Descendants Of UConn's Rare 'Swing Tree' Thriving At Campus Lake

STORRS, CT — Descendants of the famed "swing tree" at UConn's Mirror Lake are thriving thanks to a new generation of rare Dahurian birch trees planted on campus.

The swing tree provided shade, recreation and plenty of photo opportunities in Storrs for years, but had to be removed in 2019 at about age 70 after reaching the "twilight of its natural life and was dying," UConn professor of horticulture Mark Brand said.

Alas, four of the swing tree's descendants have now taken root on Swan Lake’s south side as "a continuing and special piece of campus history," Brand said.

The Dahurian birch, also known as an Asian black birch, is rare in the U.S. and examples are usually reserved for arboreta, botanical gardens, and some university campuses, he said.

UConn’s birch was one of two originally planted near Mirror Lake. It could not be saved after it started to fail in 2018, despite yearlong attempts to bolster its health, Brand said.

See more about the trees on UConn Today.