1,200-year-old Robin Hood oak tree in Sherwood Forest has died, group says

A massive ancient oak tree linked to the legend of Robin Hood may have been loved to death. The 1,200-year-old Major Oak in Sherwood Forest is believed to have died after it didn't sprout leaves this spring, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds said Thursday. Visitors over the past two centuries who viewed the tree's gnarled limbs and sprawling canopy in Nottingham compressed the soil, making it difficult for rain to reach its roots, the conservation group said, despite the immediate area around the massive oak being fenced off. The forest has been under threat for years and the tree had been rumored to have died in the past — only to have the group confirm it was still alive. That is no longer the case. "The tree's failure to produce leaves this year is heartbreaking for everyone," Hollie Drake of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds said in a statement announcing the death. The "Major Oak" tree, where Robin Hood allegedly used as a hide out in Sherwood Forest, is seen in Nottinghamshire, England, Oct. 19, 2007. AP/SIMON DAWSON The tree is said to have sheltered Robin Hood, the legendary 13th-century bandit who stole from the rich and gave to the poor and took refuge in the forest when being pursued by the sheriff of Nottingham. It got its name after being mentioned in a book on oak trees by Major Hayman Rooke in 1790 that led to the first wave of fans who flocked to the forest. …