Trees and Plants are Love and Life

🏞️I showcase interesting plants and animaIs I find with nice photographs and infos to spread some knowledge about our magical natural surroundings 🏞

[naturesgreattrees-blog]

Like something out of a fairy tale this ancient oak tree’s hollowed out trunk is is home to two small chapels, reached by a spiral staircase surrounding the trunk. This about 1000 year old tree, the oldest known in France, has lived through Louis XIV, the French Revolution, Napoleon, Sarkozy, and amazingly, is still standing. In the 1600s, disaster struck. The then middle aged (roughly 470-year-old) oak tree, was struck by lightning, burning right through its center and hollowing out the trunk. However, not only did the tree survive this fate, but the newly hollowed tree came to the attention of the local Abbot Du Détroit and father Du Cerceau. Deciding they wanted to build a different kind of sanctuary they began building a shrine to the Virgin Mary directly into the hollow of the tree. Later another small chapel and a stair case climbing the outside of the tree was added. Things almost took a very bad turn for the tree during the French revolution. A crowd inspired by the revolution came to burn the tree as it was a symbol of the old way and the abhorred church. A quick thinking local quickly renamed the oak the “temple of reason” sparing it a fiery fate. Most pictures by isamiga76 #tree #treehouse #interesting #trees #forest #naturelovers #tree_magic #awesome #treefacts (hier: Allouville-Bellefosse) https://www.instagram.com/p/Brnhy2ln0UI/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1hh6p05j9zxok

[naturesgreattrees-blog]

Built sometime between 1550 and 1292 BCE as a capital city for the Nabataeans, a Semitic people, Petra is perhaps one of the most astonishing wonders of the ancient world. It lay undiscovered to the modern Western world until 1812. The most famous part of petra is without a doubt the treasury (Picture 1). Its enormous facade featured in every travel book and brochure about Petra. It's inside is just as awe-inspiring as the outside. nside, the large entrance is a vast, perfect cube of space inside the mountain. The ceiling is not arched but absolutely horizontal, 50 feet by 50 feet. From the Treasury, the journey continues. The path widens, taking visitors to a much more open area. Here are tombs and houses built into the sandstone mountains by the Nabataeans 2000 years ago. Even without all the beautiful ruins petra would still be a sight to see with its towering columns and walls of sandstone. The beautiful photographs are by flowcomm, Boris Debic, Frederik Questier and Tom Duggan #petra #beautiful #ruins #nature #travel #naturelovers #ancient #pretty #tree_magic #desert #jordan (hier: Petra, Jordania) https://www.instagram.com/p/BriXAlcnN60/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=v3zq2bgcsb7w

[naturesgreattrees-blog]

The Rafflesia arnoldii aka. corspse lily is a very rare and special plant. Its flower can have a diameter from up to 1 metre, which makes it the largest individual flower on earth. The flower smells like rotting meat and produces heat to lure insects to it for pollination. When the flower is pollinated it develops its fruit which is then eaten by small animals and excreted in their poop. When the seed comes in contact with a root it develops a thread-like tissue that penetrates the vines and absorbs nutrients. From there the parasitic plants bud emerges (Picture 3). The bud will develop for month until the large flower is revealed which then only lasts for a few days. This makes the plant rare and hard to locate. Its exceedingly unique looks have made it an inspiration for the pokemon vileplume. Tag your friend you want this to see! The great photographs are made by Ahoerstemeier (The bud), SofianRafflesia, Benny Weyara Diendasaputra #natureisawesome #plants #nature #flowers #naturelovers #trees #botanic #pretty #natural #nature_magic (hier: Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra) https://www.instagram.com/p/Brf0XzCn-3Q/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=r7qmayr8msxj

[naturesgreattrees-blog]

