RAIN TREE OF EL HIERRO: Garoé. 'Arbre de l'Isle de Fer'. Canarias. MALLET, 1683
'Arbre de l'Isle de Fer'. Artist/engraver/cartographer: Allain Manesson Mallet. Provenance: "Description de l'Univers, contenant les differents systemes du Monde, les Cartes generales & particulieres de la Geographie Ancienne & Moderne: Les Plans & les Profils des principales Villes & des autres lieux considerables de la Terre; avec les portraits de Souverains qui y commandent, leurs Blasons, Titres & Livrees: Et les Moeurs, Religions, Gouvernements & divers habillemens de chaque Nation", dedie'e au Roy, par Allain Manesson Mallet. Paris, Chez Denys Thierry, Rue S. Jacques, MDCLXXXIII [First edition, Paris, 1683]. Type: Original 17th century copperplate print. The Garoé, Oreodaphne foetens or Rain tree of Hierro island, is a species of plant in the genus Oreodaphne in the Lauraceae family. It lives in Laurisilva, a type of laurel forest. It is found in the Canary islands, Madeira and the Azores. It is an evergreen fragrant tree of considerable size, which is indigenous to the Macaronesian archipelago. It has medicinal virtues and was sacred to the Bimbaches, the older inhabitants of El Hierro in the Canary Islands and was one of its symbols. Due to its location, where tradewinds occur, the water from the clouds is condensed from the branches from the trees which later produce rain. The legend asserts that the Garoé assured the life of the Bimbaches by providing them with water in sufficient amounts for their survival. The Bimbaches used the tree to fill water chaffs for transportion to all parts of the island. The original tree fell in a storm in 1610. Clouds continue to pass through the summits of the island and, during foggy days, produce the observable phenomenon of horizontal rain.
Size: 1476px × 2367px
Location: Canary Islands
Photo credit: © Antiqua Print Gallery / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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