Nice little tree?

[mikewriter]

My wife and I own a small property near Brazoria, Texas, that is mostly jungle. Found this oak tree right after we bought it, and I recently ran the tractor around it to give us access to it again. Gives me a good feeling inside to look at it. Th old saying, "If this tree could talk ..." came to mind, but it actually wouldn't likely have much to say, being stuck WAY back in the woods all that time, but it would be interesting to know how old it really is.

Mike

 

[CGDustDevil]

That's a beauty!! You may be surprised the stories that ole tree might tell!

 

[Rei40c]

According to a quick search -

"The Northern red oak (Quercus rubra) usually lives about 200 years but can be as old as 400 years and is hardy in U. S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 3 through 9. California Black Oak (Quercus kelloggii) may grow to reach a maximum age of about 500 years and is hardy in USDA zones"

I had no idea any species of Oak could reach 500 years old.

 

[Wyandot Jim]

According to a quick search -

"The Northern red oak (Quercus rubra) usually lives about 200 years but can be as old as 400 years and is hardy in U. S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 3 through 9. California Black Oak (Quercus kelloggii) may grow to reach a maximum age of about 500 years and is hardy in USDA zones"

I had no idea any species of Oak could reach 500 years old.

Very nice old Live Oak you have there.

In Texas those would be youngsters.

The Big Tree is a Virginia Live Oak (Quercus virginiana), Live Oak are so-named due to the fact that they remain green and ‘live’ through winter when other oak trees are dormant and have lost their leaves. Live Oaks are common in the warmer climates of the United States from Virginia down through the Gulf Coast and up to California.
The trunk of The Big Tree is over 35 feet (10.7 meters) in circumference and it is 44 feet (13.4 meters) tall. The Big Tree is estimated to be over 1,000 years old and up to 2,000 years old.

 

[coach]

The state tree of Maryland is the white oak. There was a tree called the Wye Oak that was estimated to be 500 years old when it was blown down in a thunder storm in 2002.
Closer to my home, our church had an oak tree that was around 250 years old when it too was felled by high winds in a thunder storm. Located not far from the original 19th century chapel, it fell missing the building and caused no real damage.
Oaks can live a pretty long time it the blight doesn't get them now days.

 

[Colonel Daddy]

Beautiful old trees! Wyandot Jim, when a youngster we had 2 such huge trees just down from us. The 2-rut road curved around them and we called that playground "the curve". Like the trees in your pic, the huge sprawling limbs touched the ground. While we were away on vacation, the county took out those trees so it could straighten the road and hauled in clay to "improve" the road
There is a place just off I-10 in either Miss. or La. that has huge trees like this. Can't remember exactly where, but sometimes when traveling I-!0 we have looked for a little town to take a break. We've seen the same trees twice. also there are many in Mobile Ala.
Mikewriter, we have trees similar to the one on your property. Beautiful trees they are!

 

[GunnyGene]

You can get a rough estimate of the age by measuring the diameter (circumference inches / 3.14) of the trunk at about 4.5 ft up, and multiply by the growth factor. You can find common growth factor here: http://forestry.about.com/od/silviculture/a/Estimating-A-Trees-Age.htm .

 

[mikewriter]

Gunny Gene, thanks for that info, I may try a calculation one day. One of my "goals" that admittedly may never be accomplished - (does that make them "dreams" instead of "goals"?) is toe set posts in the ground to run a cross timber through the forks of this tree as a start for a treehouse of some kind. Maybe just and observation platform - even though there isn't much to observe there except more trees!

Mike

 

[pisgah]

http://www.angeloaktree.com/

 

[GunnyGene]

Gunny Gene, thanks for that info, I may try a calculation one day. One of my "goals" that admittedly may never be accomplished - (does that make them "dreams" instead of "goals"?) is toe set posts in the ground to run a cross timber through the forks of this tree as a start for a treehouse of some kind. Maybe just and observation platform - even though there isn't much to observe there except more trees!

