Wye Oak, Historic white oak tree in Wye Mills, United States
Wye Oak is a remarkable tree in Wye Mills, United States, that once stood as the largest and oldest white oak in the country. The specimen reached a trunk circumference of roughly 32 feet (10 meters), a height of around 96 feet (29 meters), and a crown spread of approximately 119 feet (36 meters) before it fell in 2002.
The tree grew from an acorn that likely germinated around 1540 and survived colonial times as well as more than two centuries of American history. A severe thunderstorm with lightning finally brought down the trunk in June 2002 and ended over four centuries of growth at this site.
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources chose this specimen as the official State Tree and inspired the creation of the National Champion Trees program. The park still bears the name of the fallen tree and reminds visitors of its meaning for the region and its people.
The grounds cover roughly 29 acres with a small colonial-era schoolhouse and a displayed branch segment weighing about 35 tons. Visitors can walk freely along the paths and view the remains of the trunk as well as the new seedlings nearby.
Scientists successfully cloned the tree by taking tissue samples from the trunk, and the seedlings now grow at several sites, including within the remains of the original trunk itself. Some of these cloned oaks already stand at Mount Vernon and carry forward the genetic legacy of the old tree.
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