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BOONE COUNTY, MO. -- A recent report in the Los Angeles Times said Boone County’s 350-year-old bur oak tree is dying.

The tree’s owner said reports of his tree’s death are greatly exaggerated.

Missouri’s champion bur oak sits along the Missouri River Bottoms on John Sam Williamson’s McBaine Farm. The Williamson Family has owned the tree for 6 generations dating back to the 1830’s. Williamson said his big tree still has a long life ahead.

“Humans, all plants and animals, even our solar system, is dying," Williamson said. "Our sun is dying. It could be a long time. The tree is in its mature years, I guess you would say. It’s already lived longer than most bur oak trees around here would begin to live.”

Two years ago, the old bur oak tree was literally falling apart. That’s why a team of tree experts gave it a trim and removed every dead branch.

The old bur oak tree has been through wind storms, lightning strikes, floods and even a few bullets. Despite all of those problems, it still stands tall.

University of Missouri Plant Science Professor Chris Starbuck believes the tree still has a lot of life. Starbuck is cloning the tree to carry on its powerful DNA structure.

“It leaves everything in the dust," Starbuck said. "It has some good genes. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have lived this long and grown this big.”

Starbuck saif the old bur oak tree is dropping a few branches, but it will be a long time before this big tree bites the dust.

Many people using the Katy Trail through Boone County sidetrack their way an eighth of a mile from McBaine to get a glimpse of the champion bur oak of Missouri.