Mike

You're quite welcome. I have a old white oak (quercus alba) that I estimated to be around 325yo based on that. It's approx. 65" diameter. The wood from old oaks can fetch some decent money if you ever get the urge to fell it. Going price for white oak logs these days is around 50 cents/bf in log form. My tree has about 5500bf in the trunk, so around $2700 or more depending on the quality of the wood, figure, etc. Retail FAS runs around $6-$10/bf for good oak of any species, again depending on board width, quality, etc. . You can estimate log volume here: http://www.woodweb.com/cgi-bin/calculators/calc.pl?calculator=log_volume . Don't include branches, since they may or may not be worth anything.

 

[mikewriter]

This one will never be cut in my lifetime, barring storm damage, but it would be interesting to know the approximate age. As Jim said, it's a live oak.

 

[mikewriter]

 

[mikewriter]

Post above is of grips made from white oak. This piece came out of a 39 foot Post sportfishng boat owned by a friend of mine that I used to fish on. I think we cut this piece out of an engine bed while running new exhaust for his generator.

Mike

 

[graygun]

Landa Park in New Braunfels,Tx has some very large oaks and is only about a 10 minute drive off of I-35. It's a beautiful park next to the springs which are the head of the Comal river.

Edit: The largest one was a seedling in 1700.

 

[mikewriter]

Hmm. Using that formulae, I have a pair of live oaks in my back yard that are around 114 years old, and they are mere babies compared to the one pictured on my woods place!

My "home" area around Angleton and Brazoria, Texas, has a lot of big live oaks. The famous "Masonic Oak" under which the Texas Masonic Lodge was said to be organized is in Brazoria, pnly a few miles from "my" tree - and I think mine is bigger.

 

[GunnyGene]

Hmm. Using that formulae, I have a pair of live oaks in my back yard that are around 114 years old, and they are mere babies compared to the one pictured on my woods place!

My "home" area around Angleton and Brazoria, Texas, has a lot of big live oaks. The famous "Masonic Oak" under which the Texas Masonic Lodge was said to be organized is in Brazoria, pnly a few miles from "my" tree - and I think mine is bigger.

This formula gives a very rough estimate, could be off by many years depending on soil, weather, location, etc. An experienced arborist familiar with the area could give you a much better estimate. Other than that the only way to get a good age is with 2 or 3 bored samples, and count the rings.

 

[mikewriter]

I forgot the ones at home are Pin Oaks, estimated age would be about 69 years, which fits with the age of the house. I've though about asking our county agent about the big live oak, might try to do that this week.

 

[Pyromike]

Growing up we had a monster oak in the back yard. When it finally died we had a tree service take it down. One of the workers claimed, "I'll bet Injuns clumb that tree".

When the trunk was finally cut (took 4 days to bring the tree down), I started counting the rings. Gave up at 300 and still had a foot to go to the middle. It provided a lot of firewood to a lot of people.

 

[GunnyGene]

Growing up we had a monster oak in the back yard. When it finally died we had a tree service take it down. One of the workers claimed, "I'll bet Injuns clumb that tree".

When the trunk was finally cut (took 4 days to bring the tree down), I started counting the rings. Gave up at 300 and still had a foot to go to the middle. It provided a lot of firewood to a lot of people.

It's not too unusual to find some interesting stuff inside these old trees. Bullets, etc. from 200 years ago for example, especially if there was a battle of some sort nearby.

 

[mikewriter]

Measured my tree this morning. Circumference is 16 feet, 8 inches - or 200 inches. Plugging this into the growth factor calculation gives an estimate of very close to 320 years old! (Actually 318.5) So it was "borne in 1698 or so.

Like I told my wife, she can claim I am older than dirt, but NOT older than the tree!

 

[GunnyGene]

Measured my tree this morning. Circumference is 16 feet, 8 inches - or 200 inches. Plugging this into the growth factor calculation gives an estimate of very close to 320 years old! (Actually 318.5) So it was "borne in 1698 or so.

Like I told my wife, she can claim I am older than dirt, but NOT older than the tree!

