Big Pecan Tree at Natchez Trace State Park

One of the world's largest pecan trees

Big Pecan Tree in 2004, Natchez Trace State Park in western Tennessee

Copyright © 2004 Ric Brooks. All rights reserved. Used with permission.

The Big Pecan Tree of Carroll County, Tennessee (above photo) was one of the world's largest pecan trees. In 1958, it was measured as 104 feet in height, 125 feet in crown spread, and 17 feet 8 inches in circumference of the trunk. Though it was a mature tree, it was still growing! In 1973 (image of the tree in about 1973), it was measured as 106 feet in height, 136 feet in spread, and 18 feet 2 inches in circumference. Its shade was said to cover an acre of ground.

The American Forestry Association recorded the tree's 1973 measurements in its Register of Big Trees and named it "The World's Largest Pecan Tree". It held the title for a short time, but within a year, larger pecan trees were found in Louisiana and Virginia.

Ric Brooks' photo of the tree (above) was taken in 2004, near the end of the Big Pecan Tree's life. Deterioration is clearly evident; however, the size of the tree is suggested by the massive trunk and branch captured in the photo. The trunk was filled with concrete, some of which is visible. Because of the concrete, the exact age of the tree could not be ascertained.

Planted along the Natchez Trace

The Big Pecan Tree grew along the Natchez Trace in west-central Tennessee. I picked up an information sheet titled "Natchez Trace State Park History" at the state park's visitor center several years ago. It described the Natchez Trace as...

...originally... an ill-defined series of trails and paths beaten out by the Indians and perhaps the buffalo. Several of these trails, though individually unimportant, when joined together lead to a Northeasterly direction from the present day Natchez, Mississippi, to Nashville, Tennessee.

Later the settlers would travel down the Trace to sell their goods, often on foot, further tramping out and identifying a more definite Trace.

(Source: Undated, unattributed hand-out from the Natchez Trace State Park Visitors Center)

A high, dry ridge in Carroll County, Tennessee, was an unlikely spot for The Big Pecan Tree to grow. Pecans were not native to that area, which suggests that an old legend about the tree is probably based on fact. Oral history claims that a pecan nut was brought to the site by travelers on the Natchez Trace, which passed a mere 30 feet from the site where the tree grew.

A plaque placed at the tree in the 1930s by the John McCall Chapter of the D.A.R. (Daughters of the American Revolution) recorded the legend: "Accepted tradition says that this tree had grown from a pecan given to Sukey Morris by one of Andrew Jackson's men as they traveled homeward after the Battle of New Orleans." No official records of Sukey Morris are known to exist, but it is thought she might have been the child of squatters who were living along the Natchez Trace. The area was still Indian territory at the end of the War of 1812.

The 1986 History of Carroll County provides some additional documentation of the tree's history:

In the book "Westward to the Roundtop", Mr. Morris mentions the pecan tree as a landmark in 1830. Families coming to Carroll County from North Carolina passed the tree on their way to Lexington from the Roundtop Community; it was already bearing fruit.

(Source: History of Carroll County, p. 63)

A life that spanned three centuries

The pecan (Carya illinoinensis) is long-lived, like its brethren, the hickories, and many other members of the walnut family. It reaches maturity at around 150-200 years. Many specimens survive 250 years or longer. If the Big Pecan Tree was planted in 1816, it would have been 188 years old in 2004, the date when Ric Brooks' photograph was taken.

The Big Pecan Tree, already supported with cables and filled with concrete by tree surgeons, was heavily damaged by a windstorm in 2000. For a few years, one large branch survived, as seen in the photo. Brooks commented on the tree's sad condition:

The tree was in pretty bad shape when I took that picture. That one limb was about 12 feet off the ground and stretched out about 15 feet. Just the limb itself was very impressive. You can see in the picture that the trunk was dying by then. It was alive but the person I was with and myself both knew that it wasn't long for this earth.

(Source: Email from Ric Brooks, November 20, 2009)

Now the tree has completely died. The remains of its trunk have been cut down and pushed into a gully, apparently in 2008 or early 2009. The D.A.R. plaque telling the legend of Sukey Morris has been removed.

"There's nothing left to see," a park secretary assured me, when I telephoned to inquire about the Big Pecan Tree. She underestimated my curiosity. I would enjoy seeing even the stump.

Hackberry in winter

Twiggy branches of a mature hackberry tree

Hackberry (Celtis occidentalis) is a tree that's quite easy to identify in winter. If you learn to recognize its amooth-but-warty bark and its extremely twiggy silhouette, you can name this tree with confidence.

