WFAE
The trunk of Treasure Tree No. 17, an overcup oak, was badly damaged from lightning and insect damage.
Charlotte is known for its abundance of trees. Where can you find the biggest, oldest ones in the city?
A ‘Treasure Tree’ Lost
This spring, Brett Dupree went to the McDowell Nature Preserve in southwest Charlotte in search of an overcup oak tree, one of Charlotte’s “treasure trees.”
“Treasure trees” was a program started in the mid-1980s by Charlotte residents like Tom Martin and Joe McLaren. Its volunteers identified, documented and celebrated 123 of the largest and most significant trees in Mecklenburg County. Dupree is part of an effort to rediscover those trees since the program died out in 2000.