Abstract
IN the Transactions and Proceedings of the Botanical Society of Edinburgh (vol. xxli., part iii., 1904, p. 396) we notice a very interesting article on the Cowthorpe Oak from the pen of Mr. John Clayton. This venerable tree, which stands near the church of Cowthorpe, a small village near Wetherby, is unique among oaks in that its girth is greater than that of any other known tree of its species. Recorded measurements taken about 1700 show that it had at that time a height of 80 feet with a girth of 78 feet on the ground. Since then various observers have recorded its dimensions, and noted at the same time the gradual process of decay, damage by storm, and other points likely to be of interest. The latest measurements were taken by Mr. Clayton himself, and they show that the height is now reduced to 37 feet including dead wood, while the girth on the ground has diminished to 54 feet 3 inches. In 1893 a crop of acorns was produced, from one of which a seedling was reared, and is now planted near its parent as a memorial.
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The Cowthorpe Oak . Nature 72, 43–44 (1905). https://doi.org/10.1038/072043b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/072043b0