One of the attractions in Charleston, South Carolina is an old, oak tree named the Angel Oak Tree. I’m not sure how it got its name…maybe because of its huge canopy of overarching branches offering protection. It is a Southern live oak, which is different than your “ordinary oak” tree.
“The Southern live oak (Quercus virginiana), also known simply as the live oak, gets its name from the fact that, unlike other oaks, it doesn’t lose its leaves in the autumn. Live oaks are native to the Southeastern coast of the United States.”*
We like trees and decided to drive the extra miles out of town, to visit this majestic tree. It did not disappoint. Surprisingly, it is down a rutty, dirt road.
We knew we had arrived when we saw a high, chainlink fence outlining the circumference of the tree, with signs saying this property is protected and patrolled. We noticed the surveillance cameras too. The area is free and open to the public during the day, but closed and gated at night.
This is all good. We contrasted this to the Sycamore Gap tree next to Hadrian’s Wall where we hiked last fall, in England. That sycamore tree stood tall and majestic also, and was 200-300 years old, standing alone in the gap, for anyone to enjoy. A national treasure, for Great Britian. Unfortunately, two weeks after we sat under that beautiful Sycamore tree, vandals came and cut it down! Hopefully that will not happen to the Angel Oak Tree in South Carolina.
The Angel Oak tree is a national treasure. It is 300-400 years old…some estimate even older. They say the tree is 65 feet high with a trunk circumference of 25.5 feet, shading an area of 17,000 square feet. Of course, I couldn’t capture the whole tree in one photo…but I did take several photos.
The Angel Oak tree was worth the extra effort to find. A cardinal serenaded us from a different tree, but he added extra joy to our experience. A new baby tree has been sprouted from an acorn from the Angel Oak tree. It is three years old and grows in a pot next to the trunk, under the protecting branches of its mama.
Think of all this tree has lived through. Ah, the stories it could tell.
*Wikipedia
What an extraordinary pleasure it must have been to see this Angel Oak tree. Hopefully it will bring joy to people for years to come.
I hope so too…it will be a loss when it dies…but thankfully there is Baby Angel. 😉
Magnificent!
😉
Loved this blog. What a gift trees are in our world!
Thanks Karen,
I agree, trees are gifts to our world.
Gary looks like a midget! That is a phenomenal tree!
It is over the top huge!
Cool,
wish I were there with you!
You’d like it!
That oak is massively impressive. And bonus to have that cardinal serenading you.
It is an impressive tree. We really enjoyed seeing it (and being serenaded by the cardinal).
That tree is unspeakably magnificent! If only it could talk, I wonder what stories it could tell, not only of what it has seen of our lives, but also about its own. I absolutely loved the photos of this remarkable tribute to nature!
Thanks, Sheri. I too, wondered about the stories it could tell.