{"id":39728,"date":"2024-08-23T11:24:54","date_gmt":"2024-08-23T09:24:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/a523a96e-a7a6-405e-8785-d9670b01622b"},"modified":"2024-08-23T12:26:41","modified_gmt":"2024-08-23T10:26:41","slug":"elephant-shaped-tree-among-12-magnificent-oaks-shortlisted-for-tree-of-the-year-2024","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/rss_feed\/elephant-shaped-tree-among-12-magnificent-oaks-shortlisted-for-tree-of-the-year-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"Elephant-shaped tree among 12 magnificent oaks shortlisted for Tree of the Year 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"

Other nominees include the UK’s widest oak, a tree believed to be more than 1,000 years old, and an ancient specimen shrouded in rainforest bryophytes. <\/p>

By <\/p>

Published: Friday, 23 August 2024 at 09:24 AM<\/p>

\n\n

The Woodland Trust has announced the nominees for the Tree of the Year 2024 competition.<\/strong><\/p>

This year’s theme is \u2018magnificent oaks\u2019. These wizened trees, synonymous with the British countryside, can live for more than 1,500 years and support 2,300 different species of wildlife, from birds and mammals to insects and plants. <\/p>

“We chose the iconic oak because it captures people\u2019s imaginations \u2013 from their leaves to their acorns<\/a>, these trees are ingrained in our heritage,” says Dr Kate Lewthwaite, Citizen Science Manager at the Woodland Trust. <\/p>

“Some oaks that are alive today were already centuries old at the time of Queen Elizabeth I, or Charles Darwin.”<\/p>

A panel of tree experts chose 11 nominees from across the UK, plus one that was nominated by members of the public. Voting for the Tree of the Year is now open \u2013 pick your favourite from the gallery below and cast your vote on the Woodland Trust website<\/a>. The competition runs until 21 October with a winner announced on 29 October.\u00a0<\/p>

