The Linden Oak is believed to be the largest white oak

White oak

Quercus alba, the white oak, is one of the pre-eminent hardwoods of eastern North America. It is a long-lived oak of the Fagaceae family, native to eastern North America and found from southern Quebec west to eastern Minnesota and south to northern Florida and eastern Texas. Specimens have been...

 tree in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and is 275 years old. It received this designation after the famous Wye Oak

Wye Oak

The Wye Oak was the honorary state tree of Maryland, and the largest white oak tree in the United States. Located in the town of Wye Mills, Talbot County, Maryland, the Wye Oak was believed to be over 460 years old at the time of its destruction during a severe thunderstorm on June 6, 2002, and...

 in Wye Mills

Wye Mills, Maryland

Wye Mills is an unincorporated community in Talbot County, Maryland, United States, located at an altitude of 13 feet . It is the home of the Wye Grist Mill which has been in nearly continuous operation since 1682, and Wye Oak and of Chesapeake College.-References:...

, Maryland

Maryland

Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

 was destroyed by a windstorm in 2002.

The Linden Oak is located in North Bethesda, Maryland

North Bethesda, Maryland

North Bethesda is a census-designated place and an unincorporated area in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It borders the city of Rockville, and is closely associated with the city.-Geography:...

 beside the junction of Rockville Pike and Rock Creek Park

Rock Creek Park

Rock Creek Park is a large urban natural area with public park facilities that bisects Washington, D.C. The park is administered by the National Park Service.-Rock Creek Park:The main section of the park contains , or , along the Rock Creek Valley...

's Beach Drive. The origin of the name "Linden Oak" is unknown.

Significance

The Linden Oak is acknowledged by three on-site plaques. The first, placed in July 1976 by the Maryland Bicentennial Commission and the Maryland Forest Service

Maryland Forest Service

The Maryland Forest Service in 1996 marked the 90th anniversary of forestry in Maryland, USA and the birth of what is known as the Department of Natural Resources Forest Service...

, celebrates the "Maryland Bicentennial Tree" for its great age. The second, placed by the Montgomery County Department of Parks (also 1976) celebrates the "Linden Oak" as "the fourth largest of its species in the state of Maryland and the largest in Montgomery County". An age of over 250 years, height of over 95 feet and crown spread of over 132 feet are cited. The third, placed by the Montgomery County Department of Park and Planning (no date), honors Idamae Garrott, a local politician and champion of the environment. Owing to her efforts in 1973, the adjacent stretch of the Washington Metro

Washington Metro

The Washington Metro, commonly called Metro, and unofficially Metrorail, is the rapid transit system in Washington, D.C., United States, and its surrounding suburbs. It is administered by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority , which also operates Metrobus service under the Metro name...

 (see lower photo) was built in an arc diverting around the tree to avoid disturbing it.

The impressiveness of the great tree is somewhat diminished by the fact that five of its enormous (and its lowermost) branches have had to be removed. One of the on-site plaques incorporates a photo of the tree in its former glorious state.

National champion?

According to the National Register of Big Trees

National Register of Big Trees

The National Register of Big Trees is a list of the largest living specimens of each tree variety found in the continental United States. A tree on this list is often called a National Champion Tree....

  a tree in Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

with a height of 86 feet and a crown spread of 116 feet is the largest white oak in the country. But at a height of 95 feet and a crown spread of 132 feet, when measured in 1976, it seems the Linden Oak could replace the national champion.