The world heard the news in 2019 — the oldest known tree in eastern North America had been identified in a swamp along the Black River in North Carolina. The tree in question is a baldcypress (Taxodium distichum). Dr. David Stahle, a researcher in the Department of Geosciences at the University of Arkansas, used an increment borer to collect samples of wood from the tree’s trunk, then counted annual growth rings by means of radiocarbon analysis. He dated one particular specimen to be from 605 BCE, making it more than two thousand six hundred years old. Dr. Stahle and his research crew then found another baldcypress in excess of two thousand years of age growing in the same swamp. Dr. Stahle has stated his belief that there are other equally old baldcypress nearby, and that it is possible a tree in excess of three thousand years might eventually be identified.

It had long been known that the baldcypress trees in the Three Sisters Swamp were old, but no one knew exactly how old. An obstacle to determining their ages was the fact that the largest, seemingly oldest specimens were hollow, so it was not possible to take core samples from them. Then someone had the thought to go up the trunk a distance to where the wood was intact and take a core sample from there. The growth rings found in these samples were so densely packed together that it was impossible to count them with the unaided eye. Ironically, the fact that the ancient trees were hollow is what preserved them. All the area adjacent to the Black River was thoroughly logged back in the 1800s, and the hollow trees were deemed worthless and left behind. Any large tree with wood intact was cut down for lumber. No one can say how old some of those harvested trees might have been, but such considerations were insignificant in the face of the short-term commercial profit to be had back in the good old days of unrestricted exploitation of natural resources. What remains of the old growth forest in Three Sisters Swamp is now protected, thanks to the efforts of the Nature Conservancy.

When I first heard about the ancient baldcypress in Three Sisters Swamp I knew I had to get there and see them. You see, there’s this important connection between bonsai and the question of age… I have previously written at length on this subject and feel no need at present to go into it again. (This link will take the reader to a page where all the previously published Journal articles dealing with the topic of bonsai and age are conveniently cached in one place.) Instead, my purpose today is to give an account of two different trips to Three Sisters made this year, while sharing a host of images collected during the visits.

My good friend, John Geanangel, heard the news about the ancient baldcypress around the same time I did, and he had the same response. We decided we’d get out to the Three Sisters Swamp together and set about making plans to do that. A trip to an unfamiliar swamp in a remote area is not something to be undertaken casually. The only access to the Three Sisters site is by boat, so with the aid of the Internet John found a guide who leads tours of the swamp and we got in touch with him. We first made arrangements to visit the swamp in December of 2022, but that fell through because of a last minute sickness. We made another attempt in 2023, but that fell through due to high water conditions on the Black River at the time we had scheduled to visit. It seemed this adventure was ill-fated, but we really wanted to see the old trees so we tried again. Finally, in early April of 2024, the stars lined up just right and we found ourselves in a canoe paddling down the Black River.

Our guide for this excursion was Charles Robbins, who goes by the nickname of “CR”:

CR’s tour business is called Cape Fear River Adventures, and his website includes videos and written information about Three Sisters Swamp. He is an excellently informed and articulate tour leader. CR begins each tour with a history lesson, describing how the the ancient trees were identified, showing increment borers, crosscut samples of wood from old baldcypress and photos showing how ladders were hauled into the swamp so researchers could climb high enough up the tree trunks to collect usable core samples from intact wood.

It’s about five miles distance from the put-in point of the tour until you reach the Three Sisters Swamp. The canoe trip is downstream and the water level was high on the April visit, so it was an easy paddle. Along the way the scenery was wonderful, with beautiful hardwood forest along both sides of the river. We had good weather — sunny and clear, with seasonally cool temperature:

The image below shows CR in his kayak, leading the way into the swamp:

The tall tree ahead of CR in the image above is a baldcypress showing the effects of damage and recovery, but it is not one of the ancient trees. The following picture shows John and I pulled over next to the fallen trunk of an old giant:

When we finally entered Three Sisters Swamp, these are the sights that greeted our eyes:

The old adage has it that “a picture is worth a thousand words.” I am going to refrain from rhapsodizing about the feelings experienced upon encountering these trees, and let the pictures tell the story instead. Three Sisters is a very special place.

