| Records, connected with trees:
* Trees of the sequoia kind (redwood) grow up to large height; the height of a sequoia in the Redwood National Park is 115.55m.
* The smallest tree in the world is a Bonsai; it is just 12mm tall;
* The thickest tree in the world is a baobab, up to 9m in diameter;
* The age of a tree can be determined by the number of rings found on the sawn end;
* It is asserted that the oldest tree in the world is a huge fur-tree, growing in the mountains in the West of Sweden, probably from the Ice age. Its age is about 8000 years old.
Trees in everyday life and culture:
In many cultures of the world, due to wide spread availability and handling simplicity, wood is used as a material for manufacturing both household items (Furniture, utensils etc) as well as items for the beautification of the house.
The tree, like stone, is a natural material preserving the images made on it, which, according to scientists, facilitated the development of script in many languages. The capability to catch fire helped in the invention of fire, which sharply expanded the area of distribution of human beings in the north and allowed in designing new types of habitation: caves, houses etc. After burning, the remaining coal was used for the first rock paintings. The low density of wood with respect to water promoted navigation development: the beginning of rafts and finishing with caravels - for many years, ships were manufactured from wood. The flowering features of some trees have become the face value in culture of many nations of the world and the flower of the Cherry tree was glorified by many poets and was often used for meditation and rest in Japan. In the East, the peach flower is widespread and the apple tree color is extensively found in songs in Russia. Fruits are an indispensable attribute of almost all festivals as well as musical instruments, the majority of which are made from certain types of wood.
Trees in religion:
From ancient times, the tree symbolizes life and in many primitive religions, the tree was the object of worship. For example, the ancient Greeks considered that a nymph (dryad) is connected with each tree.
Ancient Celts and Druids interacted with trees using “coelbrens” in their magic ceremonies. A “Coelbren” is a wooden stick about the size of a finger and one of the 20 signs of Ogham, corresponding to the wood type, is burnt or engraved on each stick. Ogham coelbren is the key to the great treasure of magic secrets and the basic source of power of the druids.
References to trees are also encountered in many modern religions; Knowledge Tree of good and evil and the Life Tree in references in Christianity.
Palm Sunday or The Entry into Jerusalem festival is marked by a festive divine service and the believers attend the service along with palm branches. In Russia, pussy-willow (willow) blossoms-out first and therefore people started using branches of this tree and the festival received the name “Palm Sunday”.
Wood is widely used in manufacturing religious symbols (idols etc).
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