This is the biggest tree you see as you cross 21st Avenue S. at the Wesley Place crosswalk, and it is the seventh largest tree in the Vanderbilt arboretum. Although it is difficult to measure exact heights, this tree is in a three-way tie for tallest tree on campus, with a height of 32 meters (105 ft.).

This tree is one of the few remaining trees on campus that were probably planted in the years immediately after Vanderbilt was founded. Because of its location near 21st Ave. S., it is possible to track it back in time using historical photos of the Vanderbilt campus.

The small, narrow leaves of willow oak are quite different from most of the other oaks in middle Tennessee and without careful inspection one might think that a small tree was a willow.  However, the clustered buds at the end of the twig are a sure sign that this tree is an oak.  In the fall, large trees also produce acorns, which are also typical of oaks.  The willow oak acorns are among the smallest produced by oaks.