{"id":10232,"date":"2017-11-30T12:38:27","date_gmt":"2017-11-30T18:38:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/treefolkstest.wpengine.com\/?p=10232"},"modified":"2017-11-30T12:38:27","modified_gmt":"2017-11-30T18:38:27","slug":"a-big-tree-gets-a-small-start-in-texas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.treefolks.org\/es\/2017\/11\/30\/a-big-tree-gets-a-small-start-in-texas\/","title":{"rendered":"A Big Tree Gets A Small Start in Texas"},"content":{"rendered":"
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I can\u2019t say that it started with a photograph, but the image soon grew clear in my mind after we rambled out from the grounds of Stephen F. Austin University<\/span><\/span>. Two weeks prior, my partner Ben had pulled up an old black-and-white photo<\/a> as we dreamed of our trip to Mexico. <\/span>Twenty school children <\/span><\/span>loosely<\/span><\/span> clasped hands before what looked like a few dozen tree trunks squeezed all together<\/span><\/span>. \u201cThe Arbol del Tule,\u201d he explained. \u201cThe widest girth tree in the world. Until recently they thought it might be three different trees.\u201d I tried to imagine the awe I\u2019d feel, standing by a trunk that measures forty-two meters around. \u201cThat\u2019s definitely going on the list of things to see!\u201d I vowed. In the end, it didn\u2019t make it. Located outside of Oaxaca, six hours south of Mexico City, it was fifteen hours out of our way.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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A couple weeks later, it wasn\u2019t even on my mind. <\/span>Ben and I spent Labor Day weekend camping in Hank\u2019s Creek, a campground nestled between the piney forests of east Texas and Sam Rayburn Lake<\/span><\/span>. <\/span>We visited nearby towns and dropped in on a tiny farmer\u2019s market before deciding to explore the rich, four-hundred-plus acres of nearby Stephen F. Austin University<\/span><\/span>. We found to our dismay that they\u2019d finished their bi-annual plant sale <\/span>just<\/span><\/span> a day before. <\/span>We passed the morning in the beautiful gardens of the Mast Arboretum, and walked the trails of the Gayla Mize Garden, before ambling around to the Stephen F. Austin Native Plant Center<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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As the truck pulled in, we could <\/span>clearly<\/span><\/span> see the sale had taken place here the day before. <\/span>It was a little <\/span><\/span>wistfully<\/span><\/span>, that I looked out on the remaining three and five gallon buckets housing small trees and shrubs<\/span><\/span>. A couple of gardeners tidied up on the grounds. Ben spoke the words that were on my mind. \u201cHad we <\/span>just<\/span><\/span> come one day sooner\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Maybe<\/span><\/span> not,<\/span>\u00a0I thought. What\u2019d be the harm in asking if they might make a last minute sale? <\/span>I rolled down my window and summoned a passing gardener who gave a regretful no, \u201cThe University only lets us sell on two days of the year<\/span><\/span>.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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When I expressed my disappointment, mentioning Ben\u2019s work and his passion for gardening and trees, the gardener paused<\/span><\/span>. \u201cWell, I can\u2019t sell you anything,\u201d he repeated, \u201cbut would you guys <\/span>be interested<\/span><\/span>\u00a0in a rare tree?\u201d I learned very early in my life to never say no to a question like that. \u201cOf course!\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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But a few moments later, Ben and I stared in confusion when he brought over a little cypress and sat it at our feet. \u201cIt\u2019s a Montezuma Cypress.\u201d <\/span>The gardener must have noticed our confused expressions as he asked, \u201cHave you guys ever heard of that tree in Oaxaca<\/span><\/span>?\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The gardener, it turns out, was Dr. Creech of Stephen F. Austin University, one of the foremost experts on Cypress trees, who has traveled to China and Mexico to consult on the tree<\/span><\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>China, Dr. Creech explained, is leading the way, taking a proactive approach to protecting their lands from the changes to come<\/span><\/span>. <\/span>Dr. Creech has worked <\/span><\/span>directly<\/span><\/span> with experts in China cultivating hardy Cypress whose roots will\u00a0prevent erosion to the coastal dykes<\/span><\/span>. <\/span>And what hardier tree could there be than the \u201cArbol del Tule,\u201d estimated to be between\u00a01400 and 1600 years old<\/span><\/span>? <\/span>Dr. Creech along with Chinese, Mexican, and other American researchers, brought back saplings from the \u201cArbol del Tule<\/span><\/span>.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
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A cutting from one of these saplings named “Oaxaca Child” sat at our feet,\u00a0an <\/span><\/span>incredibly<\/span><\/span> generous gift that left us with a single problem: where do you plant the child of an ancient, gargantuan tree<\/span><\/span>?<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Many thanks to our NeighborWoods Field Assistant Ben Bertram and his partner Hannah L. Harkey for providing the photo and writing respectively.<\/em><\/div>\n
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Interested readers can check out Dr. Creech\u2019s blog post on the \u2018Oaxaca Child\u2019 <\/span>here<\/span><\/a>. <\/span>NeighborWoods <\/span><\/span>occasionally<\/span><\/span>\u00a0offers the Montezuma Cypress; no guarantees it’ll be as big as the Arbol del Tule.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I can\u2019t say that it started with a photograph, but the image soon grew clear in my mind after we rambled out from the grounds of Stephen F. Austin University….<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10232","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t