TEHRAN – Two centuries-old trees standing in a village of Semnan province have recently gained national status.

A plane and juniper tree, which stand tall in Abarsaj village of Semnan province, have recently been added to Iran’s national list of natural heritage, CHTN reported on Sunday.

Located near the city of Shahrud, the plane juniper trees date 200 and 400 years respectively, the report said.

The juniper is one of the five nationally registered similar trees that date 2,500 years, the deputy provincial tourism official said on Sunday.

The majority of plain trees of the village are estimated to date 200 to 400 years, the official said.

For millennia, Iranian gardens have combined the magic of nature with the aesthetic qualities of art and architecture to create a symbolic representation of paradise on Earth. UNESCO describes the Persian Garden as an idea that combines natural elements with manmade components to materialize the concept of Eden or Paradise on Earth.

In 2011, a selection of nine Iranian gardens, which bear important architectural, traditional, and cultural elements, was collectively inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list under the title of “The Persian Garden.”

The genuine concept of the Persian Garden is deeply rooted in time and interweaves natural elements with manmade components to embody the idea of creating a paradise on Earth using artistic, philosophical, figurative, and religious notions.

According to UNESCO, the flawless design of the Persian Garden, along with its ability to respond to extreme climatic conditions, is the result of an inspired and intelligent application of different fields of knowledge, i.e. technology, water management, engineering, architecture, botany, and agriculture.

AFM