And just as grandparents are symbols of a vivid past, the old cork tree has its own remarkable history.

Just two years after the Arboretum was founded in 1872, this amurense arrived in Boston as a seed from the Imperial Botanic Garden in St. Petersburg, Russia.

In fact, the name amurense is derived from the fact that it originates in the Amur River valley in Manchuria, host to harsh winters.

Dubbed 143-A in its new home, indicating that it was the 143rd tree to join the arboretum, the cork tree was probably one of the very first trees planted on the grounds of the park.

By yesterday, two weeks after its 121st birthday, the tree had become an Arboretum legend.

Even cut down it may continue in this role, as part of Harvard's annual capital campaign. A potential plan is to create discs from the saved wood of the removed portions of the tree, which might be presented to financial donors to the Arboretum as an expression of gratitude, Del Tredici said.

The tree's collapse may also provide an opportunity to educate park visitors about the effects of human ignorance on the environment.

Del Tredici notes, however, that most of the people who come to the Arboretum ignore the anti-climbing warnings.

"People just don't think," he said