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The Wye Oak was the largest
white oak The genus ''Quercus'' contains about 500 species, some of which are listed here. The genus, as is the case with many large genera, is divided into subgenera and sections. Traditionally, the genus ''Quercus'' was divided into the two subgenera '' ...
tree in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...
and the State Tree of Maryland from 1941 until its demise in 2002. Wye Oak State Park preserves the site where the revered tree stood for more than 400 years in the town of
Wye Mills Wye Mills is an unincorporated community in Talbot County, Maryland, United States, located at an altitude of . Wye Mills is located at the intersection of Maryland routes 404 and 662, just south of the Queen Anne's County border. Notable landm ...
, Talbot County,
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to it ...
. The Wye Oak was believed to be over 460 years old at the time of its destruction during a severe thunderstorm on June 6, 2002. It measured in circumference of the trunk at breast height, high, with a crown spread of . It is believed that the acorn that became the oak germinated around the year
1540 Year 1540 ( MDXL) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January 6 – King Henry VIII marries Anne of Cleves, his fourth Queen consort; the marr ...
. The Wye Oak was still bearing a maturing crop of acorns when it was toppled. The Wye Oak drew public attention in 1909, when Maryland State Forester Fred W. Besley made the first official measurement of the tree. Ten years later, in 1919, it was featured in '' American Forestry'' magazine as the first tree in the American Forestry Association's "Tree Hall of Fame." The Wye Oak inspired Besley to found the Big Tree Champion Program in 1925; as a result, in 1940 the
American Forestry Association American Forests is a 501(c)(3) non-profit conservation organization, established in 1875, and dedicated to protecting and restoring healthy forest ecosystems. The current headquarters are in Washington, D.C. Activities The mission of American ...
named the Wye Oak one of its first National Champion Trees. By the time of its destruction 62 years later, only one other tree named that year remained standing. The tree faced a loss of a large limb in 1956 that sparked concerns, and another limb fell in 1984 that weighed 70,280 lbs. The tree fell during a heavy thunderstorm with high winds on the night of June 6, 2002. The tree's exceptionally long life has been attributed to the efforts of park managers, who applied preventive measures such as
fertilizer A fertilizer (American English) or fertiliser (British English; see spelling differences) is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from ...
and
insecticide Insecticides are substances used to kill insects. They include ovicides and larvicides used against insect eggs and larvae, respectively. Insecticides are used in agriculture, medicine, industry and by consumers. Insecticides are claimed to ...
as well as extensive
pruning Pruning is a horticultural, arboricultural, and silvicultural practice involving the selective removal of certain parts of a plant, such as branches, buds, or roots. The practice entails the ''targeted'' removal of diseased, damaged, dead, ...
, cabling, and bracing of the branches.


State park

The
Maryland General Assembly The Maryland General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland that convenes within the State House in Annapolis. It is a bicameral body: the upper chamber, the Maryland Senate, has 47 representatives and the lower chamb ...
purchased the tree and established Wye Oak State Park in 1939. At its creation, the park was a little over an acre in size, according to ''Wye Oak: The History of a Great Tree'' by Dickson J. Preston: The park's current protect the nearby stream valley from development. The site of the Wye Oak remains largely untouched, and the descriptive plaque placed there in 1921 remains at the site. The park also includes a one-room brick schoolhouse dating from
colonial times The ''Colonial Times'' was a newspaper in what is now the Australian state of Tasmania. It was established as the ''Colonial Times, and Tasmanian Advertiser'' in 1825 in Hobart, Van Diemen's Land Van Diemen's Land was the colo ...
; it is the second oldest schoolhouse in Talbot County.


Cloning

Dr. Frank Gouin, Professor Emeritus of
Horticulture Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...
at the
University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of Mar ...
, impressed both by the age and size of the tree, as well as its unusual resistance to oak wilt fungus and the
gypsy moth ''Lymantria dispar'', also known as the gypsy moth or the spongy moth, is a species of moth in the family Erebidae. ''Lymantria dispar'' is subdivided into several subspecies, with subspecies such as ''L. d. dispar'' and ''L. d. japonica'' be ...
, led a successful effort to clone the Wye Oak. The first two cloned saplings were planted at
Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is an American landmark and former plantation of Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States George Washington and his wife, Martha. The estate is on ...
on April 26, 2002. Another clone was planted in the remains of the trunk of the original tree during a June 6, 2006, ceremony; a marker commemorates the event.


Artworks

Upon its falling, immediate efforts were made to salvage and preserve the tree's remains. Pieces of the tree that had fallen in previous years had been used to sculpt works such as the statue of two children planting a tree located in the Tawes State Office Building in
Annapolis Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east ...
. A very large section of the lost tree became a new desk for the Maryland governor's office. Wood distributed to artists and craftspersons was used to create carvings, sculptures, oil paintings, a 3-dimensional collage, furnishings, and serving pieces; a gallery of the creations was made available online by the Department of Natural Resources.


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 ...
* State Trees of the United States *
Wye Oak (band) Wye Oak is an American indie rock duo from Baltimore, Maryland, United States, composed of Andy Stack (drums, keyboards, backup vocals) and Jenn Wasner (vocals, guitars and bass). Their sound has been described as "earnest folk-influenced indie ...


References


External links


Wye Oak State Park
Maryland Department of Natural Resources {{authority control Individual oak trees Individual trees in Maryland State parks of Maryland Parks in Talbot County, Maryland IUCN Category III 2000s individual tree deaths Protected areas established in 1939 1939 establishments in Maryland