PLANT OF THE WEEK
A tree grows in Santa Maria
January 17, 2009
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Sonia Day
SPECIAL TO THE STAR
The ahuehuete tree; Taxodium mucronatum
Move over, California redwoods. You've got competition. Here's a remarkable Mexican contender for the title of "world's largest tree."
Toweringly tall like the redwoods, this spectacular ahuehuete (pronounced ah-way-way-tay) also spreads so wide, it can't be captured properly in a photo. Its leaf canopy shades an entire park and at least 20 people, hands linked, are required to encircle the extraordinary collection of trunks.
Not that human contact is allowed any more. Located in the town of Santa Maria del Tule, outside Oaxaca, the tree has become such a tourist attraction, a fence was installed recently to keep out the busloads of reverent gawkers.
Horticulturally, it's a Montezuma bald cypress and at least 2,000 years old, experts say. But "bald" is hardly an accurate description. There's so much feathery green foliage cascading over the trunks, the tree dwarfs the town, making the mission church next door look like a toy.
No one knows why this particular specimen (there are many ahuehuetes in Mexico) has survived so long in a very dry area. Local indigenous people claim mystical powers. Botanists credit an underground spring. Whatever the reason, concerned Americans recently donated an underground watering system to keep the most extraordinary manifestation of mother nature in the New World alive and well.
If you happen to be visiting Oaxaca (as I did this past Christmas), stop by the "Tule tree." It's truly amazing.
soniaday.com
Toronto Star