Angkor Wat is a temple complex in Cambodia and one of the largest religious temples in the world, on a site measuring 162.6 hectares (1,626,000 m2; 402 acres) The initial design and construction of the temple took place in the first half of the 12th century, during the reign of Suryavarman II. It was built as the king's state temple and capital city. After beeing destroyed and rebuilt a couple of times it started to gradually transform from a Hindu centre of worship to a Buddhism. Photo 3 by Jason Eppink #awesome #ankorwat #pretty #nature #buddhism #temple #beautiful #tree #tree_magic #naturelovers (hier: Angkor Wat, Siem Reap, Cambodia) https://www.instagram.com/p/BrdZ1Tan4Kg/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1dmcp2lmeonyy

[naturesgreattrees-blog]

Spread over 350 square kilometers in Yunnan province, these stone needles look like an ancient petrified forest. The rock formations stand tall and emerge vertically from the ground. The karst rocks are more than 270 million years old. One of Shillin’s most famous attractions is the Ashima Stone, which legend says was formed after the beautiful Sani girl, Ashima, ran into the forest and was turned to stone after being forbidden to marry the man she loved. (Picture 2) #awesome #nature #stones #forest #nature_perfection #naturelovers #nature_brilliance #naturephotographs (hier: Shilin Yi Autonomous County) https://www.instagram.com/p/BrS0LWInCzK/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=zexkktidnfn9

[naturesgreattrees-blog]

Here comes another great tree! The Tree of Tule is among the trees with the thickest base. In 2005 its trunk had a circumference of 42.0 m (137.8 ft), equating to a diameter of 14.05 m (46.1 ft). The Tree is 42 m (137.8 ft) high and weights 636,107 tons. It is so large that it was thought to be multiple trees. But DNA tests were made and found out that it is only one tree. Another hypothesis is, that its made up of multiple trunks from a single root system. It's age is estimated to be between 1,200 and 3,000 years old. It's a Montezuma cypress located in the town center of Santa María del Tule in the Mexican state of Oaxaca. The photographs are by Fernando Rodríguez, Graeme Churchard, Gengiskanhg, Liliana Saeb, Maw Cerón and Miguel García #trees #treefacts #nature #tree_magic #tree #naturelovers #tree_pictures #tree_shotz #tree_brilliance (hier: Santa María del Tule, Oaxaca) https://www.instagram.com/p/BrQLP8TnfFS/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=rbnt3ytvm6ve

[naturesgreattrees-blog]

Tardigrades, often called water bears are tiny and almost indestructable animals. They can range from 0.05 millimeters to 1.2 mm long (0.002 to 0.05 inches). Tardigrades can survive in the most extreme environments. They can withstand environments as cold as -200°C (-328°F) or highs of more than 150°C (300°F). Furthermore They can also survive radiation, boiling liquids, massive amounts of pressure of up to six times the pressure of the deepest part of the ocean and even the vacuum of space without any protection. Water bears can live just about anywhere. They prefer to live in sediment at the bottom of a lake, on moist pieces of moss or other wet environments. They can survive a wide range of temperatures and situations. Their diet consits of mainly fluids like algae juice, though some are known to be carnivores and even cannibals. Credit for the pictures goes to Eye of Science, Neel V. Patel and Phineas Jones #tardigrade #waterbear #nature #naturelovers #naturefacts #natureisamazing #natureisawesome #animals #tiny #wildanimals #wildlife https://www.instagram.com/p/BrNfphAHFmF/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=19p5dgrrezkon

[naturesgreattrees-blog]

This forest of over 40,000 stems consists of only one tree. This is pando, a clonal aspen tree colony in Utah. All of its stems share the same root systems. Here, new ones do not come from seeds, but grow out directly from the roots. With 6,000,000 kilograms Pando is among the heaviest organism alive today. The root system of Pando is estimated to be 80,000 years old, adding it the the list of oldest living organisms. The name Pando is Latin for "I spread out", which, sadly, is not accurate anymore. A study published in October 2018 found that Pando has not been growing for the past 30–40 years due to human interference. #trees #pando #tree #forest #naturelovers #naturefacts #tree_magic #tree_brilliance #entchanting_forest #treelove Photgraphs by J Zapell, Don Mammoser and Robert Shea (hier: Fishlake National Forest) https://www.instagram.com/p/BrLY2jQH8eI/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1499beahwgnn1

