4 Famous Trees With Incredible Stories
With how abundant, ancient, and strong trees are, they can be considered the silent historians of our world. They hold memories in their rings and witness history unfold around them. Some specific trees, however, have seen more than others, and their stories can inspire us to look at our own oaks and maples with fresh eyes. Here are some trees with simply incredible stories in their past.
The Survivor Tree Found
In October 2001, recovery workers at Ground Zero in New York City discovered something unexpected in the rubble. It was a Callery pear tree. The tree was crushed, burned, and had only one living branch left. Its roots were snapped and its bark was blackened by the fires. Most people would have given up on it, but the workers decided to save it. They carefully removed the damaged tree and sent it to a nursery in the Bronx for rehabilitation.
A Symbol of Rebirth
The care team didn't know if the pear tree would make it, but slowly, green shoots appeared. Over the next nine years, it grew strong and tall. In 2010, the tree was returned to the National September 11 Memorial. You can still see the scars on its lower trunk today, and the new branches grow smooth and unblemished from the gnarled wood below. It stands as a living testament to resilience and the ability to heal after great trauma.
The Secret Ancient
High in the White Mountains of California lives a Great Basin bristlecone pine named Methuselah. This tree is over 4,800 years old, so i was already growing when the ancient Egyptians built the pyramids. Methuselah lives in a harsh environment with wind and poor soil, which actually helps it live longer by growing much more slowly. The United States Forest Service keeps its exact location a secret, which protects the tree from vandalism and allows it to continue its long life in peace.
Seeds From Space
In 1971, astronaut Stuart Roosa launched into space on the Apollo 14 mission. Roosa was a former smokejumper for the Forest Service, so he had a deep love for nature. He carried a small metal canister in his personal kit with hundred seeds from loblolly pines, sycamores, sweetgums, redwoods, and Douglas firs inside. While Alan Shepard walked on the moon, Roosa and his seeds orbited overhead. They circled the moon thirty-four times before returning to Earth.
Living Monuments
Disaster nearly struck when the canister burst open during decontamination procedures. The seeds were mixed together and exposed to a vacuum, and scientists worried they would never sprout. To everyone's surprise, nearly all of them germinated. The resulting seedlings were known as "Moon Trees." They were planted across the United States as part of the bicentennial celebrations in 1976. You might have walked past a tree grown from a seed that traveled to the moon without even knowing it!
The Apple That Sparked Physics
We all know the story of Isaac Newton discovering gravity after watching an apple fall, but you might be surprised to learn that the very tree is still alive. It grows at Woolsthorpe Manor in England. The tree was blown down in a storm in 1820, but it rooted itself again and miraculously survived. It's a variety called the Flower of Kent. You can even buy grafted cuttings of this famous tree to plant in your own backyard!
These stories remind us that plants are incredibly tough and full of surprises. They survive disasters, travel to space, and outlive civilizations. The sapling you plant this weekend might not visit the moon, but it will have a story of its own. It will watch your family grow and change with the seasons, and that's the real magic of gardening.