7 Trees in Unexpected Places

The monastery of Ta Prohm in modern-day Cambodia was built by King Jayavarman VII, the last of the great Khmer kings, in the 12th Century. With the fall of the Khmer Empire in the 15th Century, the monastery was abandoned, and soon swallowed up by the surrounding jungle.

Its ruined walls and courtyards are now the home of many Silk Cotton Trees, whose roots actually hold together the crumbling stones. It's humbling to see how nature can outlast and overtake human endeavours.

In the state of Indiana, USA, you'll find a strange sight: a Large Tooth Aspen tree growing out of the roof of the Decatur County Courthouse. It wasn't planted on purpose, in fact, nobody knows how it got there, but the townspeople are proud of their most famous citizen.

Not all urban trees find themselves there by chance. As the city of Seattle grew, the planners of its sprawling concrete streets spared this single 80ft-tall Giant Sequoia. It used to stand over on Aurora Avenue, but in 1973 it was moved to Fourth Avenue and Stewart Street.

At first, nothing about this oak tree in Mobile, Alabama, USA appears out of the ordinary. But this proud oak marks the site of a grave injustice…

On 20th February, 1835, Charles Boyington hanged for murder. He always claimed he was innocent, and said that he would be proved right when a mighty oak tree grew out of his pure heart. And shortly after he was buried, this tree sprouted from his grave…

In the deserts of Bahrain, there's little that breaks the horizon beyond rocks and the roofs of encroaching cities, except for this tree, whose hardy nature has earned it the name, The Tree of Life. It's such a rarity that it attracts thousands of tourists every year.

How exactly the tree survives in such a dry environment is a mystery. Its roots reach down at least fifty metres, which may be deep enough to suck up traces of moisture, but others credit its survival to more mystical sources.

Off the coast of Shingleton, in Michigan, USA, is Chapel Rock. This sandstone stack has been carved away from the cliff face by the ceaseless action of the sea. On its peak stands a single white pine, estimated to be at least 250 years old.

The southern end of Lake Wānaka in the Otago region of New Zealand offers excellent views, but one feature of this stunning landscape has caught the eyes of many photographers - That Wanaka Willow - a single windswept tree which grows out of the sandy shallows.

That Wanaka Willow has become a symbol for the region, and the nation - it's one of the most photographed sights in all of New Zealand.