Ancient tree survived the Hiroshima atomic bomb

Some tree species such as willow, camphor, persimmon, eucalyptus. still stand and grow young buds despite suffering many scars from the power of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima.

When an atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima in the final days of World War II, much of life in the city was destroyed. About 140,000 people died and more than 60,000 buildings were destroyed in an instant. However, amid the rubble, despite the adversity, some trees at the center of the bombing survived, becoming silent witnesses to the power of nuclear weapons, according to IFL Science .

Ten-year-old eucalyptus tree next to Hiroshima Castle, 740m from the center of the bombing. The tree still survived even though the castle was destroyed. (Photo: Wikimedia).

In a grassy park along the Honkawa River in Naka-ku district, a willow tree ( Salix babylonica ) planted long before World War II, lies just 370 meters from the epicenter of the bombing. The unusual T-shaped Aioi Bridge was chosen as a bombing target due to its unique shape when viewed from above. Although the tree trunk was broken due to the destructive force of the Little Boy bomb, it still exists to this day, even growing many young shoots from the base of the tree.

Green Legacy Hiroshima is a group of residents, scientists and politicians dedicated to commemorating the trees that survived the atomic bombing of the city. "I realized that trees are extremely important because they can be used to highlight many issues, including history and the natural environment, protest against war and hope for the abolition of nuclear weapons," said Dr. said Dr. Nassrine Azimi, senior advisor at the United Nations Institute for Training and Research and co-founder of Green Legacy Hiroshima with Tomoko Watanabe.

The trees that survived the bombing are called hibakujumoku . The Green Legacy Hiroshima organization compiled a list of 62 hibakujumoku trees in Hiroshima. Along with many willow trees, the list also includes a variety of other species such as giant camphor trees, persimmons, eucalyptus and Yoshino cherry trees.

A similar initiative took place in Nagasaki, another Japanese city hit by an atomic bomb in August 1945. Named project Nagasaki Kusunoki , the team in charge said there were at least 50 hibakujumoku trees within a radius of 4 km from the center of the bombing. Many of the surviving trees have scars from the force of the bomb, fire or radioactive fallout that blanketed the city. However, they still hold up over the years. Trees are relatively resilient to radiation. Tough trees like birches can withstand 50 Gy of radiation with little harm, while humans can die if exposed to single-digit amounts of radiation.

One goal of the Green Legacy Hiroshima organization is to transfer hibakujumoku seeds and saplings to other parts of the world, including the US and UK. They estimate that descendants of trees that survived the nuclear bombing are growing in at least 40 countries around the world.