Champion Trees: Crowning of the Kings

The following article was written by Lynne Lucas, UT Arboretum Administrative Specialist I, and originally published in the Volume 23, Number 4 issue of the UT Arboretum Society Journal, The Leaflet.

What do you think of when you hear the words “Champion Tree”? Do visions of Giant Sequoias loom before you, or a massive white oak that you may have noticed on a Sunday drive? We all enjoy the beauty of large spreading trees, and marvel as we try to guess its age or size. Yet not many of us know that there is a national registry that makes it their job to search out the largest tree specimens for most tree species. It’s part of a program undertaken by the American Forests organization to seek out those trees that are considered to be “Champion Trees.”

This program (updated regularly) is based on a point system given for measurements taken from nominated trees, including it’s girth, height, and crown. These numbers are used to establish an overall point value to determine which tree will wear the Champion crown for that species. An interesting fact to consider is that the title can go to a tree with as many as 1300 points (a giant Sequoia in California) or as few as 22 points (a velvetseed in Florida.)

Once a tree as been awarded its mega tree status, it is often a precarious perch at best. Many factors come into play that can challenge any champion. If another tree doesn’t depose it, it can be lost to nature’s whims such as tornados, fire, and hurricanes. There were seven lost from Hurricane Andrew alone! Of course, there are also losses due to human intervention and expansion.

Tennessee is one of the great places to enjoy these gentle giants. The Smoky Mountains National Park contains some of the largest tracts of old-growth forest in the east, and has many trees on the national registry. According to the 1996-1997 list, there were 18 champion trees throughout our state. The details are in the table on the page opposite.

Apart from the national registry, Tennessee also keeps a list of state champion trees. We are happy to say that there are two trees selected from the UT Arboretum collection to be honored as state champions. Click here to view a table of National Champion Trees in Tennessee and Tennessee Champion Trees at the Arboretum.

Tennessee Department of Agriculture, Forestry Division is currently working on an updated list of state champion trees. I visited the site recently, but it was down for revision. If you are interested in more information, please check out http://www.state.tn.us/agriculture/forestry/champion.html in the next few weeks for the newest list of trees in Tennessee.

If you think you might know of a big tree, please see the accompanying article on page 6 on tips to help you identify a future champion. Statistics are also kept on certain characteristics, which are judged independently as well, these include Biggest Overall, Biggest Broadleaf, Tallest, Largest Circumference, Largest Crown Spread, and Oldest.

We should all enjoy these unique trees while we can. Big trees are rallying points that provide the opportunity to celebrate the many benefits provided by our forests. They harbor history, beauty and awe. Let us take a moment to marvel at these majestic specimens, and consider the living history around us.

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