Old Cypress

Last week, a class of students from Eastern Kentucky University visited the Audubon Center at the Francis Beidler Forest to study the trees in the cypress/tupleo forest. The image shows Erin Reno, seasonal naturalist, standing next to a Bald Cypress (Taxodium distichum), which is listed as the second oldest Bald Cypress in eastern North America. The tree has been cored showing it to be 1246 years old, but as with many trees in the swamp, this tree is hollow. Extrapolating for the hollow inches, we estimate the tree to be over 1500 years old.

The list of the oldest trees in eastern North America can be found here. The list of the oldest Bald Cypress trees can be found here. Although the University of Arkansas Tree-ring Lab data only shows the oldest trees for each site, we have the notes taken during the actual coring at the Francis Beidler Forest. There are several trees directly off the boardwalk that are over 1000 years old.

Old-growth...there's nothing better!