Tickfaw State Park Cypress--"Grandma tree"-- Over 600 Years Old

"Grandma Tree"-- Tickfaw State Park
GPS: N30.22.958 W090.38.329

The most well known tree in Tickfaw State Park, near Springville in Livingston Parish-- the Grandma Tree-- has finally revealed her (approximate) age, thanks to a boring recently taken by the La Purchase Cypress Legacy campaign.

Here are the statistics

Circumference at Buttress: Approx. 20"10"

Trunk circumference above buttress: Approx. 15'5" (used for age determination)

Boring length: 7.75 inches

Rings counted: Approx. 187

187 rings / x = 7.75" boring / 30" trunk radius

x (total rings) = approx. 724

Projected age 600 + years

This projected age accounts for the likely faster tree growth at the beginning of it lifespan. Like most older cypress, much of the tree is hollow. Closely spaced rings seen in photo below indicate a very slow growing cypress, as is often the case with cypress of this size and in this setting. See the previous Dec 31, 2018 Blog post for a photo of the recently placed La Purchase Bicentennial Legacy Plaque placed near this majestic cypress, proclaiming "Alive in 1812". It appears the Grandma tree was already at least 400 years old at the time of Louisiana's statehood.

Grandma Tree Boring--Closely spaced rings above ruler show very slow yearly growth

A boring was also taken from a second cypress tree near the Tickfaw State Park Boat Launch in Gum Bayou. (Pictured also in previous blog post)

GPS: N30.22.714 , W090.30.140

Here's what we found:

Circumference at Buttress: Approx. 20"1"

Trunk circumference above buttress: Approx. 14' (used for age determination)

Boring length: 2.75 inches

Rings counted: Approx. 75

75 rings / x = 2.75" boring / 27" trunk radius

x (total projected rings) = approx. 736

Projected age 600 + years

Similar to the Grandma Tree (located off Canoe Launch Road near the campsite), this grand old cypress is projected to be over 600 years old. As seen in the bore photo below, this tree also is very slow growing-- faintly visible ringsabove the ruler  are very closely spaced.

boring of Gum Bayou Tree

Together with previously landmarked trees in Livingston Parish (see 6/17/17 and 6/23/17 Blog entries--Bayou Barbary and Amite River), these Tickfaw State Park trees are among the oldest known cypress in Livingston Parish. The Grandma Tree is easily accessible from Canoe Launch Road., and the Gum Bayou cypress is readily visible from canoe or kayak, as are several other large old cypress on Gum Bayou and the nearby Tickfaw, accessible form the Tickfaw State Park Boat launch.

City Park, New Orleans Cypress determined to be 170-190 years old

The large City Park cypress behind Grow Dat Youth Farm in City Park New Orleans, adjacent to the Frisbee gulf course (29.995883 N,  90.091117 W-- see map at previous Blog post) has been determined to be nearly two hundred years old—not old enough to qualify as a La Purchase Cypress Legacy tree—but certainly one of the oldest cypress in Orleans Parish. this area of the Park has several older cypress interspersed with large live oaks.

Here are the statistics:

Circumference: 11’11”

1^st boring:  8 inches, approx. 78 rings counted

2^nd boring: 6.2 inches, approx. 57 rings counted

Projected Age: 170-190 years old

This could well be the oldest known cypress in City Park and is currently the oldest known cypress in Orleans Parish with borings to verify estimated age. (The first commemorated La Purchase Cypress Legacy Tree, located in New Orleans at the residence located at Baronne and Robert Street did not have a boring taken)

“Grandma Tree” in Tickfaw Park commemorated with La Bicentennial Cypress Legacy Plaque : “Alive in 1812”

photo by Mike Weeks

This plaque, presented to Tickfaw State Park in 2012 by the LBCL campaign (a 2012 initiative that supplemented  the Louisiana Purchase Cypress Legacy to  recognize  cypress trees alive in 1812, the year of Louisiana’s statehood) , was recently placed at the site of one of the oldest cypress trees in Livingston Parish. (Boring and estimated age forthcoming.) A boardwalk to the tree is located off the main road through the Park, just past the turnoff to the campsites (see map and coordinates below)

Tickfaw State Park contains several examples of large old cypress, some of which are  accessible from the Park's canoe launch, including that shown below.

                                                           courtesy of Amy Warner

  Largest (Oldest?) Cypress in Orleans Parish Discovered in City Park

We have discovered (thanks to a tip from Wesley Martin--thanks Wesley!)     another cypress treasure hiding in plain sight-- this one in City Park in New Orleans, behind the "Grow-Dat" Farm (see map below) . This is an impressive old cypress with thick limbs, a full canopy and a circumference measured at 11 feet 11 inches, the largest known cypress we have found in Orleans parish.  Its impressive girth, along with its location along one of the City Park bayous in a grove of other large old cypress, suggest that it could be "alive in 1803" and eligible for addition to the LPCL registry. We are awaiting permission to take a boring of the tree to determine its age. In the meantime, if you are aware of any similarly/larger sized cypress in Orleans Parish (circumference measured above the buttress where the trunk becomes uniform in size), please let us know!

LPCL Treasure Hunt Parish Registry Update

Click on this link to view a May 2018 update of the "Louisiana Purchase Cypress Legacy Treasure Hunt-- A Registry of the Largest/Oldest known Cypress in each Louisiana Parish". Several new Parish discoveries have been added since the previous version, including centuries old cypress in Ascension, Bossier, Claiborne, Iberville, Lafourche, Livingston, Natchitoches, St. John the Baptist, St. Landry, St. Martin, St. Tammany, Terrebonne, Webster, and Winn Parishes.

Parishes still awaiting discovery of a 215 + year old cypress ("Alive in 1803") include Acadia, Allen, Beauregard, Caddo, Calcasieu, Caldwell, Cameron, Claiborne, East Feliciana, Franklin, Grant, Jackson, Jefferson Davis, Lafayette, LaSalle, Lincoln, Madison, Ouachita Parish, Pointe Coupe, Red River, Richland, Sabine, St. Bernard, St. Helena, St. James (Blind River Boring pending), St. Martin, St. Mary, Vermillion, Vernon,  and West Baton Rouge.

And for those Parishes already having registered cypress listed, we are always happy to hear of trees that may be older than those listed.

Saline Bayou, Cloud Creek Crossing, Winn Parish