Cool Trees of the World

Native range: Madagascar
Conservation status: Endangered
The largest of Madagascar's baobab species, the Grandidier is noted for its enormous, cylindrical trunk, which can span up to 3 meters across. Locals prize the bark, the long fibers of which can be spun into sturdy rope.

Native range: United States, Mexico
Conservation status: Least Concern
A resident of the Mojave Desert, where rainfall is rare, the shaggy Joshua tree sends its roots up to 11 meters beneath the sandy soil in search of moisture. Unlike most trees, the Joshua lacks growth rings.

Native range: United States
Conservation status: Least Concern
Great Basin bristlecone pines live to fantastic ages: The oldest known specimen is more than 4,800 years old (its precise location a secret), and dead bristlecones as old as 7,000 years have been found still standing.

Native range: United States
Conservation status: Endangered
The world's tallest tree species, the coast redwood reaches up to 115 meters in height and some 8 meters in diameter — wide enough to drive your car through.

Native range: Central and South America
Conservation status: Least Concern
This tree has a close relationship with a species of ant that lives within the trunk. Venomous and territorial, these ants are known for attacking intruders who venture too close to Triplaris americana.

Native range: Canada, United States
Conservation status: Near Threatened
Though its foliage is poisonous and its fruit sometimes deadly, the Pacific yew is a life-saver. In the 1970s, researchers studying the tree isolated the compound paclitaxel, an important cancer medication.

Native range: Europe, Asia
Conservation status: Least Concern
Ancient peoples knew that white willow bark was effective in relieving pain, but it wasn't until the 19th century that researchers isolated the key compound, salicylic acid, which today is used to make aspirin.

Native range: South Africa, Namibia
Conservation status: Critically Endangered
One of the rarest trees, the bastard quiver tree is found only within a 200 square-kilometer area on the border between South Africa and Namibia. Fewer than 5,000 specimens are thought to remain.

Native range: United States
Conservation status: n/a
Located in Utah, Pando is the name of a single quaking aspen that has cloned itself over the millennia. Today, the tree covers 108 acres and weighs more than 6,600 tons, making it the largest organism on Earth by mass.

Native range: United States
Conservation status: Least Concern
The bald cypress is well adapted to swampy areas: The stump-like protrusions that surround the tree are actually a type of aerial root that are thought to help the tree breathe and keep it anchored in the soft soil.

Native range: Galapagos Islands
Conservation status: Vulnerable
S. pedunculata grows in thick clusters that conceal much of the Galapagos' spectacular biodiversity — like the giant beetles that inhabit S. pedunculata stumps and the tool-wielding finches that eat them.