There is understandable interest in seeing the tree identified as the oldest known baldcypress in the world, the oldest tree in the eastern United States. This venerable specimen goes by the intentionally non-poetic name, “BLK 227.” CR showed us the tree and I dutifully photographed it:

BLK 227 is the largest tree in the above photo. But here’s the thing — BLK 227 may be the oldest, but it is definitely not the most visually appealing baldcypress in Three Sisters Swamp. It’s not even close. When I looked at BLK 227, the oldest tree I’ve ever seen with my own eyes, I had to remind myself that it was something extraordinary. It didn’t really look extraordinary when compared to many other, presumably younger, trees nearby. In reading about it, I came across descriptions pointing out that this tree was well into its prime before the Roman Empire was established, and that’s impressive to think about. Floods, droughts, hurricanes, wars, logging — BLK 227 has seen and survived it all. That framing is intellectual, however, something you have to be told about in order to understand. The other trees nearby that provoke a more powerful emotional response, the ones that give you chills when you see them, do so by their visual appearance. You don’t have to be told they’re special; you can see it. There is an important lesson in that!

All of the trees depicted in the images that follow are ancient. How old are they? I don’t know and it doesn’t matter as far as my appreciation of them is concerned. In the end, all I care about is how they look. I’m just shallow that way.

I might have written about this visit to Three Sisters back around the time when it happened, were it not for an unfortunate end to the trip. We were almost to the takeout point when John and I decided to have a full-immersion experience by taking a quick dip in the Black River. Actually, it was more of an accident than a decision on our part. John, being by far the more experienced canoeist, was positioned in the back end of the boat while I sat up front, mostly taking pictures. One moment I was sitting there placidly looking about and the next moment I was pitching over the port side into the cold water. John had a better view of how things went from his seat in the stern. He said we both happened to be leaning left at the same time, when we struck a submerged stump or cypress knee on our right side. He said he realized what was about to happen and tried to stabilize the canoe but couldn’t. We both went over and then found ourselves standing chest-deep in fast moving water while clinging to an upside down canoe. We were apparently standing on a bit of high river bottom because when we tried to walk our way over to the shore we quickly stepped into deeper water. It was a bit of a pickle, but with CR’s level-headed help we managed to right the canoe and get back in it. We were wet but none the worse for the wear and there was a humorous aspect to the escapade, but there was misfortune in it anyway. All the personal belongings we had in the canoe accompanied us into the drink. That included our wallets and cell phones, and my camera.

The contents of our wallets dried out after awhile and somehow our phones survived the dunking, but my camera did not. That loss, along with feeling foolish for having gone overboard, put a negative spin on what was otherwise a wonderful experience. John and I determined we’d be back another day. I decided I’d wait to write about Three Sisters until the story had a better ending.

Fast forward to November. John and I once again made the trip out east to visit the old baldcypress, this time accompanied by two other bonsai friends — Brad Russell, co-proprietor of The Bonsai Learning Center, and Randy Bennett, president of the Greater New Orleans Bonsai Society. The two of them are seen in the image below, with Brad sitting in the front of the canoe:

Once again, we hooked up with CR to lead the expedition and headed for Three Sisters Swamp. The look of the landscape was more somber than it had been in springtime, but we were fortunate to have another mild, sunny day for our adventure. Having been once bitten, I was twice shy about the risk to my (new) camera, keeping it safely enclosed in a plastic bag most of the time. I only brought it out when circumstances seemed safe enough to do so. I took far fewer pictures this time, but came away satisfied that I had captured what I had come to see. My focus, as always, was on those physical traits of trees that tell the story of survival over many years of struggle.

There was no misfortune to mar this memorable outing. At its end, all agreed it would be desirable to come back again sometime because it’s a rare privilege to see so many noble trees in such a special place. When we parted, John and Randy headed south — to South Carolina and Louisiana, respectively. Brad was going home to Statesville, North Carolina, and I was aiming for Asheville, so the two of us followed the same route westward. We stopped at Lexington Barbecue along the way to have some supper. It seemed like the perfect way to cap off the day.