Think about a tree for a moment. Its branches provide shade. Its fruits nourish life. Forests protect wild creatures, prevent floods, and protect food-producing countries.
Indeed, since the creation of humanity, humans have marveled at the strength and serenity of trees. The Bible refers to the cedars of Lebanon, trees 37 meters high with trunks 12 meters high. However, there are much bigger trees.
Indian banyan tree is made up of hundreds of rooted vines and can cover 0.4 hectare of land. A cypress from Montezuma in the Mexican state of Oaxaca has a diameter of 35 meters and a diameter of 12 meters. Its age has already been estimated at "10,000 years". But it is now believed that several tribes are growing up together, with a respectable, if more reasonable, age of perhaps 500 years.
The Australian eucalyptus stands out among the tall trees. A century ago, one was reported 132 meters from where the point was broken. While there are now doubts about the accuracy of this measurement, there is no doubt that Australian eucalyptus trees are among the tallest trees in the world.
The tallest trees alive today are thought to be coastal redwoods (Sequoia sermpervirens), which reach extraordinary heights in the misty valleys of the northern California coast. The shaded striped pillars of these graceful trees rise perfectly in a straight line up to 60 meters before the first side branches extend into a large green canopy over the peaceful forest floor. The most famous redwood, discovered in 1963, reaches a height of 112 meters.
In stark contrast, the nearby dwarf forests, where an adult male can bend down to touch the canopy of trees that grew before birth. When you visit the towering redwood forests, you can stop in the dwarf forest at Russian Gulch State Park, about 119 miles north of San Francisco. There the soil prevented the trees from growing to the point that the 15-year-old pines and cypresses are only 15 to 5 inches tall. Trees estimated to be a century tall are shorter than a man. The tallest (if not the tallest) trees in the world are located about 193 kilometers inland in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California.
What a wonderful variety of varieties were incorporated into the first trees! We ourselves were created with a tendency to appreciate its strength. Therefore, meditating on these wonders of creation should make us even more grateful for the wisdom of your great Creator.