The pictures are scanned from old Polaroid's, but you still can
make out tree
pretty well.
That's me about 14 years ago. I am a tad over 6 feet tall in my
socks, so
that gives you some perspective on the diameter. There are a number
of bur
oaks that are close to this size in the Inner Bluegrass Region of KY
(around Lexington).
And, let me leave you with a few words from Muir's- "A Thousand
Mile Walk to
the Sea"
> Geez, that's a big one.
> On Aug 5, 2009, at 9:55 AM, pabigtrees wrote:
> > Ryan
> > Here in SE Pa where Bur oak is introduced, we have
several large
> > examples that 30 years ago people thought were over three
hundred
> > years old.
>
http://www.pabigtrees.com/trees/images/trees%20by%20county/delaware/p...
> > What I discovered was Bur Oak was not
introduced/identified until 1812
> > (Dirr). So the trees in this part of the state typically
date to the
> > houses they are planted near. Often times the houses are
older, but
> > there was an addition put on the house in the early 1800's,
and the
> > tree was most likely planted then. We have a few here that
are 17-21'
> > cbh, but all of them are planted near old homes.
> > Another Red oak that grew here was also believed to be
300 years old
> > due to its size (over 20' cbh), but when it came down, a
cookie from
> > 37' up yielded only 151 rings. Estimated age of the 300
year old tree
> > came down to 200 at that point. People do not like to hear
that their
> > tree is not ancient like they believed. They get very
annoyed.
> > Scott
--
Doug Bidlack wrote (August 9,
2009)
ENTS,
bur oaks as well as white oaks and swamp white oaks are of
particular interest to me. I've been collecting seed from these
three species from across the country since 2002. I've been
focusing on state champs, but not exclusively. At the end of
this year or perhaps early next year I was planning to present a
report on the largest specimens that I've encountered in my
travels. I hope to include the largest based on AF points,
girth, height and spread (average, maximum and longest limb). I
have made few measurements so far, but I have visited many of
the largest state champs and I have some idea of which ones I'll
need to measure. Here is some of the info that I have regarding
these species...any updates would be much appreciated.
Bur Oaks
points
430 Indiana
414 Kentucky
410 Missouri
409 Ohio
408 Kentucky
408 New York
408 West Virginia
407 Michigan
Yes, Indiana has the largest AF points Bur Oak not Kentucky
or Missouri. The current Kentucky champ is not the same as the
old national champion in Paris, KY because the old champ lost
much of its' leader. It went from 444 points down to 408
points. I still think it may be the largest in terms of volume
though. I have visited all of the above trees except the 414
Kentucky tree and I really do think that the Indiana tree is the
largest in terms of AF points. Unfortunately, three very
impressive bur oaks have been lost. Illinois once had one that
had 416 points, Arkansas had one to 404 points and Indiana had
one that was probably larger than all of them according to Guy
Sternberg (this one was never measured for champion tree
status). Ofcourse all of these measurements may be relatively
poor by ENTS standards and they really need to accurately
measured.
Bur Oak
girth
322 Kentucky (old champ)
293 Indiana
288 Michigan
287 Missouri
287 Kentucky (new champ)
These are in inches ofcourse. The tree in New York is
probably over 300 inches but I only have the point total for
this tree.
Bur Oak
height
132.7 Missouri
136 Michigan
The Missouri tree was measured by Bob Leverett so I don't
feel the need to remeasure this tree. It is not the same tree
as the Missouri AF point champ. The Michigan tree is also not
the state point champ, but I doubt that the figure is anywhere
near the true height. I'll try to find it anyway.
Bur Oak
spread
141 Pennsylvania
152 Michigan
142 Michigan
The Pennsylvania tree was measured by Scott Wade. This info
is from Jess's max list...as was the Missouri height champ. The
two Michigan trees are likely too high but I'll try and verify
this.
White Oak
points
427 Virginia
410 Ohio
408 New Jersey
I visited the trees in Ohio and New Jersey. Impressive
trees. The amazing Wye Oak of Maryland was lost in 2002...the
very year I was going out to collect acorns from it. Bummer! I
have it down for 508 points. I also had some notes on a 427
point tree from North Carolina, but it is no longer listed. I
don't know what happened to it.
White Oak
girth
312 Virginia
288 Ohio
283 Indiana
279 New Jersey
I also visited the Indiana tree.
White Oak
height
147.1 North Carolina
From Jess's max list and measured by Will Blozan. Obviously
no need to remeasure. Kentucky lists a 147 foot tree but it
probably wasn't measured correctly and it is no taller than the
tree in North Carolina anyway.
White Oak
spread
145 Tennessee
135 Pennsylvania
131.5 North Carolina
The North Carolina tree was measured by Jess Riddle and this
is from his list. The Tennessee tree is on the ENTS site with
the photo taken by Carl Absher. I don't know if Carl measured
the tree or not. The Pennsylvania tree is the only one that
I've visited.
Swamp White Oak
points
389 New Jersey
381 Iowa
379 Maryland
378 Virginia
I've visited the Maryland and Virginia tree. The Virginia
tree has seen better days and it seems that it is not long for
this world. I'm not convinced that the Maryland tree is a swamp
white oak...I think it is a swamp chestnut oak. The current
Michigan champ is listed at 397 points, but I don't think the
figures are even close. I've tried three times to find this
tree and failed miserably.
Swamp White Oak
girth
300 Virginia
280 Ohio
I've seen both of these trees. I'm sure the one in Virginia
is fatter.
Swamp White Oak
height
155 Indiana
Yes, this measurement is way off but I'm quite certain that
it is taller than any that ENTS have measured (between 119 and
120 feet so far).
Swamp White Oak
spread
122 South Carolina
118 Pennsylvania
I've visited the Pennsylvania tree. I've only seen pictures
of the South Carolina tree online and I really wonder if it
isn't actually a swamp chestnut oak. Michigan has three trees
listed with greater spreads but I doubt all of them. I've
actually visited one of them and it was no more than 90 feet,
not the listed 124 feet.
Well this is the info I have so far. If anyone can make
additions or corrections I'd really appreciate it. I'll be
collected like a madman from September to November. Not too
long now!
Doug
