A Montezuma Cypress in Oaxaca, Mexico. The stoutest tree in the world.
At 116 feet (35.4 meters) tall, with a circumference of 190 feet (58 meters), the Tree of Tule is the widest tree on Earth. Planted some 1500~ years ago by (the legend goes) a priest of the Aztec wind god Ehecatl on sacred ground, this site was later used by colonizers for the site of a Roman Catholic Church. In this way, the Tree of Tule is a churchyard tree- but it preceded the church by well over a millenia.
Now, the tree is the center of Santa Maria del Tule, with market, churchyard, and plaza built in its shade. Sometimes called the Tree of Life for the shapes of animals and figures in its gnarled trunk, tour guides point them out– jaguar, elephant, dolphin, ears– with pocket mirrors that reflect the sun onto the trunk.
Both the Tree of Tule and the town it is rooted in are named for the wild cattails (Náhuatl : tulle) that once grew in the marshes there. As these marshes have been drained for development, there is concern about the mammoth tree being able to reach the water table. Cypress is a notoriously water-loving plant.
The Tree of Tule has a festival in its honor every year on the second Monday of October. Garlands are hung on the trunk and ornaments, mescal, corn, candy, tea, ribbons, crosses, and photographs are placed around its trunk. A band plays at its base. Like any good birthday party, there is free ice cream.