The Encino Oak Tree, also known as the Lang Oak, was a 1,000-year-old California live oak tree, ''
Quercus agrifolia
''Quercus agrifolia'', the California live oak, or coast live oak, is a highly variable, often evergreen oak tree, a type of live oak, native to the California Floristic Province. It may be shrubby, depending on age and growing location, but is g ...
'', in the
Encino section of
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
. It was designated as a
Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument
Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments are sites which have been designated by the Los Angeles, California, Cultural Heritage Commission as worthy of preservation based on architectural, historic and cultural criteria.
History
The Historic-Cult ...
(HCM #24) in 1963.
Heritage
''The Los Angeles Times'' once wrote of the Encino oak, "When the famed Lang oak tree of Encino was but a sapling, the Mayan Empire was crumbling and Vikings were sacking English sea towns."
It was already 100 years old when
Pope Urban II
Pope Urban II ( la, Urbanus II; – 29 July 1099), otherwise known as Odo of Châtillon or Otho de Lagery, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 March 1088 to his death. He is best known for convening th ...
launched the first Crusade. And when the first Europeans passed through Encino in 1769 as part of the Portola Expedition, the tree was already more than 700 years old.
Local landmark
As Encino was developed into a residential community in the mid-20th century, the Encino oak became recognized as a landmark, known for its size and longevity. It was recognized as "the oldest known tree in the city of Los Angeles".
A California live oak tree is considered to be old at 300 years, and arborists considered the Encino tree's longevity to be extraordinary. One arborist noted, "It's just like standing next to a dinosaur."
[
The majestic California live oaks were such an impressive presence in the pre-urban Encino that the community was named after the Spanish word for "oak". The Encino oak was the most magnificent of the community's oaks, so large that Louise Avenue was split to accommodate its enormous canopy, diameter, and circumference.][ It has been said that the Encino oak "creates a woodsy atmosphere more resembling a whole forest than just a single tree".][
In 1958, the oak was threatened when a developer planned to bulldoze the tree to build a road. Local residents formed a group called Encino Save the Oaks, and the developer eventually donated the tree to the city. It was declared a Historic-Cultural Monument in 1963. In the years following its designation as a monument, the tree was a tourist attraction.
]
Decline
By the 1990s, the tree was in a weakened condition. Some attributed its condition to the Encino Reservoir, built in 1921, for cutting off the natural water flow to the tree. Others blamed it on air pollution from traffic on nearby Ventura Boulevard. It also suffered from oak root fungus.[ In 1991, it was diagnosed with ]slime flux
Slime flux, also known as bacterial slime or bacterial wetwood, is a bacterial disease of certain trees, primarily elm, cottonwood, poplar, boxelder, ash, aspen, fruitless mulberry and oak. A wound to the bark, caused by pruning, insects, poor ...
, a tree ailment caused by bacteria that generate fermentation inside the tree and send toxic sap oozing through the bark.[ Arborists reported that the tree desperately needed special care to save it. Arborists and city officials argued over the proper treatment for the ailing tree, with one arborist suggesting the city chisel small holes in the bark to release the toxic sap that was slowly killing the oak. Others suggested the drilling would put too much stress on the tree, which should be allowed to heal itself.][ Slime flux is not typically pathogenic or the most serious problem for this species, whereas oak root fungus will kill a coast live oak and is a reflection of cultivation problems. Since the area was heavily developed with a roadway constructed around the tree, root injuries, grade changes, and altered hydrology likely led to the oak root fungus issue and contributed significantly to the declining health.
Efforts to save the ailing oak became a publicized cause. In 1996, the ''Times'' reported on the oak: "His skin is mottled, some of his limbs are held together with pins, and his great, shaggy head hangs from its own weight. Old Lang is in trouble."][ In 1997, the Encino oak was honored at an Arbor Day ceremony attended by Wirt Morton, the great-great-grandson of National Arbor Day founder J. Sterling Morton, who on seeing the giant oak said, "I've never seen anything as phenomenal as that."
]
Death
On February 7, 1998, an El Niño
El Niño (; ; ) is the warm phase of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and is associated with a band of warm ocean water that develops in the central and east-central equatorial Pacific (approximately between the International Date L ...
storm "delivered the death blow, felling the ailing tree with storm winds". As news of the tree’s demise spread, onlookers gathered, some crying and taking branches as mementos. After decades of being threatened by development and pollution, one resident noted the irony that "now it goes because of nature".[ As souvenir-hunters sought to take pieces of the tree, police officers guarded it until its remains could be removed. One officer noted, "It got out of control. It's sad that we had to take two policemen off the street to watch a tree."
In the weeks following the tree's death, city officials debated what should be done with the tree's remains, leading the ''Times'' to ask, "How many bureaucrats, City Council aides, homeowners, urban planners and arborists does it take to decree the fate of a fallen king, the mighty oak of Ventura Boulevard?" Ultimately, the city opted to plant five new trees where the Encino oak had grown—three California sycamores and two coast live oaks. The city also unveiled an oval slice of the tree in an April 1999 ribbon-cutting ceremony.]
See also
* List of individual trees
The following is a list of notable trees. Trees listed here are regarded as important or specific by their historical, national, locational, natural or mythological context. The list includes actual trees located throughout the world, as well as ...
*
* El Pino - a historic and cultural landmark of East Los Angeles
East Los Angeles ( es, Este de Los Ángeles), or East L.A., is an unincorporated area in Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 118,786, a drop of 6.1% from 2010, when it was 126,496. For statistical purpo ...
References
External links
''A Tall Tree's Tale'', by Will Campbell
{{LAHMC
Individual oak trees
Individual trees in California
Encino, Los Angeles
History of the San Fernando Valley
Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments
1990s individual tree deaths