A Louisiana Treasure: Uncover the Story of the State’s Oldest Tree

Growing up in Louisiana, many have been somewhat desensitized to the wonders we see most every day in the massive cypress forests of our state.

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However, those who have ever taken the time to visit Louisiana's oldest tree, a massive bald cypress in south Louisiana, can certainly appreciate the words of poet Joyce Kilmer who wrote, "Poems are made by fools like me, But only God can make a tree."

Some who have spent their entire lives here in the Bayou State might not have known that Caddo Lake, which straddles the Louisiana/Texas border, has been declared the largest Cypress forest in the entire world. Many of the larger trees in the Uncertain/Karnack area of Caddo Lake are believed to be well in excess of 400 years old.

However, even these landmarks are relatively babies when you consider the age of the oldest tree in Louisiana.  When my Dad tagged me in a Facebook post in the Louisiana History group, he reminded me that Louisiana's oldest tree, is also the largest Cypress tree in all of the United States.

To see this incredible Bald Cypress, you'll have to make a trip to Cat Island NWR in St. Francisville, Louisiana.

In an article from monumentaltrees.com, we read that Louisiana's Bald Cypress '4298' has often been called the national champion tree for its species.

Standing nearly 100 feet tall, with the diameter of its base measuring over 50 feet, this tree is massive.  It's obviously taken a lot of time to get this large, as this tree is estimated to be over 1,000 years old, with some theorizing it to be 1,200 to 1,500 years old.

To put that in perspective, this tree was already at least 500 years old when Columbus found the New World.

But, considering its species, it's not even middle aged yet, as some bald cypresses have been known to reach 3,500 years of age, so many wonder just how big this mammoth will grow during its lifetime.

What's even crazier is that in spite of this tree's life that has spanned in excess of a millennia, it's nowhere near the age of the oldest tree in America which is a Great Bristlecone pine in the White Mountains of California and is believed to be over 5,000 years of age. That one is considered the oldest living tree in the world.