Champion Beech Tree
This stately Beech is one of the largest and oldest trees in the State of Missouri. A registered "champion" tree, it is approximately 200 years old. Quite possibly it was alive at the time of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803.
The American Beech (Fagus grandifolia) is the only native North American species of beech.
A slow growing hardwood, beaches may live 300-400 years and attain heights of 70-120 feet.
Beech trees are typically found in the hardwood forests of eastern United States.
Cape Girardeau is located at the edge of beech tree's growth range, where the beech-maple forest of Illinois-Indiana give way to the oak-hickory forests of Missouri.
Marker is on Morgan Oak Street, on the right when traveling east.
Courtesy hmdb.org
