17 December 2004

According to the plaque (see rollover) near the base of this tree on the grass in front of the capitol building, you're looking at a "scion" of the Charter Oak. With a faint recollection of the meaning of this word, I started asking around, and got only one answer: "It's a car." Of course it's a car, as can plainly be seen in a previous entry on this site. My next recourse was dictionary.com, which cleared things up for me immediately. A "scion" or "cion" is a descendant or heir, or a detached shoot or twig containing buds from a woody plant, used in grafting. Heh, so they got it right on the plaque after all. I'm glad I checked. Now about that car name...

DWL

Click on the image to learn more about the original Charter Oak, which is featured on the 1999 Connecticut quarter.