Square Trees Near the Panama Canal

About the square trees near the Panama canal, description and information about the plants.

THOMAS R. HENRY'S 10 BEST ODDITIES

Where Trees Are Square. "A few miles north of the Panama Canal Zone is 'the valley of square trees.' This is the only known place in the world where trees have rectangular trunks. They are members of the cottonwood family. Saplings of these trees now are being grown at the University of Florida to find out if they retain their squareness in a different environment. It is believed, however, that the shape is probably due to some unknown but purely local condition. That the cause is deepseated is indicated by the fact that the tree rings, each representing a year's growth, also are square."