Unusual Trees of the World

What is the oldest tree in the world? The tallest? The most fantastical? Take a visual tour of some of Earth’s most unique trees.

From mighty redwoods to bulbous baobabs, trees come in a massive variety of shapes and sizes. In total, there are about 73,300 species of trees on Earth — and each plays an important role in helping humanity thrive. Trees create food and oxygen, enrich the soil, cool the ground and provide habitat for wildlife. As if that wasn’t enough, they also help to solve the world’s climate crisis by storing and absorbing climate-warming carbon.

Browse a gallery of some of nature’s most weird and wonderous trees, as selected by Conservation International scientists and field researchers, and brush up on some key facts that every dedicated tree-hugger should know.

The umbrella tree

Dragon’s blood tree (Dracaena cinnabari)

Native range: Yemen
Conservation status: Vulnerable
Named for the crimson sap that it produces, the dragon’s blood tree may look funny, but its shape is no joke: While most trees draw water from the soil through their roots, the dragon’s blood tree’s umbrella-shaped crown allows it to do the reverse — absorbing moisture from the air and channeling it toward its root system.

The towering succulent

Grandidier’s baobab (Adansonia grandidieri)

Native range: Madagascar
Conservation status: Endangered
The largest of Madagascar’s baobab species, the Grandidier’s baobab is noted for its enormous, cylindrical trunk, which allows it to store water during dry periods. In times of heavy rainfall, its trunk can span up to 3 meters across.

The water hunter

Joshua tree (Yucca brevifolia)

Native range: United States, Mexico
Conservation status: Least Concern
A resident of the Mojave Desert, where rainfall is rare, the shaggy Joshua tree sends its roots up to 11 meters beneath the sandy soil in search of moisture. Unlike most trees, the Joshua lacks growth rings.

The ancient one

Great Basin bristlecone pine (Pinus longaeva)

Native range: United States
Conservation status: Least Concern
In eastern California, a Great Basin bristlecone pine known as Methuselah has long been considered Earth’s oldest living thing. According to tree-ring data, it is 4,853 years old — meaning that Methuselah was well established by time ancient Egyptians built the pyramids at Giza.

The soaring sequoia

Coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens)

Native range: United States
Conservation status: Endangered
Looming over the misty coastline of northern California is the coast redwood — the world’s tallest tree. This species can reach up to 115 meters in height and around 8 meters in diameter — wide enough to drive your car through.

The painter’s palette

Rainbow eucalyptus (Eucalyptus deglupta)

Native range: Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Philippines
Conservation status: Vulnerable
Every summer, this rainforest dweller sheds its outer skin to reveal a canvas of greens, yellows, reds, oranges and even shades of pink in its underlying bark.

The uplifting tree

Banyan (Ficus benghalensis)

Native range: India
Conservation status: n/a
To support its sprawling canopy, the banyan tree sprouts special above-ground roots that help prop up its heavy branches. One famous specimen, known as The Great Banyan, sports a canopy larger than three football fields.

The ant herder

Ant tree (Triplaris americana)

Native range: Central and South America
Conservation status: Least Concern
This tree has a close relationship with a species of ant that lives within its hollow stems. These venomous and territorial ants attack unwanted pests and clear out vegetation competing for sunlight near the tree’s base.

The cancer fighter

Pacific yew (Taxus brevifolia)

Native range: Canada, United States
Conservation status: Near Threatened
Though its foliage is poisonous and its fruit sometimes deadly, the Pacific yew can be a life-saver. In the 1970s, researchers isolated the compound paclitaxel — an important cancer medication — from the tree’s bark.

The pain reliever

White willow (Salix alba)

Native range: Europe, Asia
Conservation status: Least Concern
Ancient peoples knew that white willow bark was effective in relieving pain, but it wasn’t until the 19th century that researchers isolated the key compound, salicylic acid, which today is used to make aspirin.

The loneliest tree

Bastard quiver tree (Aloidendron pillansii)

Native range: South Africa, Namibia
Conservation status: Critically Endangered
One of the world’s rarest trees, the bastard quiver tree is found only within a 200-square-kilometer area on the border between South Africa and Namibia. It is severely threatened by habitat loss, illegal trade, livestock grazing and climate change, and fewer than 5,000 specimens are thought to remain today.

The forest of one

Pando (Populus tremuloides)

Native range: United States
Conservation status: n/a
Pando is the name of a quaking aspen colony in Utah, which originated from a single seed sometime near the end of the last ice age. The colony, which expands by cloning itself, is made up of 40,000 aspen trees connected by a continuous root system. Today, the tree system covers 108 acres and weighs more than 6,600 tons, making it the largest organism on Earth by mass.

The northernmost tree

Dahurian larch (Larix gmelinii)

Native range: Asia, Europe
Conservation status: Least Concern
A native of harsh Siberian taiga regions, the Dahurian larch is the northernmost tree in the world — even growing within the Arctic Circle, where it withstands temperatures as low as -70 degrees Fahrenheit.

The swamp lover

Bald cypress (Taxodium distichum)

Native range: United States
Conservation status: Least Concern
The bald cypress is well-adapted to swampy areas. The knobby, stump-like protrusions that surround the tree are actually a type of aerial root thought to help it breathe and keep it anchored in soft soil.

The tastiest tree

Sweet birch (Betula lenta)

Native range: North America
Conservation status: Least Concern
A fixture of the hilly Appalachian woodlands, the sweet birch offers several edible options for the hungry hiker. Its bark can be eaten raw, its twigs can be used to make tea and birch beer can be brewed from its sap.

The medicine tree

Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba)

Native range: China
Conservation status: Endangered
The tenacious ginkgo has been around since the dinosaurs — making its debut in the fossil record some 200 million years ago. The tree produces beautiful, fan-shaped leaves that have become a staple of traditional Chinese medicine.

The Galapagos guardian

Scalesia pedunculata

Native range: Galapagos Islands
Conservation status: Vulnerable
Scalesia pedunculata grows in such thick clusters on several of the Galapagos islands that the region has been named the “Scalesia Zone.” Under the canopy, the cloud forest teems with life, from giant beetles to finches and orchids.