New Orleans Trees Pt. 1

Our search for ancient oak trees brought us to New Orleans where several trees are listed on the Registry. Of particular interest to us was the "Tree of Life" in Audubon Park.

The road we had to take to find this tree, Magazine Street, took us in front of the Whole Foods Market at Arabella Station. At the time, there was no Whole Foods in our town of Lafayette. Whole Foods for my husband and I has always been kind of magical. A friend of ours took us to the Whole Foods on Esplanade many years ago and we've been hooked since. We decided to get some lunch and picnic in the park before seeking out the Tree of Life. I love the fruit tarts and Martinelli's is the only apple juice I will drink. 

Anyway, here's a little history on the Tree of Life.The Tree of Life is officially registered under the name Etienne de Boré Oak. This oak is enormous with a girth of approximately 35 feet and a crown of more than 160 feet. It is part of an old-growth oak grove near the Audubon Zoo. It was No. 13 on Edwin Lewis Stephens’ list of 34 original inductee trees. The tree is named for Jean Etienne de Boré, a significant person in Louisiana history. He was the first French planter to successfully granulate sugar cane into sugar. This process helped make sugarcane a very profitable crop of the antebellum south. De Boré was also the first mayor of New Orleans, prior to the Louisiana Purchase, before New Orleans was made part of the United States.

This tree is truly amazing to see. It is located in Audubon Park on the downriver side of the zoo. Audubon Park was once part of Etienne de Bore's large sugarcane plantation.

Any tree with a girth of more than 30 feet at 4 feet about ground level is estimated to be at least 500 years old. When this tree was registered, the girth was about 23 feet 1 inch. This tree is also one of the oldest 100 trees listed on the Live Oak Registry. Notice the gnarled roots that mound up around the base.

There are three other unnamed trees on the Registry that can be found in Audubon Park. They are elder members of the Registry. Two oaks, the George and Martha Washington oaks, were among the original members as well. Unfortunately, George has passed away but Martha still resides in the rhino enclosure at the zoo.

We stayed the night and had dinner at Cochon on Tchoupitoulas. We were sad when the Cochon in Lafayette closed so we decided to give the original a shot while we were in town. We were not disappointed. We didn't have reservations so we were seated outside. It was pretty hot and the setting sun was right in our faces. I was starting to question whether this had been a good idea and then the sun went behind the buildings. We ordered our food and some drinks. While waiting for the food, we got to watch the rhythm of the city, cars passing, the pedestrians and cyclists, and even got to see a wedding second line. Our food arrived pretty quickly and was so amazing! Cochon did not disappoint. Next time I visit, I want a seat outside!

The next morning we had breakfast at the hotel, checked out, and headed to City Park in search of more trees. Finding trees on the Registry is kind of tricky since there is just a general location listed for each tree. Usually, I search the internet for clues on specific locations. I hadn't prepared in advance to look for trees at City Park but I knew there were several, including one of the two Dueling Oaks. I had also heard of the Singing Oak, which is not really an ancient tree, but is still pretty cool.

We got to the Park and parked by the New Orleans Museum of Art. We found several interesting trees along the edge of the pond. We also found the Singing Oak but didn't get any pictures of it. We struck out finding the location of the Dueling Oaks so we decided to check out the New Orleans Botanical Garden located in City Park. I really enjoy botanical gardens. It's like a museum for plants.

Our next tree adventure would be at Rip Van Winkle Gardens.

The Live Oak Society

As mentioned in my previous entry, the Live Oak Society was founded by Dr. Edwin Lewis Stephens in 1934. Dr. Stephens was the first president of Southwestern Louisiana Institute, which is now University of Louisiana at Lafayette, located in Lafayette, Louisiana. In January 1901, Dr. Stephens planted Live Oak seedlings on the campus. A few of them remain at the intersection of University Avenue and Johnston Street and are named the Century Oaks.

The Society began with 43 original members (trees) and now has in excess of 7,477 members. Members are located in 14 states and the Society operates under the Louisiana Garden Club Federation, Inc. The by-laws of the Society only permit one human member, the chairman. The current chairman is Colleen Perilloux Landry. Her job is to register and record the Live Oak Society members.

Anyone can apply to have a tree registered. The Live Oak must have a girth of eight (8) feet at its waist. The "waist" is considered to be about four (4) feet above ground level. Any tree with a waist in excess of sixteen (16) feet is classified as a centenarian. Here is a link to the application to register a tree. Live Oak Society Tree Registration Form

The original president of the Live Oak Society was the Locke Breaux Oak. This tree was named after the Locke and Breaux families, who are descendants of the English philosopher, John Locke. The Locke Breaux oak was located in Taft, Louisiana. I say "was located" because unfortunately the tree was killed in the mid-1960s by air and groundwater pollution. The Colonial Dairy Farm was the original sponsor of this tree. With the discovery of oil in the region, the farm was sold to a chemical company, one of many that moved into the area following the shift from agriculture to industry.

Dr. Edwin Lewis Stephens, in an article he wrote for the Louisiana Conservation Review (April 1934), began his list of proposed trees for membership with a description of the Locke Breaux Oak:

“First on the list, and most outstanding timber of the highest rank in the Association, is the Locke Breaux Live Oak, on the right bank of the Mississippi River, four miles above Hahnville in St. Charles Parish…This is the largest live oak I ever saw.  Its girth four feet above the ground is 35 feet; its height about 75 feet; its spread 166 feet, when I measured it on January 22, 1932, in company with my friend, its owner, the late Samuel Locke Breaux of New Orleans.”

