Kruger Trees

[wildtuinman]

For me, those huge wild fig trees growing on the riverbanks are one of the most beautiful and spectacular ingredients of the Kruger.

The fever tree forest in the Pafuri is also breathtaking!

Does anyone know how old the most southern baobab in the Kruger is? I have also heard that a baobab was found in Mozambique even more south. Has anyone seen it?

[paul]

I've heard that the most southern baobab is 3000yrs old if that's true I'm not sure.
I have to agree with you on the Wild fig trees growing along the rivers(Spectacular )

[Meg]

My favourite part of KNP concerning trees is most definitely the Northern part. That Fever Tree forest is awesome - it has a sense of desolation about it found nowhere else in the Park. When you come from the Transvaal Highveld like me, a baobab tree is really something to admire.

And don't forget all the Mopani trees further south. Such beautiful leaves. Once at Mooiplaas there was a broken bit of branch on the ground at the toilets, but still fresh. I took one of the leaves (naughty) and pressed it inbetween two lens cleaning tissues. It now comes everywhere with me, a nice reminder of the beauty there .

[wildtuinman]

Leadwoods are very hard and I think therefore tough to carve. The Maroela story is to be found in the latest Wildcard booklet.

[Meg]

The leadwood tree is also known as the 3000 year tree. It takes 1000 years to reach maturity, 1000 years to die and 1000 years to rot away. Truely amamzing!

And one cubic meter of leadwood weighs in at 1000 kg!

So leadwood has the same weight as water? That is interesting.

[Twiga]

We just heard on our Kruger DVD that a eucalyptus tree uses 150 - 200 litres per day! They grow in Sabie for purposes of paper and wood and live off the Sabie river. This is one of the reasons why they started the working for water project.

[Jakkalsbessie]

We have Big Five Mammals, Small Five animals, Big 6 Birds etc. How about constructing a Big Five Tree List
My list would look like this
1 - Baobab
2 - Jackalberry (Jakkalsbessie )
3 - Sausage Tree
4 - Sycamore Fig
5 - Fever Tree

What are your suggestions....

Have to agree with you on all these trees!

But then what about Leadwood, Marula and Nyala trees even Natal Mahogony??? Also stunning trees and ALL of them i immediately associate with KNP...

[Jakkalsbessie]

okay, what says we have to have Big Five trees, lets have Big 10. I also think we should include nyala tree, leadwood, marula, umbrella thorn and mopane maybe

Geeze this could be tougher than i thought... also the knob thorn or Tamboti? Even the Terminalia's ("vaalbome" with their silver leaves) specially around Pretoriuskop...

[ceruleanwildfire]

My five, in order, would be:

Jackalberry Tree
Umbrella Thorn Tree
Baobab Tree
Leadwood Tree
Fever Tree

Please don't include Mopane. Anything but that!

[DuQues]

How's about this list (Which is the list SANParks uses....)
Baobab
Red Bushwillow
Common Cluster Fig
Common Coral Tree
Delagoa Thorn
Fever Tree
Lowveld Fig
Jackalberry
Knob Thorn
Leadwood
Natal Mahogany
Marula
Monkey Orange
Mopane
Transvaal Mustard Tree
Lala Palm
Raisin Bush
Sausage Tree
Tamboti
Round-leafed Teak

(They do not include the exclamationmark after the Marula, but it should be there of course... )

[Jakkalsbessie]

I agree on ten;
The Top Ten Trees (TTTT)

baobab
nyala tree
jackalberry
sycamore fig
marula
fevertree
sausage tree
leadwood
umbrella thorn
natal mahogany

my choices.......

i like that... TTTT

Think i will agree with you on these 10! Not spesifically in that order but with the choices.

[Krokodile]

I've just found the "big five trees" on the SATourist website:
Baobab,
Fever Tree,
Knob Thorn,
Marula,
Mopane

[jaapvandijk]

are these the BIG trees or the most known SA trees?!?

[arks]

The Umbrella Thorn really needs to be in.

I agree with Gwen on this. It is one of the most recognisable of all the trees.
I'm not much of a tree expert, so I don't know all of those you list in your big 10, but the ones I DO know are baobab, marula, sausage tree, fever tree and umbrella thorn.
They are likely the easiest to recognise and to me, all them then are emblematic of Africa.

I'd probably also recognise the Sycamore Fig and I recognise Mopani as a shrub seen everywhere in the north (but might not recognise it as a tree). For the others, I'd have to study a tree book. Anyway, that's my argument for including the umbrella thorn.
It, like the baobab, just "means" Africa

[Jakkalsbessie]

If it were up to me then, I would then take out the Natal Mahogany and put the Umbrella Thorn back in the list. How does that sound to everyone?

Then we can start making a list of the ten rarest trees in the park.....

Ok i will agree with this... i can see the centiment behind the Umbrella Thorn.