A Partridge in a Pear Tree Trivia Quiz

Answer: California

Its nickname is Methuselah and in 2012 was estimated to be 4843 years old. Pinus Longaeva, which is a bristlecone pine tree was estimated by experts to be the oldest tree in the world and is in the Californian Inyo National Forest. Its whereabouts are kept secret for fear of vandalism and disturbance of the ecosystem.

Prior to Methuselah, another bristlecone pine tree named Prometheus, estimated to be in excess of 5000 years old, came to a tragic end in 1964 when a geography student named Donald Currey was given permission to cut down an old tree for his research. Unfortunately, he chose poor old Prometheus!

Answer: Baobab

The Baobab tree, Latin name Adansonia digitata, which is widely grown throughout many countries in Africa, is known as the "upside down tree" because of its strange way of growing. It is deciduous and when it is bare of leaves, the branches look like roots growing up in the air. The baobab produces fruits which contain an edible pulp known as monkey bread.

The height of the Baobab ranges from 5 metres to 20 metres and the hollow trunks have been known to have been used as prisons, housing, storage barns, bus shelters and even "Loos with Views".

Answer: Hyperion

The Hyperion is a coast redwood and was discovered in 2006 by Chris Atkins and Michael Taylor in the Redwood National Park in California. The measurement on record is that the Hyperion stands at 115.61 m and has a diameter of 4.84 m.

Answer: Milkwood

An indigenous and protected tree of South Africa, the milkwood tree at Mossel Bay in the Cape area was first used in 1500 by Portuguese sailors who placed a letter describing how Bartholomew Diaz, a famous explorer, died. This letter was found some years later by the person to whom it was addressed.

A museum has been built and today you can still get cards and letters posted with a special commemorative frank.

South Africa has four milkwood trees which have been given National Monument Status.
Milkwood essence is used extensively in traditional medicine especially for the healing of broken bones.

Answer: East Indies

Native to the Molucca Islands in Indonesia, the nutmeg is the seed of the tree of the genus myristica and the fruit yields two spices, namely nutmeg and mace.

Answer: Consolidating sand

The Canthium obovatum, an endangered species, sometimes grows in forests and these are usually medium to large trees. When they grow in bush among rocks and on coastal dunes they are multi-stemmed and twisted and tend to be dwarfed.

When growing on sand dunes they play a valuable role in consolidating the sand.

Answer: Bay tree

The bay tree, also known as bay laurel or sweet bay, is native to the Mediterranean region. It has leathery dark green, oval leaves which are aromatic and are used for flavouring stews, soups, meat and various other dishes.

In ancient Greece, wreaths of laurel leaves were placed on the heads of their heroes.

Answer: A plant growing on another plant

A banyan is an Indian fig tree which grows from the seeds dropped by birds into the cracks of another tree. It is also the national tree of India and used to be used as a shelter for trading under. It is also used for worship and medicinal purposes, and the roots are often used in the manufacture of rope.

Answer: Cycad

The Cycad family, which flourished between 200 and 300 million years ago but are now slowly dying out, is also called the "Broodboom" which literally translates from the Afrikaans language as the "bread tree". The pith from the stems of almost all cycads yield a starch which can be ground to a flour to make bread.

All cycads are protected within South Africa.

Answer: Paw paw

The paw paw tree is indigenous to the United States but can be grown in many other countries with a tropical climate.

The fruits, paw paws, are rich in many vitamins and minerals and and are known by many names such as papaya, pawpaw and papaw.

They have a superb taste when ripened.