Determining the largest trees in the UK requires understanding the criteria for size, whether by height or girth. Both of these characteristics can offer different selections for the largest. Let us explore both aspects of tree measurements.
Tree Heights
Tree height can vary based on species type. The UK may not have the tallest trees in the world, as the world’s tallest trees can be up to 90 meters in height, while the tallest ones in the UK are half as tall!
Methods of Measuring Tree Height
Measuring a tree’s height is more complex than taking the diameter or girth. The two conclusive ways of doing so are the Sine method and the Direct Tape Drop method. The Sine method employs a device known as a Clinometer to gauge angles and distances through trigonometry in order to measure the tree’s height. The tape drop method is simply climbing a tree and dropping a tape down to the ground.
What is the Tallest Tree in the World?
The tallest tree globally is the redwood tree(S. sempervirens), which grows in California, reaching heights of around 90 meters tall. Hyperion, identified in 2006, is the tallest ever recorded redwood tree and stands at just under 116 meters tall. These trees grow exceptionally tall due to the ideal conditions within California, with consistent mild temperatures and annual rainfall.
What is the Tallest Tree in the UK?
The distinguished Betwys Y Coed in Wales houses the UK’s tallest tree, with a recorded measurement of 67.5 meters, formerly measured at 61 meters in 2005. Germinating in 1921, this Coast Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) tree is now approximately a century old. The tallest Coast Douglas-fir worldwide is over 100 meters tall, located in Oregon.
The UK’s second tallest tree is a 64-meter-tall Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) along the bank of the River Findhorn in Scotland’s Forres, and it is the second largest of its kind worldwide after one in California, which is 20 meters taller.
Tree Girths
Similarly, tree girth can vary significantly among different species. In general, the baobab trees in Africa (Adansonia digitate) have the largest girth, measuring up to 43 meters.
Methods of Measuring Tree Girth
The circumference or girth of the tree trunk is what is most frequently measured on monumental trees in temperate climates like broadleaved trees and conifers. A growth ring emerges annually, setting off gradual increases in the circumference’s width. Nevertheless, some trees have various girth measurements for different seasons (e.g., wet or dry), including the African Baobab tree. Brussels and the United Kingdom measure tree girth at a height of 5 ft, or 1.5 meters, above ground level.
What are the Widest Trees in the World?
The world’s largest living tree concerning girth is a cypress tree (Taxodium mucronatum) known as El Arbol del Tule in Oaxaca State, Mexico. It was 42 meters tall in 1998 and had a girth of 36 meters while the diameter measured at 1.5 meters above the ground level was 11.5 meters. The tree with the largest-ever girth was a European chestnut (Castanea sativa) known as The Tree of One Hundred Horses. It measured 57.9 meters in circumference in 1780, but sadly, it split apart into three pieces due to human activity.
What is the Widest Tree in the UK?
The Sessile oak (Quercus petraea), known as ‘Marton Oak,’ found in a private garden in Marton, England of Cheshire, has an estimated girth of 14.02 meters. However, this tree has separated into three distinct parts, according to experts, but it is still considered a single tree despite its fragmentation. Another contender for the UK’s widest tree is a sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa) located in the Canford School’s Wimborne Minster in England’s’ grounds. Its girth measured 14 meters in 2017 at a height of 1.5 meters above ground.
The Major Oak
The biggest oak tree in the UK, known as The Major Oak, is quite remarkable, with enormous size and history. It has a girth of 10 meters, a canopy of 28 meters, and weighs an estimated 23 tons. This large Quercus robur is located in Sherwood Forest near Edwinstowe village located in Nottinghamshire. What makes this tree so unique is its peculiar shape, which could be the result of several saplings merging or allegedly pollarded. The Major Oak’s mythical history is fascinating, with tales it sheltered Robin Hood and his gang. The hollow space inside the tree is created by fungi, and as its age is believed to be between 800 and 1000 years old, it is heavily guarded by a perimeter fence and reinforced branches to prevent damage to its delicate roots by humans.