Wonderboom
The Wonderboom ( Afrikaans ; German: "Wonder Tree") is a more than 1,000 year old fig tree ( Ficus salicifolia ) in the north of Pretoria in South Africa .
Its peculiarity is that its drooping branches have formed new roots in the places where they touched the ground, so that a circle of "daughter trunks" has formed. The process has continued. The original trunk, which is 5.5 meters in diameter, is now surrounded by twelve other trunks. Overall, the tree has a diameter of 50 to 60 meters and a height of 23 meters - unusual for this species, which otherwise rarely exceeds ten meters.
The Wonderboom grows at the northern foot of the Magaliesberg , about 500 meters east of where the Apies River crosses them. Around the tree is a small nature reserve, the Wonderboom Nature Reserve .
The tree has had its name since 1836 when it was discovered by Voortrekkern under Andries Hendrik Potgieter .
Web links
- The Wonderboom (English)
Coordinates: 25 ° 41 ′ 14.3 ″ S , 28 ° 11 ′ 30.5 ″ E