Celtis occidentalis, the common hackberry, grows in most of the United States except for the states west of the Rocky Mountains  (Those states have other varieties of hackberry trees.) It produces small berries (actually, drupes) that are eaten by a wide variety of wildlife. Because of the sweetness of the berries, one of hackberry's common names is "sugarberry".

This tree grows on the grounds of St. Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. It's a very large tree. I am fond of it.

Ten Native Trees with Leathery Leaves

Trees with tough, durable foliage

Leathery leaves of Quercus stellata (post oak)

Image courtesy of Iowa State Extension Service

In tree books and nursery catalogs, the term "leathery leaves" is sometimes used. What does "leathery" mean?

Leathery is an adjective that is used to describe a leaf's texture -- that is, how it feels when you hold the leaf between your fingers. A leaf's texture is a entirely separate characteristic from its size, shape, or color.

"Leathery" is the opposite of delicate. Leathery leaves are tough and durable. They are a bit thicker than most leaves, and they're somewhat pliable. They have a texture that's similar to thin leather. They are not easily torn by accident. A leathery leaf would never be called "limp" -- rather, they are substantial leaves.

When you're wondering if a tree's foliage would be described as leathery, examine a mature leaf. The leaves of a few tree species are leathery as soon as they pop out of the bud, but the leaves of various others are delicate at first but become leathery as they mature.

Homeowners should be aware that leathery leaves are slow to deteriorate. Raking will be needed to remove fallen leaves from the lawn.

Here are some examples of deciduous native trees of North America that have leathery leaves. The Latin names are linked to the trees' respective pages in the USDA Plants database.

Alnus serrulata -- Hazel alder (leaf image)
Fagus grandifolia -- American beech (leaf image)
Liquidambar styraciflua -- American sweetgum (leaf image)
Magnolia acuminata -- Cucumbertree magnolia (leaf inage)
Prunus serotina -- Black cherry (leaf image)
Quercus alba -- White oak (leaf image)
Quercus bicolor -- Swamp white oak (leaf image)
Quercus prinus -- Chestnut oak (leaf image)
Quercus stellata -- Post oak (leaf image)
Rhododendron maximum -- Rosebay rhododendron (leaf image)

The Popular Poplar Tree

A tree-climbing poem

The upper branches of a cottonwood (poplar) tree -- probably

a plains cottonwood, as this photo was taken in Colorado

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jonhurd/ / CC BY 2.0

How would it would feel to climb high in a poplar tree, with gusts of wind swaying the branches? Oh, my, I am definitely too old for that! It gives me a funny feeling in the pit of my stomach to think about it.

The Popular Poplar Tree

When the great wind sets things whirling
And rattles the window panes,
And blows the dust in giants
and dragons tossing their manes;
When the willows have waves like water,
And children are shouting with glee;
When the pines are alive and the larches,---
Then hurrah for you and me,
In the tip o' the top' o the top o' the tip of
the popular poplar tree!

Don't talk about Jack and the Beanstalk---
He did not climb half so high!
And Alice in all her travels
Was never so near the sky!
Only the swallow, a-skimming
The storm-cloud over the lea,
Knows how it feels to be flying---
When the gusts come strong and free---
In the tip o' the top' o the top o' the tip of
the popular poplar tree!

---Blanch Willis Howard

Maybe the poet's poplar was popular because it was so easy to climb. Or maybe she just enjoyed the sound of the similar words.

I came across this little poem in Arbor Day Leaves: A Complete Programme for Arbor Day Observance, Including Readings, Recitations, Music & General Information. This booklet was compiled by N. H. Egleston of the USDA Forest Service and published in 1893 by American Book Company of New York.

Tree planting mistakes have consequences

Young trees that failed to thrive

A lady from my hometown in Nebraska writes a daily newsletter. Today she mentioned some trees that were planted 15 years ago in a small town about 60 miles from where she lives. It's interesting to learn that the trees failed to thrive because traditional cautions -- don't plant the tree deeper in the soil than it was in the pot; beware of trees with roots that circle the inside of the pot -- were ignored.

Back in 1994 they planted trees in the park that later became the swimming pool park. Only a few of those trees have really grown right. So two of the state foresters took an air spade and blew the dirt away from the roots of a Norway maple and an ash tree. Both were planted at least 6" too deep plus they were potted trees and had roots that were circling. One root was so large that it had girdled one side of the Norway maple. The ash tree roots had grown up and to within an inch of the surface of the soil and then went out from there. This is a very poor scaffolding for the tree when it is windy. Neither tree was over 12" tall. The maple had stunted leaves and poor top growth. The ash had limbs only on three sides and had set a huge amount of seeds indicating it was stressed and dying. They are going to try leaving only an inch of soil over the roots and then add 2" of mulch and see if the trees are happier. (Source: Email from Carolyn J. Hall, dated 11/6/09.)