While I was out planning the route for the tour with my co-leaders Amanda Gomm and Gaspar Horvath, I insisted on a detour through the Magwood Sanctuary, a now degraded woodland marsh.
Within this ‘woodsy’ component to the tour, there was a recently cut stump of a twin oak located at a path juncture. Gaspar considered this fortuitous, for he could use the variations in the rings (close to 200 of them in the larger stump) to illustrate the climate-related history of the tree, pointing out the Hurricane Hazel ring.
Our exemplary tree had a very good root system! During one of my more recent visits to it, I observed a small shoot emerging on the south side near the ground. I have been keeping an eye on its growth, and it is now a sturdy 18 inches in height. A Phoenix Tree – rising from the ashes!
I contacted the City of Toronto’s Parks and Forestry division and they are going to protect the shoot (and its tiny four-leaved sister that sprouted in August). Some of us REALLY love trees, and this one is a truly beautiful teaching piece with an indomitable spirit! With luck, 200 years from now, a new generation of tree tourists will be able to look at this oak, rich with nearly half a century of natural history and native genetic heritage.