The Remarkable Bryan Park Live Oaks

Bryan Park has many specimen trees, many that would qualify by anyone’s definition of remarkable. But maybe it’s most improbable individuals are the four old, quite large live oaks that inhabit the city park. These trees wouldn’t necessarily qualify as remarkable if this was Charleston, S.C. or Savannah, Ga. But they certainly do when you consider how far north and west of the species’ home range they exist (and thrive). In fact, I can’t imagine there are many live oaks that are this old anywhere north of these. We’d love to hear from you and if you know of any!

Of the four — and there may be more in Bryan park, but these are the easiest to find — the one that most resembles the live oaks you see in the deep South, with their serpentine horizontal limbs often twisted by wind, sits to the left to the road after you pass through the main entrance but before you reach the creek. The other two pictured below live next to the parking lot/tennis courts/bathrooms at the top of the park. The one with the ID plaque is between the tennis courts and the soccer fields. The other pictured here is in the triangle of grass with road and parking lot surrounding it. A fourth tree (not pictured here) overhangs one of the tennis courts.

Live oak next to road by creek.

Same live oak as above.

The branches of the above live oak.

Live oak between tennis courts/bathrooms and soccer fields.

Live oak sandwiched between roads and parking lot.

Same live oak as above.