Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, February 16, 1995 TAG: 9502160040
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV13 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: By Joe Hunnings
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Among the list of 225 species are 62 national champs. That places Virginia fifth in the nation with only Florida (117), Texas (86), California (82), and Michigan (75) having more.
Included in the group of national champions is an American Elm located in Greensville County. It registers 421 points in a system used nationally by the American Forestry Association to compare these giants.
The system works like this: Add the circumference of the tree in inches at 4 1/2 feet from the ground to the total height of the tree in feet plus one quarter of the average crown spread in feet. Using our national champion American Elm as an example, the circumference is 23 feet 6 inches, the height is 122 feet and the crown spread is 68 feet. This converts to 282 + 122 + 17, or 421 points.
Other nearby national champions include a Washington hawthorn in Abingdon and an eastern redbud and alleghany plum in Roanoke.
Anyone can find and nominate trees for the list. If successful, you'll have the personal satisfaction of being a big tree hunter, and the Virginia Forestry Association will recognize you on their list and present you with a certificate.
You'll have a way to go, however, if you want to be the top big tree hunter. Richard Salzer from Chesapeake has been on the hunt for 20 years and has 113 trees listed to his credit. Gary Williamson and Byron Carmean, also from Chesapeake, work together and have 95 trees under their belts.
Are any of these giants located in the New River Valley? As it turns out, our region is quite blessed with state champions, including:
na 82-foot black ash in Montgomery County Park scored 146 points.
na yellow birch at Mountain Lake, 78 feet tall and over 14 feet in circumference, came in at 267 points. Other champions at Mountain Lake include a 29-foot-tall mountain laurel that scored 49 points, a 75-foot-tall sugar maple that racked up 327 points, as well as a rosebay rhododendron and a mountain winterberry.
na Carolina hemlock near Virginia 624 and Virginia 785 in Montgomery County racked up 184 points.
na shingle oak at Virginia Tech that's 120 feet tall and has a crown spread of 80 feet tallied 258 points. Also at Virginia Tech is a 17-foot-tall mountain stewartia at 43 points.
na white poplar at Blacksburg Feed and Seed that stands 77 feet totaled 275 points.
The valley also has a champion table mountain pine (at U.S. 221 and Virginia 721 in Floyd), a red spruce (in Giles County), and a nannyberry viburnum (in Christiansburg, near Interstate 81).
Be sure to get permission before trespassing on private property to view any of these specimens.
Joe Hunnings is the Virginia Cooperative Extension agent for agriculture in the Montgomery County Extension office in Christiansburg. If you have questions, call him at 382-5790
by CNB