Storms destroy champion white oak

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Storms destroy champion white oak

Centuries-old Barnesville tree was poised to become the official state tree

by Melissa A. Chadwick | Staff Writer

E-mail this article \ Print this article

Courtesy of Maryland Big Tree Program

Flora’s Oak, the state’s champion white oak, toppled during the June 4 storms that swept through the region. The oak stood on property owned by Victor and Linda Pepe in Barnesville.

The grandest white oak in Maryland – a 107-foot tall beauty with a 115-foot wide crown that stood for an estimated 200-300 years in Barnesville – was the victim of last week’s storms.

The state champion Flora’s Oak, on property owned by Victor and Linda Pepe, was on its way to being designated the official state tree by Gov. Martin O’Malley, said John Bennett, volunteer coordinator of the Maryland Big Tree Program. He received a request from O’Malley’s office to schedule a press conference announcing the proclamation on June 4, the day of the storm.

‘‘There are a number of large white oaks in the state, but none really that compare to the beauty of that tree,” Bennett said. ‘‘They don’t have the class of this tree.” The white oak is Maryland’s state tree.

Flora’s Oak ‘‘just uprooted” the night of the storms, which recorded wind gusts of up to 83 mph in Germantown, according to Dan Landry, a Pepco forester who is chairman of Montgomery County’s Forest Conservancy Board. Landry spoke with Linda Pepe on Thursday, he said. The Pepes declined to comment.

She told Landry that ‘‘the root ball was considerably smaller than expected, which is strange because [the tree] looked incredibly healthy,” he said.

Maryland’s former state tree, Talbot County’s nearly 500-year-old Wye Oak, had a similar fate as Flora’s Oak. The Wye Oak, which had been the official state tree since 1941, was the largest white oak on record in the United States until it was felled during a 2002 thunderstorm, according to the Maryland State Archives Web site.

An official ‘‘Big Tree” is based on a point system. Points are awarded on trunk circumference, tree height and average crown spread. Bennett said volunteers with the Maryland Big Tree Program will measure white oaks to determine the new state champion. Trees in Anne Arundel, Calvert, Cecil, Howard and Prince George’s counties are near the top of the list, he said.

Bennett encouraged those who have white oaks that might be contenders to contact him at mdbigtreeprogram@aol.com.

When the Pepes purchased their Barnesville farm 17 years ago, the owner told them the tree was dying but they went right to work to preserve it, according to a December report on Flora’s Oak in The Washington Post. They named the tree after Victor Pepe’s late sister.

The Pepes took exceptional care for the tree and cleared the surrounding property so it wouldn’t be impacted by other growth, Bennett said.

‘‘You won’t find a more caring set of owners,” Bennett said. ‘‘It was really quite a loss.”

Staff Writer Joe Beckcontributed to this report.

big tree program

Learn more about the state’s champion trees at www.cecilfb.sailorsite.net⁄MD_Big_Tree.htm.