The Story Tree is a cross-section from the stump of a ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) that grew to be approximately 600 years old. It was found on a mountainside north of Missoula, Montana.

Scars show that the Story Tree survived at least 13 fires between 1523 (32 years after Columbus arrived in the Americas!) and 1889 (the year Montana became a state!). These fires occurred about every 25 to 30 years. Other fires may have occurred without scarring the tree.

Related Materials to Copy or Borrow

The Story Tree usually resides in the entrance to the Fire Sciences Laboratory, Missoula, MT. However, it can be borrowed for educational programs. Contact the Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory for more information on borrowing the Story Tree.

Be prepared: The Story Tree travels in a carrying case about 30 by 65 by 18 inches and weighs approximately 80 pounds!

How Old Is the Story Tree?

Trees record their history in annual rings and scars. Year-to-year variation in ring width shows year-to-year variation in regional climate and also indicates times of favorable growing conditions and times of stress for an individual tree. A wide annual ring records a year of good growth; a narrow ring shows a year of stress. The Story Tree has nearly 600 growth rings. Some are nearly a centimeter wide, and some are so narrow they can be seen only with magnification.

The Story Tree was an old, half-rotted stump when it was discovered. How long had the stump been there? Scientists compared the patterns of annual rings and fire scars on the Story Tree with the patterns on a nearby living tree. By matching the history of the two trees, they determined that the Story Tree died in 1919, a year when fire scarred the living tree. The Story Tree probably germinated in the early 1300s. Its exact date of origin is uncertain because the tree’s center pith has burned away.

Prior to 1900, fires burned through the surface fuels in the Story Tree’s forest about every 27 years, keeping the forest open, dominated by large, tall trees.

How Do Fire Scars Form?

Old ponderosa pines (Pinus ponderosa) have thick bark and foliage high above the ground, so they usually survive fires that burn on the forest floor. But heat from these surface fires may kill part of the layer of “cambium” cells living just beneath the tree’s bark. These are the cells that generate new wood in the form of annual rings, which will carry water from roots to needles in the years to come. If the cambium is killed all the way around the tree, the tree will die. But if the cambium survives at least part-way around, the tree can continue living, forming new wood all around the trunk except over the damaged area. After surviving many surface fires, the tree forms a black, triangular scar at its base, where the cambium was killed. This is called a “catface” (picture below).

What’s the Next Chapter in the Story?

Fire has been kept out of the forest around the Story Tree for nearly 90 years. Without fire, large, old ponderosa pines (Pinus ponderosa) and western larches (Larix occidentalis) are declining, and young Douglas-firs (Pseudotsuga menziesii) are increasing.

Dense vegetation provides fuel for severe fires. It acts as a ladder, letting flames reach from the forest floor into the crowns of even the tallest trees.

Scientists are seeking ways for us to keep old-growth forests that need fire. The history of the Story Tree and other fire-scarred trees forms the foundation for this search.

Additional Resources

	Print a poster of the Story Tree at 90% size (WARNING: This file is 16.6 MB).
	Print a brochure (8.5" by 11") containing information and photos from this website.
	Print a bookmark that lists events that occurred around the world during the lifetime of the Story Tree.

Arno, Stephen F.; Smith, Helen Y.; Krebs, Michael A. 1997. Old growth ponderosa pine and western larch stand structures: influences of pre-1900 fires and fire exclusion.Res. Pap. INT-RP-495. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station. 20 p.

Sala, Anna; Callaway, Ragan. 2001. Physiological responses of old growth ponderosa pine and western larch to restoration cutting and burning treatments. Progress Report: RMRS-99563-RJVA. Unpublished report on file at: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory, Missoula, MT. 42 p.