In Calabria — the very south of Italy — there this[0] 1000-years-old plane tree.

[0]https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platano_di_Vrisi

This is (was?) the advantage of a printed encyclopedia - one that I've never really been able to replicate scrolling wikipedia. I think it has more to do with the limitations and lack of linking than lack of information (each of these trees has a wikipedia article).

A wikipedia dive session is likely to get more and more specific into trees (attacked by twees!); an encyclopedia flip session is more likely to go across a wide variety of subjects.

A while back I read this book "The Secret Life of Trees: How They Live and Why They Matter" from Colin Tudge and I was blown away by the fact that Mangrove roots effectively breath with the rhythm of tide. As the water recedes, change in pressure and the air is drawn into the pores. As the water comes in, pressure pushes stale air out and seals the pores. Trees are beautiful.

I like to imagine aliens visiting earth and walking straight past us and communing with Pando.

> Recent 2024 analysis confirmed it is at least 16,000 years old, with possibilities ranging up to 80,000 years, making it one of the oldest living organisms.

that monolith tree gives me engineering anxiety, you mean all 20,000 shade users are depending on that singleton tree?

And now... No. 1: The Larch

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I expected and wanted tree data structures.

The trees are not unusual at all for the people living in tropical climates. Fun trees Yes but unusual no. Most people of the world live in tropical climates so for most these are not unusual