Libáňská borovice, Solitary pine tree in Libáň, Czech Republic.
Libáňská borovice is a solitary pine on Libáň hill at 318 m above sea level, growing in the remnant of an old field path from Libáň to Bystřice. Its trunk measures 323 cm in circumference and its crown spans about 15 m, with a witch's broom visible in the centre.
This pine has been legally protected since June 1980 and is estimated to be between 200 and 300 years old. The protection recognized its value as a natural monument of the region.
A local tale places a priest's murder by this pine in the 18th century, after he returned from giving last rites. A woman gathering pine cones found him at dawn, and a pine may have grown from a cone she dropped. A holy image once hung on the trunk in remembrance.
The pine stands at 318 m above sea level on Libáň hill, reached by the remnant of the old field path from Libáň toward Bystřice, which now ends at the nearby Libáňská lípa. The trunk bears a crack left by a lightning strike, and the crown is about 15 m wide.
The crown, about 15 metres wide, holds a dense cluster of twigs at its centre known in Czech as a čarověník, a growth anomaly sometimes called a witch's broom. A lightning strike long ago split the trunk, and the crack is still visible. The tree appeared in episode 13 of the television series Paměť stromů.
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