Blanchet Oak is inches away from being the biggest live oak recorded in Acadiana

(Daily Advertiser)- A mossy, weathered chicken coop sits under the 132-foot canopy of a tree that has become known as The Blanchet Oak.

The girthy live oak, now officially recorded as the second-largest in Acadiana, sits broadly on acreage owned by the Lambert family in an area that is best kept secret to protect the tree. 

“It’s mystical when it’s green,” said Carol Ann Lambert, owner of the property, the tree and a number of others that she says hold decades of memories for her family. 

“The trees have changed radically compared to when I look back at pictures. The foliage was much more sparse,” she said.

The oak is now recorded among other impressive trees found in Acadiana and others across the South. Members of TreesAcadiana, a nonprofit that works to plant and conserve trees, measured the oak Tuesday.

The question was whether it would surpass the J I Boudreaux Friendship Oak, the reigning champion of Acadiana oaks. In 2010, the Friendship Oak came in at 31 feet and 7 inches in circumference. Today, it measures 32 feet and 2 inches.

The Blanchet Oak, named for the former property owners, came in at 30 feet and 5 inches in circumference, TreesAcadiana member Theresa Rohloff said.

That tree likely was growing before there were French settlers in south Louisiana, Rohloff said. 

Although the tree’s circumference didn’t top the Friendship Oak, it was enough to record it as the second-largest tree among those registered in the region by the Live Oak Society.

For the full article, more pictures of this beautiful oak tree, and information on the Live Oak Society the Daily Advertiser.