Kaloidena plane tree at Ano Meros
The surrounding area of the old and deserted monastery Kaloeidena near Ano Meros is dominated by rich vegetation of plane trees, watered by a large water spring. But the tree that stands out is the plane tree of Kaloeidena just above the spring as it is the oldest of all the trees that surround the monastery, but it is also the most impressive tree of the whole region and can be listed to the monumental trees in Crete. The feature that makes the tree special is twinning observed in many of its branches.
Twinning of branches stands for the phenomenon when a branch merges with another branch or the main trunk of the tree thus creating a natural window in the tree. This phenomenon helps the tree to support the old branches that otherwise would break and is met in very few trees. The phenomenon of the tree in Kaloeidena is very intense. Below the tree we meet a number of tables and seats. There are only a few plane trees throughout Crete that branch twinning can be seen, such as the plane tree of Gionas.
Christopher Cheiladakis
