This ancient tree reported to be the world’s oldest Ginkgo Tree and over 5000 years old appears to have recovered after being struck by lighting.
The ancient tree is found in the neighbourhood of Huangsi, in the city of Fuquan, in the southwest Chinese province of Guizhou.
According to national newspaper China News, the huge ancient ginkgo tree is over 5000 years old and a popular tourist attraction.
The tree is 50 metres tall (164 feet), takes 13 people holding hands to hold hands if they want to stand around it and it’s canopy covers an area of more than 600 square metres (6458 square feet).
Credit: Newsflash
The tree even appeared in the 2001 Guinness Book of World Record as being the oldest ginkgo tree ever recorded.
According to China News, the tree has scorched black areas from being hit by lightning, which caused a cavity about 3 metres (9 feet) wide in the tree’s trunk.
Amazingly though, the tree continues to grow and regenerate.
According to the Senior Engineer of the Guizhou Academy of Forestry, Yang Chenghua, Ginkgo trees are highly adaptable and as long as a healthy part of the tree remains after being struck, it is able to recover.
Chenghua told China news that the longevity of the tree is owed to protruding bumps on the tree trunk.
These nodules are in fact adventitious roots that grow above the ground and are exposed to the air.
They grow roots in the opposite direction from the trunk, which can grow towards the ground and form a new root system which absorbs the nutrients in the soil, an ability which gives it such regenerative abilities.
The ginkgo tree in Guizhou Province, China 
The ginkgo tree in Guizhou Province, China
To find out more about the author, editor or agency that supplied this story – please click below.
Story By: Lisa-Maria Goertz, Sub-Editor: Marija Stojkoska, Agency: Newsflash
The Ananova page is created by and dedicated to professional, independent freelance journalists. It is a place for us to showcase our work. When our news is sold to our media partners, we will include the link here.
