A historic flood ripped through the city of Austin in 1935, tearing down a wooden bath house that once inhabited Barton Springs as it shredded its way through downtown and hurled its way south. After the waters subsided and the city began to reconstruct, a landmark remained: the now 100-year-old pecan tree lovingly referred to as Flo.
However, the iconic pecan tree recently received a diagnosis of a fungal infection, putting it at risk for removal for one of the first times in over a century, according to a statement released by the city’s parks department on Aug. 18.
“Our goal in managing trees in public spaces is to preserve our trees for as long as possible … Larger trees provide more benefit than smaller trees,” Forestry Program manager Joshua Erickson said. “We want all of our trees to be as big and as healthy as possible.”
Flo’s plant medical history was already long and complicated when Barton Springs park arborists noticed a distinctive fungus on her during a routine inspection in early July. Further testing at the Texas A&M plant diagnostic lab concluded Flo had Kretzschmaria, or brittle cinder fungus.
Spread is not likely, Erickson said, and the rest of the pecan trees are mostly safe. However, according to the University of Massachusetts Amherst, the fungus is known to cause structural issues, and for an already aging and drought-stressed tree like Flo, the final diagnosis can be vital to determining how the park moves forward.
Yet, Erickson said Flo has been in decline for decades, with her yearly green leaves and growth not as vibrant or big as they could be.
“It hasn’t grown as much as other trees,” Erickson said. “I think that’s somewhat of an indication that it was in either less than ideal conditions or had other stress.”
The city is still exploring other options to keep Flo shielding Austinites from the Texas sun and preserving the city staple. Erickson said final consultations are set to complete by the end of this week. The city even created a website for citizens interested in her potential recovery.
“This has significance and has had (significance) to hundreds of thousands of people that have used the space over the past 100 plus years,” Erickson said. “We want to make sure that we’re considering any other options that might be available.”
