Africa’s tallest tree is on Mount Kilimanjaro

The tree measures about 81.6 meters. Kilimanjaro is so unlikely a place to have the tallest tree in Africa. Africa has the best climate in the world but has had no tree beyond the 80 meter mark and yet tree above that mark are so common elsewhere in the world.

Kilimanjaro being the tallest mountain in the world, you would expect that the conditions would not favor such tall trees and this is what makes this tree special.

EntandrophragmaExcelsum is the specie of the tree and scientists have been on a call to protect the valley in which this tree survives. The species of this tree is rare and most of them are over 600 years old.

Trees especially the large ones are important to the eco system of the Kilimanjaro and they do a lot to shield the ferns and a lot of the other under growth plants and climbing plants. The valleys with such tall trees have rich volcanic soils. There are high rains here and this combination makes it good for this type of vegetation.

It’s over 20 years since the scientists discovered the immense size of some of the trees in this valley. The accessibility to the actual trees was hard in the first place due to the thickness of the forest. Of recent all these factors were beaten and research was conducted.

Andreas Hemp, one of the team’s researchers, said that the trees “are like a city in the forest”.

Its not a surprise that Africa’s tallest tree is not the world’s tallest but we still have to mind about the threats that it faces. There has been an encroachment on the valley that holds this tree and this is among the threats to its existence. Its is a recommendation from scientists that this area be added to those legally protected by the Kilimanjaro national park.