Florida’s oldest, biggest cypress tree dies

Known as The Senator, this bald cypress was estimated to be 3,500 years old, 118 feet tall and 17 1/2 feet in circumference. It was probably the oldest tree of its kind in North America.

In Spring Hammock near Longwood, Florida, the Senator towered over surrounding trees. Early Monday morning, a resident called 911 to report a visible fire near Big Tree Park, where the infamous cypress was located.

By the time firefighters arrived, it was too late to save the tree. The Senator is now nothing more than a burnt stump. The picture shows two men posing with the tree in the 1920s. I didn’t even know this existed, and now I wish I had seen this tree before it burned down! What a sad end.

[Source: Tampa Bay Times]