12 April 2010

The Giant


Although it is more interesting to meet the giants of the animal world, some times it is equally appealing to see giants in the plant world.

This giant was seen in Sinharaja rain forest. It is known as the ‘Giant Nawanda Tree’ and it is one of the key attractions in this tropical rain forest. The tree is about 140 feet tall and the circumference is 21 feet. The botanical name is Shorea stipularis and it is one of the cousins of this particular tree, I saw sometime back.

There were many trees of same size, in this area some decades ago and most were cut off for timber. Nawanda is native to Sri Lanka.

24 comments:

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Woooooo K, that is definitely one HUGE tree. Reminds me of the huge Redwood trees in California.... Do you know how old that tree is?

Thanks for sharing.
Betsy

rainfield61 said...

This giant tree has witnessed our past. They has the wisdom, we need to ask.

Naquillity said...

what a beautiful tree and so HUGE. kinda sad though that others like this one have been cut for timber. hope all is well.

realskullzero said...

haha...nice caption..

Kirigalpoththa said...

Betsy,
It is a huge tree but it may be still a dwarf when compared with the giant Redwood of California. I have no idea how old it is but will check it out and get back to you :)

Rainfield,
Yep and it is still seeing every little thing that happens to the rainforest from those heights.

Naquility,
Now this area is a highly restricted area so there is slim chance of such destruction to happen in the future but we never know.

Realskullzero,
Thanks mate. :)

Thanks all for your comments!

Linnea said...

It's a beautiful grand tree and will hopefully have a long, long life!

Me-shak said...

she is one big girl eh? amazing size. I have never visited the forest still, I'm dying to but nothing works out :S
Thanks for sharing.
Cheers!

betchai said...

the giant tree is deep in character and is exemplified by your photo, i feel always dwarfed by them

NicoleB, Egypt said...

That is one impressive tree!
Amazing!

Kirigalpoththa said...

Linnea,
It should live for another century with no aging effect! :)

Me-shak,
You should visit there. So much to see there and you will not be able to cover it within oneday. To see this tree you have to enter from Weddagala side.

Betchai,
Yes, I agree with you. Some of your brilliant photos exemplify it even better! :)

Nicole,
Yep, a very impressive one indeed.

Thanks all for your comments.

George said...

This is definitely a beautiful giant! I'm glad it (and hopefully others like it) have been saved.

Janith said...

Lovely photo K and I hope they don't chop the remaining trees down! :)

Anonymous said...

very humbling. thanks for sharing n happy new yr to u n ur family :)

losh

Kirigalpoththa said...

George,
I'm glad that they save at least one tree :)

Chavie,
I think most of the timber was used for plywood and other similar purpose. The deforestation happened in 1970's if i'm not mistaken. Later it was corrected and stern measures were established, but I know there are still complaints on logging in Sinharaja.

Losh,
Thanks and wish you and your family the same! :D

Tammie Lee said...

I love meeting trees! This one is a beauty!

Kirigalpoththa said...

Tammie,
Thanks a lot for your comments :)

Lady divine said...

interesting!

and nice pic too!

Happy new year! :)

Prospero said...

From Lithops at barely half and inch tall to a 140 foot tree... nature has many faces.

Kirigalpoththa said...

LD,
Wish you the same and thanks a lot for the comments! :)

Kirigalpoththa said...

Prospero,
Oh yes plant world is such a vast area. Many thanks for your comments. :)

Harshi said...

You must have felt like a Liliputian in its presence. =D Great photo!

Kirigalpoththa said...

Harumi,
Yep smaller than a Liliputian. That is the biggest tree I have seen. Many thanks for your comments. :)

Amila Kanchana said...

Magnificent! I've seen a giant tree at Salgala forest in Kegalle. It's called "wata heta gaha". Salgala is the forest shown in the teledrarma "Dandubasnamanaya",where that hermit lives.

Kirigalpoththa said...

Amila,
Thanks for that information. I have not gone to Salgala forest nor heard about this interesting tree.
It could be one of the giant low country trees like Hora, Dun or Nawanda.