What is the oldest tree in Palermo?
Palermo's oldest tree is the Ficus macrophylla of the Orto Botanico, planted in 1845 and now about 181 years old, its canopy measured at roughly 3,000 square metres, reportedly the largest of any tree in Europe. It grows inside the city's botanical garden, a short walk from the historic centre.
Palermo's fig population is unusually well documented because most of it traces back to a handful of 19th century plantings, several still identifiable today. The Orto Botanico's own specimen, planted in 1845, is the oldest and best studied: 180 years of growth have built a canopy now measured at roughly 3,000 square metres, reportedly the largest of any tree in Europe, held up by 44 secondary trunks that grow down from the branches as aerial roots. Its more famous descendant in Piazza Marina, grown from a cutting taken off this tree in the 1860s, is currently fighting a fungal infection that has cost it half its own canopy. The botanical garden charges standard entry; Piazza Marina, a short walk away, is free.
See more themed collections of remarkable trees.