Posted on 12/26/2017 12:02:57 PM PST by mairdie
The south facade of the White House will undergo a dramatic change this week: the historic Jackson Magnolia, a tree that has been in place since the 1800s, is scheduled to be cut down and removed. The enormous magnolia, one of three on the west side of the White House and the oldest on the White House grounds, extends from the ground floor, up past the front of the windows of the State Dining Room on the first floor and beyond the second-level executive residence. The tree has had a long and storied life, yet has now been deemed too damaged and decayed to remain in place.
Specialists at the United States National Arboretum were brought in by the White House to assess the Magnolia grandiflora, as it is specifically termed. According to documents obtained exclusively by CNN, the tree must be removed, and quickly, despite efforts to preserve it over several decades.
...
For several months, at an undisclosed greenhouse-like location nearby, healthy offshoots of the tree have been growing, tended to with care and now somewhere around eight to 10 feet tall. CNN has learned the plan is that another Jackson Magnolia, born directly from the original, will soon be planted in its place, for history to live on.
(Excerpt) Read more at edition.cnn.com ...
Maybe. ;)
Magnolias hold up pretty well in hurricanes due to their roots not being brittle but very strong and rather rubbery.
Only one magnolia’s fallen down here while oaks and pines get toppled all over...and the magnolia that did fall was about the same size as this one, maybe it had rotted out with age, too, after some ancient lightning strike opened a wound for rot to get in, or more likely was crushed by the big dead oak that came down with it. All the mags here look untouched after storms with all limbs - and even big leathery leaves- intact while other species often get stripped. It’s very rare to find a downed limb or even branch from one.
As for its grain, it has a pretty grain though the color of the wood is rather gray.
Sure looks nice in the second picture here:
https://www.woodturningpens.com/magnolia-bowl/
Those are some seriously huge fungi on that trunk!
Interesting. Thanks.
Indeed, piasa. I admit, it made me sad to see the tree in a giant, collapsed, broken, tangled, and confused heap.
You know what it reminded me of? Viewing the wreckage of an airplane on the ground after a catastrophic crash.
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