The wonders of nature are all around us, from brilliant sunsets over Pamlico Sound, to the mighty Atlantic Ocean whipped to a frenzy by an offshore hurricane; from scurrying fiddler crabs and emerald-green tree frogs, to soaring ospreys and lumbering marsh turtles.

There is another quiet wonder hiding in plain view in the middle of Ocracoke Village. It is a “flying cedar tree” on the corner of Irvin Garrish Highway and Miss Elecia Lane, near the bicycle rack at Dajio’s restaurant.

A mature eastern red cedar of about 18”-20” in circumference (about 6” in diameter) is growing in what is described as an “aerial or suspended soil garden” in the broad, spreading limbs and deep crotch of a live oak. I am estimating that the cedar is probably 15 feet tall so, perhaps 15 years old.

Sometimes called an “air cuckoo” (named after the cunning bird which lays eggs in other species’ nests, leaving foster parents to rear their young, often at the expense of the host’s own chicks), such a tree grows when leaf debris, organic matter, and airborne dirt collect in the fork of a host tree, forming a soil-like pocket where wind-blown seeds or seeds dropped by birds germinate. This is often referred to as an epiphytic relationship, where one plant uses another purely for structural support, but without acting as a parasite.

A flying tree rarely outlives its host tree, so seeing a mature flying cedar of this size is quite rare. Before a tree could have grown this large and heavy without being rooted in the ground, it typically would have died or fallen from its perch. Because the cedar is so tall, its roots must have penetrated a decayed section of the live oak and grown down to nutrient-rich soil. When the roots fuse together this natural grafting process is called inosculation.

On your next stroll through the village, take a moment to stop and cast your eyes on the flying cedar on Miss Elecia Lane.