From The Columbus Dispatch, May 17, 2010 by Bob Downing, Akron Beacon-Journal bdowning@thebeacon-journal.com Group also says North Canton tree oldest at 430 The King's reign continues. The towering cucumber magnolia (Magnolia acuminata) tree in North Canton, Ohio is still the biggest of its kind in the United States. The tree, at Auburn Knolls condominiums, is one of the 733 national champions (or co-champions) on the 2010 National Register of Big Trees released by American Forests, a national tree group in Washington, D.C. The Auburn Knolls homeowners are very proud of the stately eight-story tree and are pleased by its continued reign, said spokesman W. Roderic Covey. The Stark County tree drew about 700 visitors last year to the gated, private development at the southeast corner of S. Main and Easthill streets, formerly part of the old Hoover estate, he said. "It's getting to be a real tourist attraction," he said. The tree appears to be healthy. Covey's group says the North Canton tree is the oldest cucumber magnolia in the world, probably 430 years old. "We've been saying that for 18 months...and no one has challenged that us on it yet," he said. "We're 99 percent sure that it's the oldest in the world." The homeowners group is continuing efforts that began in early 2009 to clone the big tree, although the first two efforts failed, Covey said. Cuttings from the tree were shipped in December to an Oregon company that is making a third attempt to clone it, he said. The North Canton tree is 79 feet tall. The branches form a crown 88 feet in diameter, while the tree's circumference 54 inches above ground is 288 inches. The biggest tree in the United States remains the General Sherman, a giant sequoia in california. It is the world's largest living thing. The new list of Big Trees can be found at: www.americanforests.org
