The largest and oldest trees in Poland and in the world
Long-lived giants
Most likely each of us feels good among the trees. Whether in a forest, in a park or under a single tree. First of all, these beautiful and long-lived organisms give us the oxygen we breathe. Trees are also one of the largest and longest-lived organisms on earth.
Common yew – the oldest Polish tree
To find out about it, one only needs to go to a city park to see several hundred year old oaks or beeches. In commercial forests it is more difficult to find old trees, but in our national parks, for example in the Białowieża National Park, to this day the trees die of old age at the age of several hundred years. However, to see the oldest tree in Poland, you have to go to Henryków Lubański in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship, where the common yew grows. Its age is estimated at 1250 years! The tree is protected as a natural monument, so it remembers the times before the period of our country’s statehood.
Highest, but not native
The tallest trees in Poland are Douglas firs, which grow in the Silesian Beskids, they are 57 meters high. Douglas firs are not our native species, they were imported from North America as an admixture in tree stands. The native species in terms of height are dominated by European spruce trees from the Białowieża Forest and Beskid Żywiecki. They grow up to 52 meters. Of the deciduous trees, the tallest in Poland is the European ash from the Białowieża Forest, 45 meters high.
World record holders
But our giants and old ladies are toddlers and youths compared to the exceptional trees growing in the USA. The oldest tree there is a pine called the Tree of Methuselah. It grows in the White Mountains of California and is about 5,000 years old! The tallest trees are giant redwoods and coast redwoods. The three highest of them are 75, 84 and 115 meters high. In turn, the thickness (volume) of wood in a single tree may be several hundred or even over a thousand cubic meters, i.e., as much as wood grows on 1 hectare of pine forest in Poland.
