What an interesting question!

The widest tree ever recorded was a European Chestnut on Mt. Etna, Sicily, known as "The Tree of a Thousand Horses". In the late 18th Century, its circumference measured 190 feet, but it has since grown into 3 separate parts. The widest tree found in the United States is "General Sherman" (102.6 ft circumference), a giant sequoia located in the Sequoia National Park in California.

Ultimately though, the tree with the world's widest trunk (measuring 164 feet) is the gargantuan "Santa Maria Arbor del Tule" (The Tule Tree), a Montezuma Cypress located in Santa Maria del Tule (they named the town after the tree!) in Oaxaca, Mexico. Because the trunk is not circular in shape, it was thought that the trunk was actually composed of several different trees that had grown and merged together. In 1996, DNA testing of samples from the "Santa Maria" proved that all parts of the trunk were from a single organism.

At over 2000 years old, the "Santa Maria del Tule" is truly a magnificent natural wonder.

References: 'Old Farmer's Almanac', Old Yankee Publishing, 2007;

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