General Sherman Tops National Register Of Big Trees
The giant sequoia nicknamed General Sherman, in California’s Sequoia National Park, remains the nation’s largest tree and the world’s largest living thing, according to American Forests’ 2004-2005 National Register of Big Trees. The new listing includes 889 champion and co-champion trees representing 738 of the 826 species eligible for inclusion in the Register.
A champion tree is designated based on a formula that awards points for height, circumference and crown spread. The tree with the largest number of points is crowned champion for its species. Trees within five points are considered co-champions.
The General Sherman is one of only three trees that have been listed on the Register since it started in 1940. The other two from that year still on the list are a western juniper in Stanislaus National Forest, California and a Rocky Mountain juniper in Cache National Forest, Utah.
Despite the fact that the three oldest and largest trees are from the West, Florida again has the most national champion trees (163); followed by California (102), Arizona (84), Texas (80), and Virginia (56).
Since the 2002 Register, 156 new champions have been listed, while 115 were replaced by larger trees or have died.
Among the 38 champion trees no longer listed on the Register is the 508 point “Wye Oak” white oak in Maryland, which had been the national champion since the Register began, until it toppled in a 2002 storm. It was replaced by a 427 point white oak tree in Brunswick County, Virginia.
Among other old favorites lost is the long standing champion Jeffrey pine in California that died from an infestation of bark beetles and a rare Schott’s yucca, lost in the 2002 Arizona wildfires.
Other notable trees in the list include a 570 point Monterey pine near Carmel, California, and a common jujube, growing on the grounds of the Capitol in Washington, DC, the capital city’s first true national champion.
Not every tree specimen in the continental United States has a national champion. There are 87 species without a national champion and five states that do not have one. These states include Delaware, Massachusetts, North Dakota, Oklahoma and Wyoming.
The National Register of Big Trees is available online at: http://www.americanforests.org which features a big tree database searchable by height, width, circumference, crown spread, points, species, state and much more. The 2004/2005 National Register of Big Trees is also available in the spring issue of American Forests magazine.
American Forests’ National Register of Big Trees is sponsored by employee owned Davey Tree Expert Company, which also sponsors American Forests’ National Register of Big Trees Calendar.
Provided by the Environmental News Service.