[naturesgreattrees-blog]

The African Shoebill stork is a rare and critically endangered bird (less than 5000 in the wild). When hunting these dinosaur looking birds tend to stand completely still for ours without moving an inch. Shoebills are pretty big as well. It stands almost 1,4m (55 in) above the swampland mud that it calls home. They are carnivores with appetite for snakes, catfish and even small crocodiles. When they spot their prey in the water, they lunge forward, killing it with a single blow of its strong and enormous beak. The average lifespan of a Shoebill is 25 years. #shoebill #wildlife #naturefacts #animals #nature #naturelovers #naturephotography #wildanimals #beauty #africa Photographs by Toshihiro Gamo, Bob Owen, trasroid, Olaf Oliviero Riemer and Eric Kilby https://www.instagram.com/p/BrIk2RLnw0l/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=7p8w22lxch2g

[naturesgreattrees-blog]

There are many beetles that eat the dung of other animals. Most of them bury themselves in it, but a small portion of them take the best parts and form it into a ball. They then roll it around with their back legs, providing food and a place to lay their eggs wherever they go. Interestingly some dung beetles use the milky way to navigate their poop ball. When scientists put tiny hats on the beetles, blocking their vision of the sky, they found the beetles could only wander aimlessly without being able to see the stars. On a hot day in the Kalahari the soil surface can reach 60°C, which is death to any animal that can’t control its body temperature. Pushing the ball on the hot sand of the desert will quickly get too hot for the beetle, so they regularly take breaks and just chill on their cool ball of dung. 🐞🐞🐞🐞🐞🐞🐞🐞🐞 Check out my friend @phobiagraphs For more awesome nature posts 🐞🐞🐞🐞🐞🐞🐞🐞🐞 The pictures are from Marcus Byrne (2) and GRID Arendal (3) #nature #pretty #wildlife #beetle #animals #naturefacts #nature_perfection #naturelovers #nature_brilliance https://www.instagram.com/p/BrGEsVGAJ6R/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=r35crj93hno2

[naturesgreattrees-blog]

Pitcher plants are carnivorous plants. They lure insects into their vase-shaped cups with an intoxicating fragrance. A "lid" curves over the cup's rim, which is often grooved or toothed, and extra-slippery. Plop! An unwary insect slides inside and soon finds itself drowning in a slick-walled vat of sticky, acidic liquid. Though deadly for most, there are some animals that have made the cup of pitcher plants their home. While its mostly bacteria and larvae, there is also a frog species that lives in the cup and eats any insects falling inside. 🐒🐒🐒🐒🐒🐒🐒 The wonderful photographers of the pictures are Kaitlin Bellamy, sangpemotret are Stevebidmead 🐒🐒🐒🐒🐒🐒🐒 #nature #pretty #plants #pitcherplant #nature #naturefacts #naturephotography #nature_perfection #naturelovers #nature_brilliance https://www.instagram.com/p/BrDTHXdg14B/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=q2go67zv3h1l

[naturesgreattrees-blog]

Not only does the Dracaea cinnabari look exceptionally Spectactular, it also sheds blood. Its sap is colored blood red, which gives the tree its common name "dragon blood tree" When the dragon blood tree is young it doesnt have its densely packed crow yet (see picture 4). When the flower on the end of each branch can't grow anymore, for example by animals eating them the branch splits into two. Because of that, over time, the treetop gets evermore densely packed with branches. The trees blood red sap (picture 5) is often used as medicine, incense or dye. Credit of the photographs goes to Rod Waddington, Stefan Geens, Russavia, Daderot and Masa Sinreih #nature #pretty #trees #dragonbloodtree #tree #naturefacts #nature_perfection #naturelovers #nature_brilliance (hier: Socotra Island) https://www.instagram.com/p/BrA-crcAByW/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=179rnifw5a2bg