Unusual trees around the world
Mangroves are unusual and a bit counterintuitive: they spread seaward while also helping defend the land behind them. These trees serve as vital defenses against coastal damage. Mangroves, photo : Ariefrahman, (CC BY-SA 4.0) Their seeds grow into seedlings and when these seedlings fall, they either become fixed in the mud or float away to another site. A banyan can look like a whole forest even though it is one tree. Roots drop from its branches, take hold in the ground, and grow into new supports like trunks. Banyan, photo : Kiran Gopi, (CC BY-SA 4.0) I was surprised to learn that one such tree, with a circumference of 2,000 feet has been estimated as being capable of sheltering 20,000 people. That is a massive amount of shade. India has several giant banyans. Thimmamma Marrimanu in Andhra Pradesh currently holds the Guinness canopy record at about 5.41 acres (an area equivalent to three soccer fields); The Great Banyan in Kolkata is another famous specimen at a...