Tree of Ténéré: Difference between revisions

The '''Ténéré Tree''' ([[French (language)|French]]: {{lang|fr|L'Arbre du Ténéré}}) was a solitary [[acacia]] (''[[Acacia raddiana|Vachellia tortilis]])'')<ref name="Riedacker">{{cite book|title=Physiologie des arbres et arbustes en zones arides et semi-arides: séminaire, Paris-Nancy, 20 mars-6 avril 1990|first=A.|last=Riedacker|publisher=John Libbey Eurotext|year=1993|page=406|isbn=2-7420-0019-4|accessdate=2009-08-11|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mL62aLtlF2YC&pg=PA406|language=French|quote=L'Hote (1961) note dans son article sur l'arbre du Ténéré (''Acacia raddiana'') que l'on aurait retrouvé ses racines à 30 métres de profondeur.}}</ref><ref name="Le Roy">{{cite book|title=Méhariste au Niger: souvenirs sahariens|first=Robert|last=Le Roy|publisher=Karthala Editions|year=1998|page=108|accessdate=2009-08-11|isbn=2-86537-778-4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=beEsVfvm87wC&pg=PA108|language=French|quote=It avait fallu à cet ''acacia tortilis'' une belle vigueur et une fameuse chance pour subsister là, seul, jusqu'à élever son feuillage hors de portée des gazelles.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kyalangalilwa |first1=Bruce |last2=Boatwright |first2=James S. |last3=Daru |first3=Barnabas H. |last4=Maurin |first4=Olivier |last5=van der Bank |first5=Michelle |date=2013-08-01 |title=Phylogenetic position and revised classification of Acacia s.l. (Fabaceae: Mimosoideae) in Africa, including new combinations in Vachellia and Senegalia |url=https://doi.org/10.1111/boj.12047 |journal=Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society |volume=172 |issue=4 |pages=500–523 |doi=10.1111/boj.12047 |issn=0024-4074|hdl=10566/3454 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> that was once considered the most isolated tree on Earth,<ref name="Wagonsonner">{{cite web|title=Eastern Mali to Niger to Timbuktu - 2–19 September 06|first=Eric|last=Wagensonner|work=Border-Crossings|date=2007-01-15|accessdate=2009-08-11|url=http://www.border-crossings.net/site/journal/present/niger/1.html}}</ref> the only one for over {{convert|150|km|mi}}. It was a landmark on [[Camel train|caravan]] routes through the [[Ténéré]] region of the [[Sahara Desert]] in northeast [[Niger]], so well known that it and the Arbre Perdu ([[Lost Tree]]) to the north are the only trees to be shown on a map at a [[scale (map)|scale]] of 1:4,000,000. The Treetree ofis Ténéréestimated to have existed for approximately 300 years until it was locatedknocked neardown in 1973 by a truck driver.<ref name=":0">{{convertCite web |40last=Nuwer |m|ftfirst=Rachel |adjdate=on}}October deep24, well.2013 It|title=The wasMost knockedIsolated downTree in 1973the World Was Killed by a truck(Probably driverDrunk) Driver |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-most-isolated-tree-in-the-world-was-killed-by-a-probably-drunk-driver-5369329/ |access-date= |website=Smithsonian Magazine |language=en}}</ref>

The Tree of Ténéré was knocked down by a reportedly[[Libyan drunkArab Republic|Libyan]] truck driver, reportedly [[Drunk driving|drunk]], in 1973.<ref>[http://www.club-des-voyages.com/niger/l-arbre-du-tenere-symbole-de-la-survie-dans-le-sahara-12208.html L'arbre du Ténéré, symbole de la survie dans le Sahara](in French)</ref><ref name = "Jacobson" /><ref name=":0" /> On November 8, 1973, the dead tree was movedinstalled toin a dedicated shrine on the grounds of the [[Musée National du Niger|Niger National Museum]] in the capital [[Niamey]].<ref name="taylor"/>

A simple metal sculpture representing the tree stands whereto themark treeits onceformer location and general appearance in the grewdesert.<ref name = Jacobson>Molly McBride Jacobson (ed.), "[https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/last-tree-tenere Last Tree of Ténéré]", Atlas Obscura, December 4, 2008; accessed 2023.01.09.</ref>

In 2017, a group of artists created a massive, 4four-story tall LED sculpture entitled ''Tree of Tenere'' that was showcased at [[Burning Man]]. The sculpture consisted of 25,000 molded leaves containing 175,000 LEDs.<ref>{{cite web |last=Kane |first=Jenny |date=July 19, 2017 |title=Burning Man tree of lights inspired by world's loneliest tree |url=https://www.rgj.com/story/life/arts/burning-man/2017/07/19/burning-man-tree-lights-inspired-worlds-loneliest-tree/470439001/ |access-date=October 17, 2022 |website=[[Reno Gazette-Journal]]}}</ref> In 2021 the artists re-developed the sculpture and created a permanent installation in the Deep Ellum neighborhood of Dallas, Texas.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Karam |first1=Yasmina |title=DRIFT's interactive tree of ténéré to find new roots in texas this fall |url=https://www.designboom.com/design/studio-drift-tree-of-tenere-deep-ellum-texas-08-24-2021/ |website=designboom |access-date=10 June 2024}}</ref>