Axel Erlandson (December 15, 1884 – April 28, 1964) was a Swedish American farmer who shaped trees as a hobby, and opened a horticultural attraction in 1947 advertised as "See the World's Strangest Trees Here," and named "The Tree Circus."
The trees appeared in the column of Robert Ripley's Believe It or Not! twelve times. Erlandson sold his attraction shortly before his death. The trees were moved to Gilroy Gardens in 1985.

France fan before the Russia 2018 World Cup Group C football match between Denmark and France at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow on June 26, 2018. (Photo by Axel Schmidt/Reuters)

Axelle Mollaret of France competes in the Women's Individual race at the ISMF Ski Mountaineering World Championships, in Morgins, Switzerland, 07 March 2025. (Photo by Maxime Schmid/EPA)

Axel, a research prototype rover for exploring the Moon, Mars and other planets, is remotely driven over rocks as engineers from Jet Propulsion (JPL) and grad students from Caltech (California Institute of Technology) demonstrate its mobile over the steep and rocky grounds of the JPL Mars Yard on January 14, 2009 in Pasadena, California. The rover is capable of descending cliffs or into craters and returning by a cable tethered to its starting point. Development of the Axel rover is a point effort funded by NASA Exploration Systems Mission Directorate (ESMD) and lead by Principal Investigator Issa Newnas and Co-Investigator and Caltech professor of mechanical engineering bio engineering Joel Burdick. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)

A replica of the bust of Nefertiti stands in the Replica Workshop of the National Museum of Berlin in Berlin, October 2, 2015. The workshop plans to produce 10 to 20 replicas a year, which like the original are made of a limestone core with gypsum finish. Each one will cost 8,900 euros (9,934 US Dollars). (Photo by Axel Schmidt/Reuters)

Partipants vie for the ball during the 11th Mud Olympics held at the North Sea coast in Brunsbuettel, Germany, July 11, 2015. Amateur athletes have competed in several disciplines at the Mud Olympics since 2004. (Photo by Axel Heimken/EPA)

Participants of the techno-parade “Zug der Liebe” (Train of love) dance on a street in Berlin, Germany July 25, 2015. The “Zug der Liebe” is the successor to the “Loveparade”, which in its heyday attracted up to 100,000 participants and ended in disaster and tragedy in 2010 when 21 people died and over 500 were injured due to suffocation from overcrowding at the “Loveparade” in Duisburg. (Photo by Axel Schmidt/Reuters)

American singer Jennifer Lynn Lopez, also known as J.Lo reacts after winning the MTV Generation Award at the MTV Movie & TV Awards at Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California, U.S., June 5, 2022. (Photo by Mario Anzuoni/Reuters)