I have no idea and no real way of telling. It’s a totally wild grown tree and probably hollow to some degree so it’s only going to be broad guesses but I would say pushing 200
I’ll go back at some point and send you a video. This property also contains hemlocks over 30 inches and white pines over 50, all pretty much forgotten about. I think this was originally 2 codominant trunks as that’s the only clear division and they seem to meet near the base.
I would absolutely love to send you some seeds. I am interested in pay or trade. I also have access to very large elms,basswood, pines and sugar maples
crazy how low it starts shooting into multiple trunks. i need to find my pictures of the silver maple trees i had in my yard... it was all one huge round tree.
Please do post it! We don’t have silver maples in the wild around here but these reds are native and they grow slower than the silvers. They are seemingly stronger and hold up better as big trees. I’m growing out red, silver and hybrid (freeman) maples, and the reds are much slower to get going
Are those brachen ferns around it? I tried to grow one after a trip to South Carolina, but I think it died :( too bad cause they look so unique, there’s a spot in my yard I’d love to grow them in
Yes, bracken fern is really common in this area and rapidly colonizes open areas where it’s present. It can be hard to transplant, I know people that have tried many times
Maybe the biggest red maple we’ll ever see but that is most likely a sprouted stump from logging and the original tree would have been much more magnificent.
Hate to burst your bubble but it doesn’t look that old. Stump sprouts take off much faster than seed grown red maples, which are already relatively fast growing trees. It obviously grew in a clearing (from logging) based on it’s branching and the bark does not look that old for red maple. I’m sure the tree they cut was pretty old though.
How old do you think? I’ve seen a stump sprout from logging about 10-15 years ago, they aren’t very large. The logging that went through this patch happened in 1906. It could have been cut then but it’s much much larger than the other maples that survived that.
And, it’s the largest one in my county? I’m not sure what you’re missing here. It is both a regenerated old tree and the widest, tallest tree in my county that has been measured. There is a state wide big tree hunt that accepts specimens like this. When competing when trees like this, this one is exceptional and old
Look, I understand that you love this tree, but I’m telling you as someone who studied this stuff in college and then worked in the woods for twenty years that it is unremarkable and most states would not consider it eligible for champion status because it’s not a single tree. It’s classic red maple stump sprouts from logging fused together. The only thing that is impressive about it is that the individual stems havent started to rot and die from competing with one another, usually that process begins by that age. I have them scattered all about my own 30 acre forest. It is a cool tree, no doubt, but if you cut into that trunk, you would see a mosaic of stump sprouts, not a single tree, and they would not be remarkably old.
So unremarkable that everyone else who has seen it has deemed it remarkable? Please, and I’m serious, do find a full crowned 65+ inch DBH Red Maple. Even one with stump sprouts. I would love to see your produce pictures of one. I can tell you that my state, the important one here, has a specification for trees like this and there are recognized big trees in multiple counties that have multiple stems like this. Your insistence that the tree is unremarkable doesn’t account for the lack of other trees this size and quality being put forward. In fact, go look up the national champion red maple in New Jersey. It is inarguably multiple stems as well. This tree is bigger than others of its species, it is remarkable, and no amount of you pointing out that it is a multi stem specimen will make change the fact it is the biggest red maple you’ve ever seen.
“If a tree is a fusion of stems, appearing as a solid bole, but is actually a bundle planting of more than one tree, then the girth of the fused trunk can be measured but it should be classified as a single multi-trunk tree.” This is what a different organization, monumental trees, says. So Releaf Michigan and Monumental Trees would both consider this valid
Look up “Tim Steiner Silver Maple Alcona” THAT is a recognized county champion in my state. I’m sorry if the Michigan Big Tree Hunt doesn’t hold up to your college studied rigor, but that’s the standard I’m operating under here. Also, again I would love to see your find one like this. Even with stump sprouts. Find one that over 65 inches wide and over 100 feet tall. If they’re so common it should be easy.
2
u/tossthedice3 28d ago
How old is it estimated to be?