It has survived devastating forest fires, hurricane winds, rainstorms, lightning storms, locust infestations and human harassment, due to the high quality of its wood. It has witnessed aboriginal life, the Castilian conquest, pirate attacks, volcanic eruptions, famines and deadly epidemics.
Almost eight centuries after being born from a tiny seed, from an insignificant pine nut, the Pine Gordo from Vilaflor de Chasna still full of life and dominating the landscape of the Corona Forestal del Teide National Parkwhere it opens up to the sky with its 45-meter height and its imposing 9.36-meter trunk.
Its colossal dimension, made up of three large vertical pernadas, makes it the second tallest native tree in Spain, only surpassed by the so-called Dos Pernadas pine, located 25 meters away.
Now, this unique pinus canariensis, whose image is represented on the Vilaflor de Chasna shield, has opted to be declared Tree of the Year 2023 in Spain after its candidacy was nominated as a finalist along with 10 others spread throughout the Peninsula. Among them will be the Spanish representative who will participate in the European contest organized by the NGO Bosques Sin Fronteras.
The most robust pine tree in the Canary Islands, which requires eight people to hug its trunk, will compete with Carbayón de Cornellana (Asturias), Castaño del Tío Trazas (Salamanca), Olmo El Rasillo (La Rioja), Hayedo de Montejo de la Sierra (Madrid ), Bosque de la Abundancia (Guadalajara), El Moral de Villoviado (Burgos), Carballo de Santa Margarita (Pontevedra), Encina del Monte de la Redonda (Cantabria), Platano Biar (Valencia) and Carballo de Gregorio (A Coruña).
The contest, which has the collaboration of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, specifies in its bases that “the beauty, size or age of the trees will not be valued so much but their history and their relationship with people and the territory”, since a specimen is sought that “has become an integral part of the community in its broadest sense”.
“We want all the islands to unite in defense of a common good, we must all go together to turn the Pino Gordo into a great symbol of the Archipelago, as the Dragon Tree of Icod or the Sabina of El Hierro already are,” he told this newspaper Agustina Beltrán, mayoress of Vilaflor de Chasna, who encourages citizens to participate in the vote, open until December 10, on the website www.arbolybosque del año.es. The winning bid will be announced on December 20.
The Pino Gordo has become a tourist attraction and its visit is a must for visitors to Vilaflor de Chasna or those who go to the Teide National Park from the south of the island. It represents a key species in the conservation of the natural environment Islander for its role as a condenser for cloud water, cleaning the air, and for sheltering and feeding plants and animals.
With the presentation of the candidacy for Tree of the Year in Spain, the City Council intends to influence the “dissemination, respect and appreciation of our unique trees, reinforcing the need to preserve this type of unique beings, unfairly forgotten for too long”. And along these lines, the municipality where Brother Pedro was born and grew up trusts in the support of the citizens so that the award does not go around the bush.
