The mystery continues - Letters - Letter to the Editor

American Forests, Autumn, 2003 by Guy Sternberg

Editor: The jury is still out on the age of the great osage-orange at the home of Patrick Henry, despite the intriguing article (Summer 2003) by Nancy Ross Hugo and the two increment cores taken by dendrochronologist Carolyn Copenheaver. Via a combination of leg-end, inordinate extrapolation of data, and wishful thinking, the tree is proclaimed to be 300 years old.

Not bloody likely.

I have lived among acres of this species since 1978. The trees frequently have quite variable ring widths, presumably influenced by genetic characteristics, degree of competition and growing position, and changing growth rates. The stems can vary in size and usually are identical in age, despite assumptions that these stems were not.

Osage-orange would not have been missed easily by early 19th century botanists in the East, especially next to this home. In photographs, grade changes that suggest the site was modified for construction of the house or out-building prior to planting the tree. I suggest we respect this tree as the greatest of its kind on Earth and not try to inflate its pedigree beyond that.

Guy Sternberg

Petersburg, Illinois