Photo: Javier Hermoso De Mendoza (CC BY-SA 2.0 es)
Roughly 1,000 to 1,400 years old.
Ancient trees in Spain
Spain's great native trees are out in the countryside, in the dehesas where holm oaks stand a hundred paces apart over grazing pigs. This page maps 282 remarkable trees across 28 cities in Spain, each one researched and verified. The oldest of them is Encina Tres Patas de Mendaza in Mendaza, at roughly 1,200 years, by local tradition; no ring study published.
What grows in its cities came back on ships. The ombu in Seville is from the Argentine pampas, the dragon trees are Canarian, the Moreton Bay figs are Australian and the ahuehuetes are Mexican, and they are here because Seville and Cadiz held the monopoly on trade with the Americas and captains brought seedlings home the way other people bring back souvenirs. The result is that a Spanish city garden is a record of where its ships went. It also explains the ages: most of these trees arrived with the botanical fashion of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, so two hundred years is old here and five hundred is exceptional.
Every place we map in Spain
1
Barcelona56 trees · oldest about 250 years2
Seville43 trees · oldest 500 years3
Valencia31 trees · oldest approximately 400 years4
Alicante21 trees · oldest over 150 years5
Madrid17 trees · oldest about 300 years6
Cordoba16 trees · oldest said by the palace to be over 400 years7Pamplona14 trees · oldest often called millenary on the strength of its size, with no published figure8
Granada9 trees · oldest approximately 440 years9
Malaga9 trees · oldest approximately 400 years10
Girona7 trees · oldest roughly 200 to 400 years, judged from a trunk 5.9 m round11Zaragoza7 trees · oldest Not recorded, probably 150 to 180 years12Menorca6 trees · oldest roughly 400-500 years13
Ronda6 trees · oldest possibly around 800 years14Segovia6 trees · oldest 15
Cadiz5 trees · oldest approximately 123 years16
Palma de Mallorca5 trees · oldest 500 to 600 years17Bilbao4 trees · oldest over a century18Salamanca4 trees · oldest about 155 years, documented planting19
Tarragona4 trees · oldest roughly 75 to 150 years, judged from a trunk 1.97 m round20
Tenerife4 trees · oldest roughly 700 to 800 years21
Cabeza del Buey1 tree · oldest described as centenary; over 150 years, no firmer figure published22Formentera1 tree · oldest over 500 years23Guernica1 tree · oldest young descendant, planted 201524Ibiza1 tree · oldest 100 to 150 years25Lecina1 tree · oldest roughly 1,000 years26Mendaza1 tree · oldest roughly 1,200 years, by local tradition; no ring study published27
Muxika1 tree · oldest 28Valentin1 tree · oldest over 500 years, possibly over 700
Barcelona56 trees · oldest about 250 years2Seville43 trees · oldest 500 years3Valencia31 trees · oldest approximately 400 years4Alicante21 trees · oldest over 150 years5Madrid17 trees · oldest about 300 years6Cordoba16 trees · oldest said by the palace to be over 400 years7Pamplona14 trees · oldest often called millenary on the strength of its size, with no published figure8Granada9 trees · oldest approximately 440 years9Malaga9 trees · oldest approximately 400 years10Girona7 trees · oldest roughly 200 to 400 years, judged from a trunk 5.9 m round11Zaragoza7 trees · oldest Not recorded, probably 150 to 180 years12Menorca6 trees · oldest roughly 400-500 years13Ronda6 trees · oldest possibly around 800 years14Segovia6 trees · oldest 15Cadiz5 trees · oldest approximately 123 years16Palma de Mallorca5 trees · oldest 500 to 600 years17Bilbao4 trees · oldest over a century18Salamanca4 