Admire thousands of years 'ghost' under the stars

Baobab, olive, quiver . can live for hundreds to thousands of years and stay healthy. In the starry sky, they are both "spooky" and strangely beautiful.

Having a special passion for old trees , female photographer Beth Moon (USA) has spent more than 20 years traveling around to capture the longest living trees on Earth like olives, baobab . in it. Many trees live for thousands of years.

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Ancient olive trees in Puglia, Italy live more than 300 years old - (Photo: Beth Moon).

Recently she switched to photographing trees at night, especially on fanciful star nights.

"This is a challenge for me because having to use a lot of special techniques to highlight the beauty of the tree at night," Beth Moon said.

For over three and a half years, Beth Moon has searched the United States and traveled to countries such as England, Italy, Namibia, Botswana . to work on the project of The Fanciful Night .

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Bagels in Namibia - (Photo: Beth Moon).

The baobab is derived from Africa, known as the largest flowering tree and longest living on Earth.

Some baobab trees can live for thousands of years, but because their wood is not clear during the year, its interior is empty, making it difficult to identify five years of age.

Today, scientists have used radioactive carbon to know the true age of the world's baobab trees, which range from a few hundred years to 2,000 years.

Biologically, baobab trees usually have a height of 5-25m, up to 30m. The diameter of the stump is very wide, from 7-11m, the inside contains a lot of water sometimes up to 120,000 liters of water to ensure that it can survive in drought conditions.

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Ancient baobab trees can live up to 2,000 years - (Photo: Beth Moon).

At the beginning of the 21st century, many southern African baobab trees weakened and died, but scientists have not yet determined exactly what the cause is.

For example, in 2018, National Geographic said that among the 13 oldest baobab trees in the world, four died completely in the last 12 years and five others are dying.

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The quiver under the night sky in Keetmanshoop, Namibia - (Photo: Beth Moon).

The quiver belongs to the aloe family, although living in a dry desert, this unique species can be as high as 7-9m.

The scientific name Aloe dichotoma of this plant comes from the hollowed-out branches used by the local aborigines as a name tube.

Currently, the quiver forest in the Keetmanshoop area has about 250 trees, most of which have a lifespan of 200 to 300 years.

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On the left is a picture of the bristlecone pine in Inyo National Park, California (USA).On the right is a quiver in Namibia - (Photo: Beth Moon).

Ancient bristlecone pine trees located in the White Mountains in Inyo National Forest near Bishop, California, are among the oldest in the world.

Many biologists believe that these pine trees germinated in 3050 BC, about 500 years ago when the Egyptians built the Giza Pyramid, up to 5,000 years old.

Scientists reasoned that it may be because the land is dry all year round, rarely having rain, so bristlecone pine grows very slowly, even for a few years, not much higher. This contributes to the longevity of the plants.

In addition, pine wood is thick and contains a lot of plastic, so it is resistant to vandalism of insects, fungi and other harmful pests.

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On the right is a 1,400-year-old baobab tree.According to Beth Moon, in 2016, due to the unusually harsh rain in this area, the baobab tree died.On the left is a juniper tree living in Dead Horse Point park (USA) - (Photo: Beth Moon).

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On the left is another juniper tree in Dead Horse Point park (USA).To the right of perennial pine trees in Sequoia National Park, California (USA) - (Photo by Beth Moon).

Looking at juniper trees with twisted, dry bodies, many people think they are about to die but in fact their vitality is very intense, possibly from several hundred to thousands of years old.

Currently, juniper trees were found in 1923 in the city of Logan, Utah (USA), which holds the record of juniper trees living longest when 3,200 years old.

Today, fruit juniper is used to create special flavor in dishes with lamb or used in the brewing industry.

In addition, oil-rich juniper should be used by perfume industry as a perfume, with a quite masculine scent.