South Africa is home to some truly ancient individual trees, some of which are renowned attractions. Many of these trees are found in our country’s scattered but highly biodiverse and ecologically important forest regions. Reforestation projects such as those run by Food & Trees for Africa (FTFA) are critical to protecting and rehabilitating these areas, and safeguarding many of the elder denizens.
While reports of their age often vary greatly, it cannot be argued that our oldest trees not only inspire people through the wonder of Nature, but also act as focal points for conservation efforts. Not only that, but old-growth forests are critical as major carbon stocks, storing far more carbon than new-growth forests.
With that in mind, here are some of South Africa’s oldest indigenous trees.
Africa’s ancient giants
Three baobabs in the Limpopo Province provide an impressive heritage. The Glencoe Baobab near Hoedspruit is renowned as the world’s oldest known baobab. Carbon dated to almost 1,850 years old, it began life around the time of the death of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius. In recent years this massive tree has split and collapsed, although it continues to survive. Before splitting, the Glencoe Baobab’s girth was a whopping 47m.
The Leydsdorp Baobab, meanwhile, has been carbon dated to over 1,100 years old and is one of the most visited baobabs in South Africa. In 2023, due to its popularity, Dr. Sarah Venter from the Baobab Foundation removed a fig tree from the baobab’s crown to prevent it from eventually being strangled. At 26 m high and with a girth of almost 20m, this giant has incredibly been alive since the time of the fall of the Mayan civilisation in the Americas.
Completing the trio, South Africa’s largest baobab, the Sagole Big Tree, has been carbon dated to between 800 and 900 years old, although local legends still claim it to be over 3,000 years old.
The elders of the forest
Some of South Africa’s oldest Outeniqua yellowwoods (Afrocarpus falcatus) may have been lost to logging operations since colonial times.
The largest remaining specimens are some of the biggest and best-known trees in the country.
The Dalene Matthee Big Tree in Knysna’s Tsitsikamma Forest is a world-famous tourist attraction.
Named after the author who incorporated the forest’s myth-inspiring surroundings into her work, this tree is believed to be anywhere between 600 and 900 years old.
Two of the other largest yellowwoods in the region, the Diepwalle (King Edward VII) Big Tree and the Woodville Big Tree, are both believed to potentially be over 800 years old.
Monumental Milkwoods
The milkwood (Sideroxylon inerme) is one of South Africa’s protected indigenous trees. In the past, there were dense forests of large milkwoods found along stretches of the Cape coastline.
Three individual specimens are South African provincial heritage sites. One of these, the Post Office Tree in Mossel Bay, is believed to be 600 years old. In 1500, Portuguese mariner Pêro de Ataíde left a letter addressed to fellow explorer Joao de Nova in a boot tied to the tree, because it was located near a natural spring where sailors often went to get water. The letter detailed the destruction of four ships from the fleet of famed explorer Bartholomeu Dias, and according to history was found by its intended recipient seven years later.
The tree then effectively became a post office for sailors for several decades.
Although not one of the three natural heritage monuments, South Africa’s largest milkwood – the Grandfather of Stilbaai in the Western Cape – has been estimated at over 1,000 years old. It stands at around 14 m height, with a girth of 10 m.
The Wonder Tree
Wrapping up our list of some of the oldest indigenous trees in South Africa is the Wonderboom (Afrikaans for wonder tree) in Pretoria, named by the Voortrekkers in 1806. This grove of mother and daughter fig trees (Ficus salicifolia) has descended from an original central trunk that is believed to be around 1,000 years old.
As the tree’s branches extend, they root themselves in the ground to form new trunks. There are now three layers of daughter trees with 13 separate trunks covering an area over 50 m in diameter. The tree is the basis for the Wonderboom Nature Reserve, which was declared a national monument in 1988.
Photo Credit: Ravi Kiran Reddy Kastala
The cultural and educational importance of our country’s oldest indigenous trees cannot be underestimated. We must do everything we can to ensure that these beings from another era continue to captivate the hearts and minds of South Africans and visitors from all over the world, to continue our country’s rich natural heritage.
