Matt Mattia used both hands to flip through the branch at his eye level, studying each side of every leaf as sunlight ...

Now, hope is budding on an unlikely branch: a 30-year-old tree named Donaldson, growing on a research farm near Groveland.

Here, we'll explain how to identify a willow oak tree and how to keep one thriving in your area. Scientific Name ... from New Jersey to Florida and many of the states in between.

Other than around a dozen Christmas tree farms in Florida, Ocala National Forest is among the only places in Florida where you can hike out and hand-select your own special tree.