The Most Extreme Trees

Some trees are taller than skyscrapers. Some are heavier than jumbo jets. Others have roots hundreds of feet deep, survive atomic blasts, spread across entire forests, or produce toxic sap capable of killing people. This video explores 13 of the most extreme trees on Earth, including Hyperion, the tallest tree ever measured; General Sherman, the largest single-stem tree by volume; El Árbol del Tule, the widest tree; the Great Banyan, which looks like an entire forest; and Pando, a single living organism made up of tens of thousands of trunks. You’ll also meet the Tree of Ténéré, Methuselah, Hiroshima’s surviving ginkgo trees, the dragon’s blood tree, the strangler fig, the explosive sandbox tree, and the manchineel—the tree often called the most dangerous in the world. From ancient forests and deserts to tropical islands and nuclear destruction, these trees show the extraordinary ways plants survive, grow, spread, and fight back. Which tree impressed you the most? Chapters: 00:00 Tallest: Hyperion 01:13 Largest: General Sherman 02:25 Widest: El Árbol del Tule 03:36 Biggest Canopy: The Great Banyan 04:52 Deepest: The Echo Caves Fig 05:51 Loneliest: The Tree of Ténéré 07:04 Oldest: Methuselah 08:30 Heaviest: Pando 09:55 Toughest: Hiroshima’s A-Bombed Ginkgo 11:11 Strangest: The Dragon’s Blood Tree 12:23 Most Ruthless: The Strangler Fig 13:38 Most Explosive: The Sandbox Tree 14:54 Most Dangerous: The Manchineel