1,200 years.(Beth Moon/Abbeville Press)

5 avenue-of-the-baobabs1Avenue of the Baobabs taken in Morondava, Madagascar in 2006: Only found in Madagascar, these trees rise to nearly 100 ft (30 m) and are about 800 years old. They’re also a great source of food, fiber, dye, rope, and fuel and appropriately known as renala, meaning “mother of the forest” in Malagasy.(Beth Moon/Abbeville Press)

6 the-sentinels-of-st-edwards1The Sentinels of St. Edwards taken in Stow-on-the-Wold, Gloucestershire, England in 2005: Two yews frame the door of a church, which is said to be the inspiration for J.R.R. Tolkein’s Doors of Moria in The Lord of the Rings.(Beth Moon/Abbeville Press)

7 baobabs-of-kubu-island-3The Baobabs of Kubu Island 3 taken in Makgadikgadi Pans, Botswana in 2013: Able to grow with very little water, they give the surrounding space an eerie and surreal feel, according to Moon who describes the baobabs as more like creatures than trees.(Beth Moon/Abbeville Press)

For more information about Beth Moon’s Ancient Trees: Portraits of Time click here

– Ken McCarthy
PlantWisdom.org