08-30-2020 , 12:42 AM
https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/22/us/old-ap...index.html A 194-year-old apple tree, the matriarch of the Northwest apple industry, has died
By Francesca Giuliani-Hoffman, CNN
Updated 4:48 AM ET, Mon August 24, 2020 CNN)An apple tree thought to be the oldest in the Pacific Northwest has died this summer at 194 years of age.
The Old Apple Tree in Vancouver, Washington, was planted in 1826 when fur traders of the Hudson's Bay Company settled in the area. It was considered the matriarch of the region's bustling apple industry and produced a green apple that was bitter to the taste but great for baking.
"While we knew this day would come, we hoped it was still years away," Charles Ray, urban forester for the City of Vancouver, told CNN.
Around 2015, the team of experts caring for the tree noticed that the cambium layer -- the growing part of the trunk -- was starting to die back, Ray explained. That contributed to the creation of a spiral crack in the trunk, which hollowed out over the years. The tree finally died in June.
By Francesca Giuliani-Hoffman, CNN
Updated 4:48 AM ET, Mon August 24, 2020 CNN)An apple tree thought to be the oldest in the Pacific Northwest has died this summer at 194 years of age.
The Old Apple Tree in Vancouver, Washington, was planted in 1826 when fur traders of the Hudson's Bay Company settled in the area. It was considered the matriarch of the region's bustling apple industry and produced a green apple that was bitter to the taste but great for baking.
"While we knew this day would come, we hoped it was still years away," Charles Ray, urban forester for the City of Vancouver, told CNN.
Around 2015, the team of experts caring for the tree noticed that the cambium layer -- the growing part of the trunk -- was starting to die back, Ray explained. That contributed to the creation of a spiral crack in the trunk, which hollowed out over the years. The tree finally died in June.