1 October 2017

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 the last tree left after the original forest was cleared to make a farm. While the farm was active the wolf tree stood alone in a field, providing shade for people and animals.  After the farm was abandoned the forest regrew around the ancient tree.

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)