The Most Majestic Tree Iv'e Seen

[H2oDunc]

I pass this tree every time I go out. Passing it on the bike doesn't put it into perspective but yesterday I took the dogs for a walk down the mountain. Standing next to it made me feel very small. it is like something out of Tolkien's middle earth. I don't know what type of tree it is but it must be very old by the size of it. I have ridden all over Thailand and never seen anything like it before.

This lone tree nestled amongst the coconut trees. Very majestic.

[MattCinderey]

Hey Dunc. Where is it? Would love to get some pictures of it myself with my 15mm.

Matt.

[brzy]

I have seen a few like that and maybe bigger @ ban turian /namuang area and a few at the back of Lamai.

[Nio]

Many of the spirit trees are much bigger although this is a nice tree.

But definitely not a tree of Avatar World Life Tree Fame

[gotlost]

Defiantly a beautiful tree but nothing compared to the worlds largest The Cost Redwood.

[angiud]

For sure bigger but not as beautiful as the op one.

H2o, where is it? Samui, because in Phangan we have several, and that one close to Wat Po in Bantai for sure bigger.

Good to get a picture with my new 10-20 mm

[xen]

Just think, a hundred years or so ago , most of South East Asia, including most of Thailand would have had trees just like this . It is a shame that there are just a few solitary samples left.

[H2oDunc]

The tree is just out of Nathon. At the junction for the hospital and immigration go ahead. At the next traffic lights for Nikki beach and the Raja ferry. Take the left turn for the Ladwanorm waterfall and it is just on the right a little way down the road. Anybody know what type of tree it is ? The contrast between the coconut trees and it is stunning.

[angiud]

Dipterocarpus??

[sbk]

Yes, probably a dipterocarp. The islands were covered in dipterocarp forests and these giants you see dotted around are the last remaining survivors of that period.

[BigC]

yes a nice big tree will make exellent building scafolding or can make some nice artist work from it. or i will be great on guy forks night.,

sorry only kdding. it is a nice tree should be left there in peice. i would like to climb it though if i had the right tools

[MSingh]

Dunc, i've got to say that if you do like Tree's etc that a visit to the US's Pacific Northwest should be a must for you..

Those Redwood's out ther ein Northern Caifornia & Oregon are juts beyond belief, truly magnificent..

Then you've got WA State & the Volcanoes too, a cracking holiday that i'm sure youd enjoy..

[BigC]

paper comes from trees. money is made out of paper. does that mean money grows on trees?

[starcandle]

hey Dunc where is this tree?

I'll cut it down and build a fence in my back garden, will save me a fortune on buying the wood.

[H2oDunc]

Dunc, i've got to say that if you do like Tree's etc that a visit to the US's Pacific Northwest should be a must for you..

Those Redwood's out ther ein Northern Caifornia & Oregon are juts beyond belief, truly magnificent..

Then you've got WA State & the Volcanoes too, a cracking holiday that i'm sure youd enjoy..

I have only ever seen these magnificent trees on the TV. I would love to actually stand next to one in real life. My love of trees stems from my childhood. Since my earliest memories I was always climbing, and according to my mother falling out of, trees. Within walking distance of my childhood home there wasn't a tree I had not climbed.

I look on the giant redwoods as the blue whales of the tree world. One day I hope to go and see for myself the sheer majesty of the redwood.

[samuijimmy]

There are a few specimens of this tree between Soi 3 & 4 in Maenam, (up about 2 km) although not as spectacular as those pictured... by H2O Dunc, or the ones in Ban Tai on K.P, which are hard to photograph with all the electric lines near them...

I just checked my trusty Thai Landscape book to see if it is listed, to no avail. It could be a Dipterocarp, but as with all plants there are so many varieties... & the one listed in the book is more suited to Landscape use.

For those interested in trees, there is a fantastic Flame Tree, if you walk about 100 metres along the beach from the west end of the Muslim Village...(on Samui) It was in full glory about a month ago... seems to me they bloom about twice a year...

As a "heads up" I am planning on starting a "Gardening on the Islands" Discussion, within this forum, in the near future... I hope it will create some interest in talking.... flowers, tree & gardening in general for out southern Islands climate......

Stay tuned!

Edited April 6, 2010 by samuijimmy

[sbk]

Flame trees in full bloom are magnificent, samuijimmy. Many is the time I have taken pods and tried to start the seeds with no luck. :-(

[samuijimmy]

Flame tree... Delonix regia... I asked my 12 year old Thai neighbour kid who knows most things when it comes to plant propagation, but does not know the answer to this one! Usually he's spot on... I can show him a picture of some plant & he'll know where to find one & knows how to "make babies" as he puts it ...

Looking it up on Wikipedia, it says in some parts of the world (OZ being one) that it is becoming invasive... obviously has the right conditions... We don't seem to have a lot of them on Samui, these plants obviously brought in ... so perhaps just not the right climate here for them to sprout....? in Samui or KP.. .

In my run about KP today I did not see any... at least along the west coast or middle road up to Mae Haad. But then I have not seen the one blooming on my Soi yet this year either, so they don't seem to be consistent when or where they bloom...

[sbk]

There is a really nice one in Ban Tai, near the gigantic coconut pile, just after Talat Mai (where I nick my seed pods). I think there is one up near the police station as well, but yes, really few and far between which is kind of odd since they are all over Surat Thani.