Ethelyn G. Orso’s Louisiana Live Oak Lore (published by  The Center for Louisiana Studies, University of Southwestern Louisiana, Lafayette, Louisiana) indicates that:

“According to legend, in 1682 LaSalle and his band of explorers knelt beneath it to give thanks for their safe journey down the Mississippi River.  The Locke Breaux Oak was estimated to be between 300 and 400 years old.”

It is estimated that this beautiful tree was sprouted sometime in 1657. Its demise due to poisonous environmental factors is a pertinent message to our society. More must be done to protect these ancient elders, not just live oaks, but all animals and plants for future generations to marvel at their magnificence.

The current president of the Live Oak Society is the Seven Sisters Oak. The tree was named president in 1968. It was originally called Doby's Seven Sisters. It was renamed and registered. At registration, the girth was 36'1" and, in 2002, measured 38". The Seven Sisters Oak is recognized as the largest certified live oak tree and is estimated by foresters to be more than 1,200 years old. Seven Sisters Oak is recognized as Champion Oak of Louisiana by the Louisiana Forestry Association, honored as National Champion, and is believed to be the oldest North American live oak. While I have not had the pleasure of seeing this oak in person, it is definitely on my to-do list. It is #200 on the registry, located at 200 Fountain Street, Lewisburg, LA; two blocks from Lake Pontchartrain.

So, after reviewing the Live Oak Society website, my husband and I realized that there are several trees on the registry right around our area. Inspired by our friend, the Maestro, and armed with the information from the internet, we embarked on a quest to find some of these amazing trees.

Ancient Tree Bike and Hike

The Ancient Tree Bike & Hike is just what it sounds like...a bike and hike around New Iberia, Louisiana, in search of ancient trees. Our tour guide, the Maestro aka BT aka Possum Jim, starts the tour in downtown New Iberia, known locally at the City of Live Oaks. There are dozens of remarkable live oaks over 100 years old and registered with the Live Oak Society.

The day of our tour started out overcast and slightly cool, kind of unusual for Louisiana in May. The Maestro led us through the streets of New Iberia to a couple of trees along a major thoroughfare, Main Street. He explains to us that the age of the live oaks are determined by measuring their girth at four feet from the ground. Growth rings are not really reliable with live oaks as they grow very quickly when they are young then growth slows.

Maestro pointed out that this particular tree has a large bump at about four feet above the ground so it was hard to accurately measure the age.

We continued our ride along Main Street to find the Steamboat House. The house was built in 1882 and is accented by a very old live oak in the front yard. The tree is called Annie-Laurie.

The next tree we came across was both beautiful and sad. Maestro told us one day while driving through town he noticed that the tree didn't look quite right. As a tree lover, he was concerned and notified the homeowner that he thought someone had sprayed an herbicide/defoliant near the ancient tree. Remediation was started and saved the tree but it is now damaged. In spite of the damage, it is still a very impressive tree.

Then Maestro took us to his favorite spot, the "Green Cathedral". I can't explain the feeling you get when you walk into the Cathedral. There are several live oaks in the same area but there is one especially large one closer to the Bayou Teche.

Sometime in the tree's past, a cable was attached, most likely to help it support the massive limbs. The cable was never removed and has grown into the trunk of the tree. You can see the turnbuckle at the top of this photo.

The last tree-related stop on our bike ride was this beautiful scene of a live oak along the Bayou Teche.

On a totally unrelated note, if you happen to be in downtown New Iberia around lunchtime, Victor's Cafeteria has an amazing plate lunch. For those not familiar with what a plate lunch is, it is typically a meat dish with two sides and a bread. Do yourself a favor and stop by at Victor's. Victor's Cafeteria

The Beginning

Earlier this year, I went on the Ancient Tree Bike and Hike with a good friend. He is a professor of Plant Science, an arborist and just a generally cool guy. Among other nicknames, I call him the Maestro. He conducts a bike/hike around New Iberia, Louisiana. As a tree lover, I had been wanting to attend one of his tours but the timing was never quite right. Well, one day he offered to do a private tour for my husband and I. We immediately jumped at the chance. It was a wonderful tour! I learned for the first time about the Live Oak Society (http://www.lgcfinc.org/live-oak-society.html) whose members are all old trees with one human chairperson.

The live oak society was founded in 1934 by Dr. Edwin Louis Stephens, who was the first president of Southwestern Louisiana Institute (now University of Louisiana at Lafayette). It's purpose is to "promote the culture, distribution, preservation and appreciation of the live oak tree, scientifically known as Quercus virginiana."

During our tour, we got to see many very old live oak trees around the city of New Iberia. While they were all amazing, one in particular was my favorite. Our tour guide calls it the "Green Cathedral".

So anyway, to get to the point, this tour inspired my husband and I to seek out old and unique trees around South Louisiana. We have found several members of the Live Oak Society both accidentally and on purpose. It has been very educational and spiritual. Some of these trees are hundreds of years old. It is very humbling to stand in their presence and to imagine the things they have seen during their lifetime. This blog will be a collection of our adventures and quest for ancient and awesome trees.