Tiemann • What are the Most Remarkable Trees? 



181 



than two feet in height, but may be- 

 come six feet in diameter. 



(5) Madagascar 



The Atlas cedars and the cedars of 

 Lebanon cannot be passed by without 

 notice, as they are of world fame and 

 of Biblical account. There is a full il- 

 lustrated account in American Forests, 

 Januar}', 1941 by W. C. Lowdermilk, 

 "Cedars of Lebanon," which will obvi- 

 ate taking space to illustrate them here. 



(6) India 



We must pass on, skipping over 

 many trees of Asia, and mention only 

 three trees of India and Burma, all of 

 the fig genus. The India rubber tree 

 {Ficus elastica), familiar as the orna- 

 mental household "rubber tree," from 

 the juice of which caoutchouc or India 

 rubber is obtained, and the banyan. 

 The banyan {Ficus benghalensis) 

 forms a forest of its own by sending 

 downward long roots from the 

 branches, which form new trunks. (A 

 somewhat similar system is followed 

 by our southern mangrove {Rhizo- 

 phora) along the Gulf Coast.) They 

 are, indeed, ingenious in their method 

 of propagation. It starts growth as an 

 epiphyte on some other tree and even- 

 tually grows into a whole forest, from 

 its multiple trunks. 



(7) Australia 



The eucalyptus trees, as is well 

 known, dominate the Australian 

 "bush." In past generations the "moun- 

 tain ash" [Eucalyptus regnans) was 

 the tallest species in the world. Au- 

 thentic records give 375 feet, but today 

 all of the tall trees have been destroyed, 

 the tallest living specimens being but 

 little over 300 feet. The eucalypts are 

 endemic to Australia, and there are 

 some 385 different specie^! 



But, of all nature's vegetation, noth- 

 ing can exceed in beauty the fern-trees. 

 They grow sometimes to a height of 



over 40 feet in the forests of eastern 

 Australia in among tlic tall eucalypts, 

 and cvidentallv live to the same age — 

 several hundred years. They are true 

 ferns, and of two genera, Alsophila and 

 Dicksonia. I have measured fronds 13 

 feet in length, giving a spread of crown 

 of 26 feet! I have never seen anything 

 in vegetation as impressive as these 

 fern-trees. 



(8) New Zealand 



At first thought one might expect 

 to find in New Zealand a similar type 

 of vegetation to that of Australia, but 

 it is almost whollv different. Trees of 

 New Zealand are almost exclusively 

 softwoods, whereas in Australia they 

 are predominately hardwoods. 



I have already described the giant 

 kauri trees. Before leaving the subject 

 I must mention two other trees. We are 

 accustomed here to think of gv'mno- 

 sperms or softwoods as "needle-leaved" 

 evergreens, except for our bald cypress. 

 The kauri tree, on the other hand, has 

 broad flat leaves. Moreover the tane- 

 kaha (Phyllocladus) not only has flat 

 leaves but they are pinnately com- 

 pound. There is also a strangler tree 

 which starts growth as an epiphyte 

 ("air plant") in the branches of some 

 tall tree. It then sends runners down 

 the bark into the ground. These even- 

 tually coalesce, completely enclosing 

 the trunk of the host tree, and finally 

 strangle it, forming a cylindrical trunk 

 of its own! The usurping tree grows to 

 immense size and is used somewhat 

 for sawed timber. This unethical per- 

 formance is accomplished by the rata 

 (Metrosideros robusta) and the stran- 

 gled tree is the rimu [Dacrydium 

 cupressinum) . 



(9) South Sea Islands 



We must hurr}- on and skip over 

 some trees of China and Japan and the 

 wonderful bamboos— grasses which 

 grow to the height of trees more than 