Great!! Old trees are a real treasure and are becoming pretty rare. I know you'll take good care of that beauty. Don't know if you have kids, etc. who might inherit but you should make note of it in your will if you want it preserved or something. You might be able to get it registered: http://www.americanforests.org/our-programs/bigtree/?gclid=CjwKEAjwlZa9BRCw7cS66eTxlCkSJAC-ddmwDikKApfjudumzkyPGR49U1ymRVkTaSWdaVWM9KAXehoCVDnw_wcB

 

[mikewriter]

Good ideas, thanks. Yeah, I plan on my son becoming "the keeper of the tree", and his son after him! I sent a picture and email to our county ag extension agent today, see what they say about it. Of course, the county is trying to raise my taxes - double what they were last year, so maybe I should just keep quiet about having a rare, valuable tree?

 

[Wyandot Jim]

I would like to see a distance picture of that Grand old tree. It doesn't look like it has the swooping to the ground branches typical of a live oak.

 

[mikewriter]

That is about the most "distant" picture I can get of this one, as it is in heavy woods not conductive to long range photos. No, it doesn't have branches "swooping" to the ground, which I mostly have seen in oaks in mostly cleared fields, not in thick timber. Those do look "neat", though!

Mike

 

[mikewriter]

Looked in the "National Big Tree Registry", found the largest Texas Live Oak in Young County, Texas. It is 48" feet tall, with a crown spread of 91 feet, and a circumference of 361" - just over 30 feet. Definitely larger than mine, but from the picture with it, it is located in an open pasture, allowing it to spread more. Starts branch much closer to the ground.

Beautiful tree, though!

Mike

 

[LSCG]

Beautiful Tree Mike!

 

[exavid]

It does give a modern person pause to realize that the British Crown used to protect oak trees because they were needed for building warships. Foresters would locate good young trees and bend and bind them to shapes needed for wooden ship parts. Hanging knees that bind deck stringers to ribs, stems, etc. They grew the parts, sawed them out with the grain following the shape for the maximum strength.
Think of the planning and patience of those folks. They were growing parts for ships that wouldn't be built for 50 or more years. Kind of shows you why the British Navy once was a world power.

 

[Rei40c]

It does give a modern person pause to realize that the British Crown used to protect oak trees because they were needed for building warships. Foresters would locate good young trees and bend and bind them to shapes needed for wooden ship parts. Hanging knees that bind deck stringers to ribs, stems, etc. They grew the parts, sawed them out with the grain following the shape for the maximum strength.
Think of the planning and patience of those folks. They were growing parts for ships that wouldn't be built for 50 or more years. Kind of shows you why the British Navy once was a world power.

That's very interesting and I did not know that was done. I guess we all tend to underestimate previous generations and may even consider them primitive compared to our modern technology. Too often we forget they where far ahead of us in other areas.

It would be comical to watch us scramble to build such a ship today if all our tools and technology vanished from the face of the earth. We'd find the people who could do it. But it would not be easy.

 

[GunnyGene]

It does give a modern person pause to realize that the British Crown used to protect oak trees because they were needed for building warships. Foresters would locate good young trees and bend and bind them to shapes needed for wooden ship parts. Hanging knees that bind deck stringers to ribs, stems, etc. They grew the parts, sawed them out with the grain following the shape for the maximum strength.
Think of the planning and patience of those folks. They were growing parts for ships that wouldn't be built for 50 or more years. Kind of shows you why the British Navy once was a world power.

That's very interesting and I did not know that was done. I guess we all tend to underestimate previous generations and may even consider them primitive compared to our modern technology. Too often we forget they where far ahead of us in other areas.

It would be comical to watch us scramble to build such a ship today if all our tools and technology vanished from the face of the earth. We'd find the people who could do it. But it would not be easy.

Here's a good article about this method of construction, which was used to build the USS Constitution. http://www.woodmagazine.com/materials-guide/lumber/wood-that-went-to-war/

 

[mikewriter]

Gunny, thanks for that illustration! Very interesting. I "ran" a few wooden charter fishing boats years back, always liked the way they "felt" in a moderate sea (or even a bigger sea).

I was once considering taking on a restoration of a big old boat built by the folks who built Hemingway's "Pilar" that had been partially burned. I could foolishly see it as it would look in its refurbished glory. Consulted an old timer who had built a bunch of boats from scratch, restored a bunch more, and he advised me to stick with fiberglass construction. He said, "An old wooden boat is like a woman - she'll take all your money and break your heart every time!".

I still love wood on boats, though!