Is this Koh Lanta – and Thailand’s – biggest tree?

The picture as to where is Thailand’s biggest tree is somewhat confused. ‘Biggest’ is usually defined as fattest; girth, in other words. And fattest means oldest. National newspaper the Nation has there being a 25m circumference. There’s apparently the biggest mango tree in Pai. And a drive through the countryside – particularly in the north but also in the many forested areas of the South – it’s pretty obvious that there are some real whoppers – and all over the place.

Which is why – deep in the southern forest of the Koh Lanta National Park, to discover a contender for this accolade is not insignificant.

The image shows my bag tucked away in the bottom right corner of the giant root system. Zoom in (press CTRL and ‘+’). You can then see the scale. The root system is truly enormous.

The species is Tetrahedes nudiflora.

It’s virtually impossible to get a shot of the height. You are shooting into the light, there’s a ton of canopy in the line of sight. A drone might do it in the hands of a skilled operator, but there’s many verticals and treetop obstacles. I estimate the thing is 50m high.

This is actually not that ununusual. There are many 50m high +. So what differentiates it is the waist; hence the importance of the bag for context.

The blurring on the image is ‘cos the place is awesomely – oppressively – humid. Not to mention the extremely cute little black monkeys.

One thing is for sure. Deep in the forests of Southern Thailand there are some massive trees. Undocumented, living high on hilltops in the country’s forests and national parks– this is where the biggest of the country’s trees live. Hundreds, perhaps thousands of years’ old. Just waiting to be discovered.

The Bamboos

I’m also interested in the big bamboos. The largest will grow in creeks and gullies – the more water the better. These bamboo will also head up straight – this enviornemnt is a competition for light. Bamboos crazy growth rate means it can shoot up fast.

I’ve already seen a few km from a remote village more or less in the centre of Koh Lanta an elegant giant – must be 50m.

Whether or not there will be more in the deep forest I don’t know. I am not sure why there is not more wild bamboo on Koh Lanta. The main Asian biggest grower – Dendrocalas Asper – is endemic to Thailand. But Bamboo thrives on the edges; and competition in the deep jungle is fierce. It’s not a tropical forest like bali, where the soil is like fertilser. The other trees are aggressive too. And trees also grow fast in this environment – my brother has a x tree he planted 5 years ago – it’s now 20m high. Two year old bamboo growing nearby is 10m+. It’s the wild west of growth out there.

The Mission: documenting Koh Lanta’s biggest trees

Getting to these trees will not be easy. The terrain is steep, full of snakes – and hot as hell.

One way is via the National Park rangers. There are six of these wily fellows, and they are on patrol 5 days a week. Mainly they monitor breaking the park borders (usually for rubber plantations or – increasingly – palms for oil). They do a great job. You don’t mess with the National Park – like all parks they are a powerful local instutution.

Respect.

Another way in might be by a chap I’ll call the Pirate. The Pirate runs a cannabis dispensary in Lanta’s old Chinese trading hub, appropriately named Old Town (cannabis being legal in Thailand).

Via a long chain of contacts I was introduced The Pirate. In the company of some local sea gypsies (Sanga U), he has crested the highest peaks on the island – the ring of peaks in the south – and deepest – part of the national park.

There is a huge tourism opportunity. Putting Lanta on the Map; the sensational age and scale of these arboreal behemoths is breath-taking. It’s not often you feel awe.