There’s this tree, the wye oak, that’s the only tree to be named a state park. And the park, Wye Oak Park, still exists in Talbot County, Maryland. Trouble is, the tree came down in 2002. But hey kids, the whole family can still visit the "tree site" from sunrise to sunset. Plan to stay the whole day to see the whole "tree site."
Now it does deserve credit for living to be 460 years old. Yeah, I respect longevity. As it declined, the vultures swarmed, taking clones from the tree, one of which is now growing, presumably happily, at Mount Vernon, George Washington’s estate in Virginia.
The Wye Oak had been cabled since 1953, when evidence of rot in its core was first found. Then as late as 1977 it was appraised at $35,000 and an expert report stated that it "can probably be preserved another 200 years." Oops.
When Joel Lerner mentioned Wye Oak Park in his recent Washington Post column I had
plenty of snickering thoughts like these - right up until I read the whole sad story here. Hey, I should be the last person to ridicule people for having an emotional response to a magnificent tree. Here’s my own fave, which I never tire of seeing, though readers may have already crossed that threshold. (Yes, it’s the one now sporting a bat-house.)
And while I’m at it, thanks to Lerner for this great quote:
Ants
are so much like humans as to be an embarrassment. They farm fungi,
raise aphids as livestock, launch armies into war, use chemical sprays
to alarm and confuse enemies, capture slaves, engage in child labor,
exchange information ceaselessly. They do everything but watch
television. — Lewis Thomas, scientist and writer
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Kathy Jentz, Washington Gardener 01.24.07 at 6:49 pm
The Silver Spring Historic Society has a Wye Oak sapling than are donating to the park I’m working to get completed across the street from me in downtown Silver Spring (corner of Fenton and 410). Can’t wait for this young thing to grow in sature like its parent.
bev 01.24.07 at 10:46 pm
Considering so many people around here are actually afraid of and hostile toward trees, I think more reverence for large trees should be cultivated. Trees are not the enemy, even though they occasionally lose their lives and fall on us (life is full of risk), or get in the way of things we want to do. Without photosynthesis, none of us would be here at all…..but ps, I went to see the Wye Oak site(while it was still standing) and it’s not that large a park. It wouldn’t take a whole day, except maybe to get across the Bay Bridge!
Pam J. 01.25.07 at 12:15 am
I live next door to a public park in Silver Spring, MD (Martin Luther King Park) and in the park, near a small man-made pond, there is a Wye Oak seedling. It was planted there about 10 years ago & is now about 20 feet high. It’s quite ordinary looking I must say, & if there wasn’t a plaque standing in front of it I probably wouldn’t have given it a second look all these years. (The plaque reads “Wye Oak seedling. Planted in 1976 by Richard Granke and transplanted to this site in memory of Richard Granke.”) In the last 4 or 5 months a beaver has arrived in the pond, and has built himself a pretty impressive lodge. He’s removed dozens and dozens of large and small trees around the edge of the pond to build his impressive mansion. That relatively young Wye Oak is definitely in his range. Park policy is to leave the beavers alone as long as their structures aren’t endangering anyone’s property (according to the park’s website: “Recognizing that one important function of park property is to provide wildlife habitat, current park management guidelines promote tolerance of beavers in parks while safeguarding private property. Beavers are an important part of Montgomery County’s native wildlife, and parks are one of the few places left where beavers can live. We must learn to live together.”). I’m happy to have a Wye Oak relative so close by but I’m even happier to have that fascinating beaver as a neighbor. It will be interesting to see if the park management decides to let nature take its course, thereby letting the beaver chop down the somewhat famous oak descendant for a snack. I think I have to vote for the beaver.
vicki 01.26.07 at 8:31 pm
Your tree is beautiful! Is it usually fully occupied? Seriously, will the bats nest near bird houses? I had a bat house on the side of our cottage and birds nested in the nearby trees so I guess maybe.
I haven’t been by in a while but I thought of you because I’m landscaping a new yard. I’m going to read back to the post below about landscaping the new building.