The Durand Oak of Sir Swante Palm Park

Texas's co-champion Durand oak was not planted by anybody. It grew up wild on the bank of Waller Creek, a few minutes' walk from Congress Avenue, and downtown Austin arrived later. The evidence for that is in a herbarium drawer. The University of Texas holds specimens of this species collected along Waller Creek in 1901, 1933 and 1945, so the oaks on this stretch belong to a native population rather than a park planting. The species goes by a blunter local name too, bastard oak, which undersells it considerably. The Texas Forest Service certified this one as a state co-champion in January 2014, and somebody nailed a numbered metal tag, 809, to the trunk. The measurements drift a little between visits: a naturalist who wrote it up in December 2018 recorded 419 centimetres round, 44 feet tall and a crown 56 feet across, while the state registry's 2021 figures give 429 centimetres and 45 feet. Three years of growth would cover the gap. On that December visit, the ground beneath it was littered with thousands of acorns. It stands in Sir Swante Palm Neighborhood Park, a small green strip on the greenbelt trail, and it is not alone there: at least four other large Durand oaks share the park, and a sign along the trail names the species. Nobody has dated it, and a wild tree comes with no planting record to date it from. If you know more, tell us.