[marktwain]

That should tell us whether this collection is the same as what Cornelius H. Muller named Q. tardifolia. It should also tell us whether this collection of specimens is genetically distinct enough from other closely related oaks in the area to warrant recognition as a species.”

Oaks tend to hybridize.

[algore]

There is unrest in the forest
There is trouble with the trees
For the maples want more sunlight
And the oaks ignore their pleas

The trouble with the maples
And they’re quite convinced they’re right
They say the oaks are just too lofty
And they grab up all the light
But the oaks can’t help their feelings
If they like the way they’re made
And they wonder why the maples
Can’t be happy in their shade?

There is trouble in the forest
And the creatures all have fled
As the maples scream, “oppression”
And the oaks just shake their heads

So the maples formed a union
And demanded equal rights
“The oaks are just too greedy
We will make them give us light”

Now there’s no more oak oppression
For they passed a noble law
And the trees are all kept equal

By hatchet

Axe

And saw

[BradyLS]

Get busy collecting material to start a new stand of trees!

[higgmeister]

What is so special about an oak tree with retarded foliage?

Sounds like some made up whoop-de-do to me.

[Jamestown1630]

The ‘Angel’ Oak is a beautiful old tree.

We lost our Wye Oak, a white oak on the Eastern Shore (it was the State Tree of Maryland) in a bad storm in 2002. But it has been cloned. The original was estimated to be about 400 years old:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wye_Oak

[stars & stripes forever]

Researchers hope that by determining why this tree is going extinct they may be able to protect other organisms from the same fate.

#1 REASON

[Boogieman]

“conservationists in this collaboration are moving quickly to return to search for acorns and to attempt propagation”

Just bring in some squirrels, they’ll definitely find the acorns and even plant some of them that they don’t eat. Plus they’ll poop all around the tree to fertilize the soil too.

[dangus]

Huh. Oak died and became an angel oak. That’s only the way it’s supposed to work in movies.

[dfwgator]

"I bet you can't guess what kind of wood it is."

[frank ballenger]

thought to be extinct....

They said that about Sen. Diane Feinstein. Not true. Technically speaking. I’ll shut up now.

[Valpal1]

“Due to the changing climate, the world is completely different now than when it evolved”

And why did the tree quit evolving? The stupid is so thick you can cut it with a knife.

[Fish Speaker]

My guess is that a proposed pipeline is going to be built through there and they’ll do anything to stop it, including finding the only existing specimen of an oak tree that looks just like any other closely related oak tree ...

[texanyankee]

Oak wilt is killing our live oaks.

[WMarshal]

99.999999999999999% of all the species that have ever existed on our planet have already gone extinct. Life is about winning, the losers disappearing, and the winners taking their stuff.

[ConservativeInPA]

I’ll be the first to say I love trees. I love the shade the provide in summer. I love the colors they produce in autumn. I even love the austere look of leafless branches in the low light of winter. But I am not interested in spending money on them unless it is for furniture or firewood. Don’t these people have anything productive to do with their time? I suppose they are not believers of science and the notion of the survival of the fittest.

[PsechsySr]

Why can’t they replicate this one Oak tree the same way they replicate identical apple trees, so that they can produce a specific variety?

Every apple seed will produce a different apple tree with different tasting apples. To get an orchard full of Honey Crisps you have to replicate just one tree ad infinitum.

Once they have legions of identical oak trees, they are no longer bound by the fire damage, fungus, etc. constraints.

But that does not add to the DRAMA of only having ONE specimen that is teetering on the edge.

[clearcarbon]

"Angel Oak

Hopefully, the lone Quercus tardifolia will be nursed back to health and well cared for like Angel Oak,"

Never heard of it but it's an interesting article. Interesting articles about efforts to restore the American Chestnut tree also pop up now and then.