Along with providing you with everything you need to know in order to make sure your trees are properly cared for, we also like to share interesting facts about trees, especially those found here in the Kansas City area, with you. Today, we’re going to tell you about the champion trees of Missouri.
A tree that is considered to be a champion tree, according to the Missouri Department of Conservation, must be a native or naturalized tree. Natives are those that survived the last ice age, while naturalized are the exotics that are common in the area.
Champion trees must be very large, as well. The American Forests and Missouri Department of Conservation use a formula to assess the points value for potential champion trees based on height, crown spread, and trunk size. Based on that formula, the largest known living tree in Missouri is an American sycamore, which has a circumference of 27 feet and 9 inches. We have a pumpkin ash in our state that is the tallest tree in Missouri, at 150 feet in height. And the tree with the largest crown spread, which is 200 feet, belongs to a different American sycamore.
If you are curious to learn more about the champion trees of Missouri, you can check out the Missouri Department of Conservation website.
Photo credit: Gardens.missouri.edu via Google Images