Tree of Hippocrates


The Tree of Hippocrates is the plane tree under which, according to legend, Hippocrates of Kos taught his pupils the art of medicine. Paul of Tarsus purportedly taught here as well. The Platanus in Kos is an oriental plane, with a crown diameter of about 12 metres, said to be the largest for a plane tree in Europe.
Hippocrates' tree resides on the Platía Platanou, in front of the Castle of Knights and next to the Gazi Hassan Mosque in the centre of Kos town. The current tree is only about 500 years old, but may possibly be a descendant of the original tree which allegedly stood there 2400 years ago, in Hippocrates' time. The tree has become hollowed out over the years, and some branches are supported by metal scaffolding. Next to the tree is a white tap with engravings in the Arabic language, also built by the Turkish Governor Gazi Hassan.

Derivatives of the original tree

The Medical Association of Cos presented a gavel made from wood of the plane tree to the President of the Canadian Medical Association in 1954.
Seeds or cuttings from the tree have been spread all over the world. A cutting of the tree was presented as a gift from the island of Kos to the United States and the National Library of Medicine, and planted on December 14, 1961 on the grounds surrounding the library. Many medical colleges, libraries or institutions have, or claim to have, trees cut or seeded from the original tree in Kos.
Trees cut or seeded from the original tree can be found, among others:
North America:
South America:
Europe:
Oceania:
Asia: