# Help me find a tree **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 27, 2024, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-a-tree/999474 "2024-03-27T19:20:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2024, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-a-tree/999474/1 "2024-03-27T19:20:03Z")
So apparently Tree Hunters are a thing. Which is kind of cool. Some guy recently re-discovered the [largest Cottonwood tree](https://www.newyorkupstate.com/outdoors/2022/12/upstate-new-york-tree-hunter-just-discovered-the-biggest-tree-in-new-york-maybe-the-nation.html) in NY. I would love to visit it but try as I might, I can not find the exact location or coordinates. If you Google ‘Schaghticoke cottonwood’ you will get tons of hits from news articles to scientific articles. I even tried the Big Tree Registry with no luck. I’m not sure why the mystery of keeping it’s location secret. But if someone with better googling skills than I could take a whack at finding it’s location, I’d appreciate it. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2024, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-a-tree/999474/2 "2024-03-27T19:24:21Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > I’m not sure why the mystery of keeping it’s location secret. Because not only do people visiting them turn quiet locales into annoying tourist hubs, but they also do crazy shit like this. > **[England's beloved Sycamore Gap tree will be removed from Hadrian's Wall](https://www.npr.org/2023/10/11/1205066133/sycamore-gap-tree-trunk-removed)** > > Officials say they're amazed by the public's concern for the well-loved tree, after receiving thousands of tributes, suggestions and donations from people in the U.K. and overseas. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2024, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-a-tree/999474/3 "2024-03-27T19:31:50Z")
Also, this version of his discovery sounds more like research and less like serendipity… > **[A Schaghticoke Tree Reclaims Place As New York's Largest - New York Almanack](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2023/02/schaghticoke-tree-reclaims-place-as-new-yorks-largest/)** > > An eastern cottonwood (Populus deltoides) located in Schaghticoke, Rensselaer County, NY, has regained its title as the largest known tree in NYS. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2024, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-a-tree/999474/4 "2024-03-27T19:31:53Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > but they also do crazy shit like this. I take your point but that has to a one off. The General Sherman tree is widely publicized and visited by millions and no one has cut it down yet. The same could said of hundreds, if not thousands, of other famous trees. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2024, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-a-tree/999474/5 "2024-03-27T20:10:19Z")
That tree is visited enough that it would be difficult to vandalize. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2024, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-a-tree/999474/6 "2024-03-27T22:35:31Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > The General Sherman tree is widely publicized and visited by millions and no one has cut it down yet. With a diameter of 36 feet, it’s not surprising that nobody has cut it down yet. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2024, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-a-tree/999474/7 "2024-03-27T23:15:37Z")
They don’t have to be cut down to be vandalized, and besides, the tree I linked to in the OP is about the same size at 34 feet diameter. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2024, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-a-tree/999474/8 "2024-03-28T00:10:31Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > I take your point but that has to a one off. It’s not. Keeping the locations of superlative (largest, tallest, oldest) trees is pretty common. Even if there’s no ill intent, large numbers of untrained and unrestrained visitors will severely damage the trees and the environment around them. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2024, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-a-tree/999474/9 "2024-03-28T00:15:03Z")
I’ve lived in Ohio my whole life. There are lots of trees here, but most are small due to periodic logging. Probably less than 0.1% of Ohio trees are “old growth,” and there are aficionados who like to hunt for them. There’s even a Facebook group called [Big Trees Ohio](https://www.facebook.com/BigTreesOhio) where people stand next to their finds. Some of those trees are _huge_. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2024, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-a-tree/999474/10 "2024-03-28T01:17:38Z")
Sometimes even trained professionals who should know better severely damage a tree. > **[How One Man Accidentally Killed the Oldest Tree Ever](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/how-one-man-accidentally-killed-the-oldest-tree-ever-125764872/)** > > In 1964, Donal Rusk Currey killed the oldest tree ever. It was a Bristlecone pine, and here's why they live so long ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2024, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-a-tree/999474/11 "2024-03-28T02:38:33Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > They don’t have to be cut down to be vandalized True enough, but I was responding to: > [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > The General Sherman tree is widely publicized and visited by millions and no one has cut it down yet. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2024, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-a-tree/999474/12 "2024-03-28T03:24:24Z")
I measured the maple tree in my front yard a few years ago. It is quite tall - I triangulated it at over 110’ but it is skinny. It’s only 100 years old and I have a photo of it from 1930 when it was 5 years old. Sadly that seems to be the age these particular maples grow to as many of them around the yards have already died. This one looks great though. I’m not sure what species it is. My neighbor told me one time decades ago, perhaps silver maple. He used to run a sugar bush. I tapped a few of my trees but what a job to get it all boiled down to syrup. I reduced it on the kitchen stove. Yeah,. yeah, I know. I might as well have sprayed the kitchen walls with glue. Just the other day I was reading about the oldest olive trees. Some are over 3500 years old. One tree in Croatia is “only” 1600 years old but still bears 30 kg of olives each year. They are pressed for oil. Talk about some expensive olive oil but I doubt the family sells any. That only like 4 or 5 bottles of oil. ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2024, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-a-tree/999474/13 "2024-03-28T03:48:20Z")
The Treaty Oak historic tree in TX got poisoned and nearly died [https://tfsweb.tamu.edu/websites/FamousTreesOfTexas/TreeLayout.aspx?pageid=16153#:~:text=In%201989%2C%20the%20Treaty%20Oak,a%20woman%20from%20another%20man](https://tfsweb.tamu.edu/websites/FamousTreesOfTexas/TreeLayout.aspx?pageid=16153#:~:text=In%201989%2C%20the%20Treaty%20Oak,a%20woman%20from%20another%20man). ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2024, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-a-tree/999474/14 "2024-03-28T03:59:55Z")
> [@mixdenny](#): > > Just the other day I was reading about the oldest olive trees. [I saw this while googling](https://www.miaelia.com/the-oldest-olive-tree-in-the-world/#:~:text=The%20Olive%20tree%20of%20Vouves,between%203000%E2%80%934000%20years%20old!). Those old olive trees are beautiful and amazing.