12 of Earth's Most Beautiful Trees and the Facts You Never Knew About Them

If you're having flashbacks to 'Fern Gully' or the room that's made entirely out of candy in Willy Wonka you're not alone, but this tree isn't made of chocolate and sugar plums. What it IS is one of the most beautiful trees in the world according to many, and we can see why. The Japanese maple owes its vibrant colors and enormous leaves to decades of selective breeding by bonsai enthusiasts.

After rigorously scouring the internet I was unable to confirm my suspicions that this tree is either an Ent straight out of 'Lord of the Rings' or a real life genus of the Womping Willow. While it might lack fantastical roots, (pun totally intended) it has taken this Angel Oak over 1400 years to sprawl out across the 17,000 square feet it now covers. That's pretty incredible by itself. 

This tree looks like that guy you'd always see in 'Ripley's Believe It Or Not' or 'The Guinness Book of World Records' who grew out his fingernails until they were 98235745982 feet long. It might be as famous too, thanks to its guest appearance in the movie 'Tomb Raider.' The seeds of the Banyan tree are pros at wedging themselves into the crevices of buildings. This particular tree happened to finagle its way into the ruins at Angkor Ta Prohm, which served as a setting for part of the film. 

You'll never catch a Circus Tree turning heads off to the side of your local bike path, but that's only because their strange shapes are the work of Axel Erlandson, a curmudgeonly bean farmer who spent his life forcing trees into weird shapes. Alas, 'ol Axel took his secrets with him to the grave, and no one's been able to recreate it since.

These trees are having one hell of a bad hair day, but it's only because the wind that screams across the plains of Slope Point, New Zealand is so fierce that, aside from the odd sheep and these bent-out-of-shape trees, nothing else lives there. Beneath some of these gnarled groves you can find the half-collapsed sheds of former residents who couldn't quite huff it. 

Given this tree's biblical origins (Supposedly its bright colors came from being touched by the blood of Christ.) it's amazing that the Christmas-industrial-complex hasn't started marketing Flamboyant Trees as some kind of "Mega Poinsettia." Imagine storefronts and churches being filled with THESE come the holidays. I'm lookin' at you Macy's. 

The tree-home of choice for LGBTQ Keebler elves, the colors of the Rainbow Eucalyptus might look painted on, but they're all natural. The tree is actually constantly shedding its outer bark to reveal the bright green inner bark which then changes colors as it ages, going from blue and purple to orange and crimson. 

Scholars maintain that Warren G. Harding naming this tree after himself remains the greatest display of penile insecurity in presidential history, right up there with Teddy Roosevelts' 'walk softly and carry a big stick' mantra. Legend has it that after the Washington rumor mill began spinning tales about his *ahem* trunk, Warren G. 'Hard-on' thought he would set the record straight by claiming the third largest tree in the world as his namesake. 

Ok, not really, but it's a big tree. 

Any witches looking for a ready source of dragon's blood will be disappointed to learn that there isn't any actual dragon blood flowing through these umbrella trees. Rather, they're named for the dark red sap they produce. 

No word yet on whether or not Prince has claimed the Jacarandas as his personal tree, but, given their bright purple hue, and their tendency to lay dormant for long periods of time, it seems like a perfect match. 

The vibrant, neon leaves and high branches of this Japanese Wisteria make it perfect for your next rave or EDM music fest. The garden where this particular tree resides actually hosts more than 22 different breeds of wisteria, all arranged around canopies that form radiant tunnels for parkgoers. Coupled with the fact that the tree's seed pods have a penchant for spontaneously exploding, I really can't imagine a better club to pop a molly in. 

Given this gorgeous photo, you'd think this picturesque glade would lead you to Hogwarts or The Fountain of Youth or something. The reality is that for the last 300 years Ireland's famous 'Dark Hedges' have been adding a spot of mystical beauty to the otherwise-rolling Irish countryside. The trees were intentionally planted close together so that their branches would entwine to form the intricate web of branches you seen today.