**Follow me to the Valley of the Square Trees**

The world is full of strange flora: [venus flytraps](http://botany.org/bsa/misc/carn.html) that eat their insect prey whole, [corpse flowers](http://www.livescience.com/51947-corpse-flower-facts-about-the-smelly-plant.html) that give off a scent of dead flesh when they bloom, and plants [that imitate bats](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tacca_chantrieri).

Despite a cornucopia of biodiversity, there is one attribute that few plants have mastered: corners. Nearly everything in the plant world has linear, radial or spherical symmetry. 

**Enter the square tree.**

![](http://i.imgsafe.org/38c051bb40.jpg)

Square trees can be found only in the village of El Valle, Panama. Getting there via bus from Panama City requires about two hours of riding along a scenic, mountain route. These trees were not grown in square pots or with restrictions around their trunks. Like [Alex Keaton](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_P._Keaton), they are square simply because they are square.

The hike to the square trees starts with a wooden bridge from a very fancy hotel. The path goes past some trees with acne and some interesting flowers. The village was at a tiny bit of altitude, so the temperature is manageable even on a warm day. Even so, you should carry along plenty of water.

![](http://i.imgsafe.org/38ce67b86a.jpg) ![](http://i.imgsafe.org/38d02b8358.jpg)

Before finding the square trees, you might encounter some trees with wide, flat roots. Although the flat roots give these trees a hit of squareness, they are not the square trees that you are looking for. 

![](http://i.imgsafe.org/38cb816d9b.jpg)

**Continue on, and you'll find several trees which are most definitely square.**

![](http://i.imgsafe.org/38c051bb40.jpg) ![](http://i.imgsafe.org/38baea80f8.jpg) ![](http://i.imgsafe.org/38c2bede58.jpg)

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