Wolf Tree

An old dead "Wolf Tree" at Cedar Creek Park (photo by Kate St.John)
A dead “Wolf Tree” at Cedar Creek Park (photo by Kate St.John)

Out in the woods, sometimes dead but often alive, you’ll find a large old tree surrounded by a younger forest.  Its branches reach out as if the younger trees weren’t there.  It’s called a “wolf tree.”

Wolf trees are much older than the woods around them.  They were once part of the original forest that was cleared to make a farm.  When the farm was there they stood alone, providing shade for the people and animals.  When the farm was abandoned the forest regrew.

This wolf tree at Cedar Creek Park in Westmoreland County was probably part of the old Greenwood family farm.  The tree died years ago but yet it stands, a gnarled reminder that western Pennsylvania has been through many changes.

See pictures of live wolf trees and read more about them in this article in American Forests magazine:  Wolf Trees: Elders Of The Eastern Forest

 

(photo by Kate St.John)

One thought on “Wolf Tree

  1. It is an Osage orange. Not sure when I last checked(decade ago) but there was some live top branches then. I wouldn’t be surprised if it is dead now.

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