The Ténéré Tree (L’Arbre du Ténéré) was once considered the loneliest tree on Earth. Within a radius of 400 km, it was the only tree standing in the barren Sahara Desert…
The Ténéré tree is an acacia, a type of tree not particularly rare on this planet. However, it is special enough to have been named and become a symbol, as Ténéré is known as the “loneliest tree in the world” for many decades.
In temperate and tropical climates around the world, it is easy to take trees for granted. But in Niger, located in the Sahara Desert, one of the hottest and harshest places on Earth, trees are a luxury.
Once in the middle of the Sahara Desert, it was part of a lush, dense rainforest, but over time, with natural events, all other trees disappeared, leaving it alone in the barren wasteland for hundreds of years. The Ténéré acacia became so famous that it, along with another tree named Arbre Perdu (Lost Tree), were the only two trees marked on a map with a scale of 1:4,000,000.
The Ténéré Tree survived countless challenges from nature for hundreds of years in a desertified land; however, one day in 1973, a drunken truck driver crashed into it.
After this lonely tree was knocked down and died, it was moved to the National Museum of Niger in the capital, Niamey. Since then, it has been replaced by a metal pole, symbolizing the tree.
The Ténéré Tree in 1939.
The Ténéré region was originally not a desert at all. During the prehistoric Carboniferous geological period, it was once a seabed and later a tropical rainforest, where dinosaurs roamed freely and was the hunting ground of a crocodile-like reptile known as SuperCroc.
Around 60,000 years ago, during the Paleolithic period, Ténéré was uninhabited; humans only hunted wild animals and left evidence of their presence through stone tools. By the Neolithic period, around 10,000 years ago, ancient hunters carved and painted on rocks; these artworks can still be found in the area today.
Then, the climate changed, turning the area into a desert. The Ténéré region gradually became devoid of vegetation, with an average annual rainfall reaching a maximum of only 2.5 cm, and water became scarce, even groundwater. By the early 20th century, a bush of acacia, with yellow flowers and thorns, was the only remaining plant of this tumultuous land. However, over time, this acacia bush also withered, leaving only one tree surviving within a 400 km radius.
When Michel Lesourd, the commander of the allied military delegation, saw this tree, he wrote:
“You have to see it to believe that this tree actually exists. What is its secret? How has it managed to survive when countless camels have trampled its trunk? Why is it that no lost camel has ever eaten its leaves or thorns? The only reason to explain why so many salt caravans crossing the Sahara Desert (Azalai) have never used a branch from this tree to light a fire for tea is that they consider this tree taboo.
There must be some superstition here; the tribe’s directives are always respected. Each year, the Azalai gather around this tree before crossing the Ténéré region. It has become a beacon – the first or last landmark for Azalai caravans traveling from Agadez (a major city in northern Niger) to Bilma (an oasis town in northeastern Niger), or returning.”
Images of the Ténéré Tree throughout the years:
In 1961.
In 1967.
In 1970.
In 1973 when it was struck down.
The Ténéré Tree depicted on a stamp (1974).
The tree moved to the National Museum of Niger after being knocked down.
The current site of the Ténéré Tree replaced by a metal pole.
Even though it has been dead for a long time, “the loneliest tree in the world” still lives on in popular culture. It is displayed in museums and has appeared in artworks such as the film La Gran final (2006) from Germany. But most importantly, Ténéré remains a symbol of resilience and a stark warning of how humans have devastated nature.
