January 16, 2012 in Central Florida a 3,500 year old Bald Cypress tree known as the “Senator”, passed away.
This tree burned to the ground, due to a fire assumed to have started from a lightening strike it sustained in mid-January, causing an internal fire. The remains of the tree will be left in the park.
From Floridata: “It is a certainty that this tree sprouted about the time when the Egyptians were raising their first pyramids along the Nile. At 15 centuries The Senator was already a forest giant when Christ was born. And by the time Ponce de Leon explored Florida this tree was a 3,000 year old landmark that looked much as it does today, guiding the native people as they traveled the nearby Saint Johns River.” Continue reading
EF! DAM
Ecodefense