trees · oldest about 155 years, documented planting19Tarragona4 trees · oldest roughly 75 to 150 years, judged from a trunk 1.97 m round20Tenerife4 trees · oldest roughly 700 to 800 years21Cabeza del Buey1 tree · oldest described as centenary; over 150 years, no firmer figure published22Formentera1 tree · oldest over 500 years23Guernica1 tree · oldest young descendant, planted 201524Ibiza1 tree · oldest 100 to 150 years25Lecina1 tree · oldest roughly 1,000 years26Mendaza1 tree · oldest roughly 1,200 years, by local tradition; no ring study published27Muxika1 tree · oldest 28Valentin1 tree · oldest over 500 years, possibly over 700110 species grow in Spain
Oaks Holm Oak 10 · Pedunculate Oak 5 · Mexican White Oak 2 · Downy Oak 1 · Hartwiss Oak 1 · Portuguese Oak 1 · Sessile Oak 1 · Southern Live Oak 1
Beeches Sweet Chestnut 3
Elms and zelkovas Caucasian Elm 2 · Field Elm 2 · Siberian Elm 1
Planes London Plane 15 · Oriental Plane 1
Maples Silver Maple 1 · Sycamore 1
Chestnuts, walnuts and hazels Horse Chestnut 4 · Pecan 2 · Rehder's Wingnut 1
Figs and mulberries Moreton Bay Fig 27 · Indian Laurel Fig 6 · Osage Orange 3 · Common Fig 1 · Fig 1 · Rubber Fig 1 · White Mulberry 1
Conifers Stone Pine 9 · Aleppo Pine 5 · Ginkgo 5 · Mediterranean Cypress 5 · Norfolk Island Pine 5 · Bald Cypress 4 · European Yew 4 · Giant Sequoia 4 · Himalayan Cedar 4 · Spanish Fir 4 · Canary Pine 3 · Cedar of Lebanon 3 · Atlas Cedar 2 · Coast Redwood 2 · Bunya Pine 1 · Cedar 1 · Cook Pine 1 · Douglas Fir 1 · Kashmir Cypress 1 · Mexican Cypress 1 · Monkey Puzzle 1 · Montezuma Cypress 1 · Morinda Spruce 1 · Spanish Black Pine 1 · Turkish Pine 1
Palms Canary Island Date Palm 5 · Mexican Fan Palm 3 · Date Palm 2 · California Fan Palm 1 · Chinese Windmill Palm 1 · Senegal Date Palm 1
Fruit and blossom Olive 7 · Carob 2 · Strawberry Tree 2 · Almond-leaved Pear 1 · Common Persimmon 1
Southern hemisphere River Red Gum 6 · Dragon Tree 3 · Ombu 3 · Silk Floss Tree 3 · Bottle Tree 2 · Tasmanian Blue Gum 2 · Tipu Tree 2 · Blue Jacaranda 1 · Coast Coral Tree 1 · Coral Tree 1 · Floss Silk Tree 1 · Pohutukawa 1
More broadleaf trees Black Poplar 7 · Mediterranean Hackberry 5 · Judas Tree 4 · Bitter Orange 3 · Mastic Tree 3 · Norfolk Island Hibiscus 3 · Southern Magnolia 3 · Avocado 2 · Black Locust 2 · Camphor Tree 2 · Japanese Pagoda Tree 2 · Narrow-Leaved Ash 2 · River She-oak 2 · Silky Oak 2 · Barbary Thuja 1 · Bougainvillea 1 · Chinaberry 1 · European Ash 1 · European Fan Palm / Saint Peter's Palm 1 · Grapefruit 1 · Green Ash 1 · Honey Locust 1 · Hornbeam 1 · Horsetail Casuarina 1 · Japanese Cheesewood 1 · Jujube 1 · Longleaf Pepper Tree 1 · Peruvian Pepper 1 · Phoenician Juniper 1 · Pineapple Guava 1 · Sago Palm 1 · Silk Tree 1 · Tree of Heaven 1 · Tree Yucca 1 · Viscote 1 · Yellow Poinciana 1
The 10 oldest trees we map in Spain
Roughly 800 to 1,200 years old.
Photo: Cayambe (CC BY 4.0)
Roughly 700 to 800 years old.
Photo: Андрей Колычев (CC BY 3.0)
Roughly 550 to 1,000 years old.
Roughly 500 to 700 years old.
Photo: Fry72 (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Roughly 500 to 600 years old.
Photo: Z thomas (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Roughly 500 to 600 years old.
About 500 years old.
Photo: Anual (CC BY 3.0)
Roughly 480 to 500 years old.
Photo: Jose Manuel ("Mazintosh") (CC BY 2.0)
Roughly 438 to 444 years old.
Trees from Spain also appear in Europe's Ancient Oaks You Can Actually Visit · Autumn Worth the Trip · The Autumn Harvest. See every city on the map, or open the map to find what is near you.