Nature
The Senator, a giant bald cypress in Big Tree Park in Longwood, Florida, was long regarded as the largest and oldest known tree of its kind. Thought to be about 3,500 years old when it was destroyed in 2012, it ranked among the world’s oldest trees and, by a 2006 survey, was the largest bald cypress in the United States and the largest tree of any species east of the Mississippi River. Used for centuries as a landmark by Seminoles and other Native groups, it later became a celebrated local destination. After a deliberately set fire destroyed it, its remains, memorial, artworks, and cloned descendant continue its legacy.
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Longwood, Florida · United States