Oak tree guide: amazing facts about Britain’s favourite tree<\/a><\/li>
British trees: common types and how to identify them<\/a><\/li>
Most magical forests to visit in the UK<\/a><\/li><\/ul>
Tree of the Year 2024 nominees<\/h2>
Marton Oak, Cheshire\u00a0<\/h3>
Sessile oak (quercus petraea) \/ Approximate age:\u202f1200 years \/ Girth: 14.02 metres<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>
Marton Oak. Credit: Rob McBrdie<\/figcaption><\/figure>
Standing in a private garden on the aptly named ‘Oak Lane’, the tree must have long been a local landmark. The centre of this sessile oak is totally hollow, with just a few large fragments of the outer bole remaining, leaning outward under their own weight. It may well be in the latter stages of its immense lifespan.\u00a0<\/p>
Vote for the Marton Oak<\/a><\/strong><\/p>
Bowthorpe Oak, Lincolnshire\u00a0<\/h3>
English oak (quercus robur) \/ Estimated age:\u202f1000 years \/ Girth: 13.38 metres<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>
$\"Bowthorpe$ Bowthorpe Oak. Credit: Woodland Trust<\/figcaption><\/figure>
The second widest tree on our list, the incredible Bowthorpe Oak has a hollow trunk, and it\u2019s claimed three dozen people once managed to stand inside it. Ancient graffiti marks its inner from bygone visitors. It was named one of 50 Great British Trees by the Tree Council in celebration of the Queen’s Golden Jubilee in 2002.\u00a0<\/p>
Vote for the Bowthorpe Oak<\/a><\/strong><\/p>
Gregynog Oak, Powys\u00a0<\/h3>
Estimated age:\u202f500 years \/ Girth: 9 metres<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>
$\"Gregynog$ Gregynog Oak. Credit: Liz Fleming Williams<\/figcaption><\/figure>
Standing alongside several mammoth trees in Great Wood in the grounds of Gregynog Hall, this incredible ancient tree could well have been admired by the likes of Gustav Holst and George Bernard Shaw, who are known to have visited the property. The area is immensely valuable for wildlife and considered one of Wales\u2019 most important ancient parklands and wood pasture habitats.\u00a0<\/p>
Vote for the Gregynog Oak<\/a><\/strong><\/p>
Queen Elizabeth Oak, West Sussex\u00a0<\/h3>
Sessile oak (quercus petraea) \/ Estimated age:\u202f800-1000 years \/ Girth: 13.18 metres<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>
$\"Queen$ Queen Elizabeth I Oak. Credit: Adrian Houston<\/figcaption><\/figure>
This majestic, hollow tree is the second largest sessile oak on record (after the Marton Oak) and is one of a few ancient oaks associated with Queen Elizabeth I, who is believed to have been positioned by the tree on a hunting excursion in 1591.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>
Vote for the Queen Elizabeth I Oak<\/a><\/strong><\/p>
Skipinnish Oak, Lochaber\u00a0<\/h3>
Sessile oak (quercus petraea) \/ Estimated age:\u202f400+ years \/ Girth: 8 metres<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>
$\"Skipinnish$ Skipinnish Oak. Credit: Gus Routledge<\/figcaption><\/figure>
A large, single-stemmed oak, surrounded by a monoculture of Sitka spruce. Despite its challenging situation, it supports a huge ecosystem in its canopy, with a host of temperate rainforest bryophytes and lichens along its bark. The tree is named after a ceilidh band, whose piper remembered the tree from his childhood, which led to it being recorded.\u00a0<\/p>
Vote for the Skipinnish Oak<\/a><\/strong><\/p>
The Michael, Midlothian\u00a0<\/h3>
Estimated age:\u202f1000+ years \/ Girth: 10.32 metres<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>
$\"The$ The Michael. Credit: George Anderson, Woodland Trust<\/figcaption><\/figure>
This colossal multi-stemmed tree is a hybrid of the UK’s two native oaks, pedunculate and sessile. Its interesting name is probably a corruption of the Scots word \u2018meikle\u2019, meaning big, though some believe it was named after The Michael<\/em>, the largest sailing ship afloat in the 16^{th<\/sup> century.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>}
Vote for the The Michael<\/a><\/strong><\/p>
Tea Party Oak, Suffolk\u00a0<\/h3>
English oak (quercus robur) \/ Estimated age:\u202f700+ years \/ Girth: 12.80 metres<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>
$\"Tea$ Tea Party Oak. Credit: Jim Woolf<\/figcaption><\/figure>
Situated on the National Trust’s Ickworth Estate, it predates the 18^{th<\/sup> century Italianate palace by some margin. A significant tree for local people and wildlife, including bats, this gnarled old oak is thought to be the oldest on the estate and one of Suffolk\u2019s finest ancient trees.\u202fIt\u2019s named for the tea parties held beneath its boughs for village children in the 19^{th<\/sup> century.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>}}
Vote for the Tea Party Oak<\/a><\/strong><\/p>
King John Oak, Somerset\u00a0<\/h3>
Estimated age:\u202f1000 years \/ Girth: 10.74 metres<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>
$\"King$ King John Oak. Credit: Hazlegrove Preparatory School<\/figcaption><\/figure>
Growing in the grounds of a school with over 500 years of history, this magnificent oak has seen countless generations of children grow up alongside it. The school was originally founded in 1519 \u2013 when the tree was already around 500 years old.\u00a0<\/p>
Vote for the King John Oak<\/a><\/strong><\/p>
Darwin Oak, Shrewsbury\u00a0<\/h3>
Estimated age:\u202f550 years \/ Girth: 7 metres<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>
$\"Darwin$ Darwin Oak. Credit: Neil Rowley<\/figcaption><\/figure>
This freestanding oak sits very close to The Mount, the childhood home of Charles Darwin, and it\u2019s easy to imagine this impressive tree and its surrounding countryside helped to inspire a young Charles about the natural world. \u202fSadly, Darwin\u2019s Oak, as it is known locally, and 8 other ancient trees are threated to be felled to make way for the Shrewsbury Bypass.\u00a0<\/p>
Vote for the Darwin Oak<\/a><\/strong><\/p>
Capon Tree, Scottish Borders\u00a0<\/h3>
English oak (quercus robur) \/ Estimated age:\u202f700-1000 years \/ Girth: 9.40 metres<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>
$\"Capon$ Capon Oak. Credit: Ann and Steve Toon<\/figcaption><\/figure>
One of the last surviving trees of the ancient\u202fJedforest.\u202fIts sprawling, distorted form may have saved it from felling, as the wood would have been useless for shipbuilding. For 75 years it has played a key role in the annual Jethart Callant’s Festival, with a sprig from the tree being used to decorate the leading man, or Callant.\u202f\u202f\u00a0<\/p>
Vote for the Capon Oak<\/a><\/strong><\/p>
Castle Archdale Oak, Co. Fermanagh\u00a0<\/h3>
Sessile oak (quercus petraea) \/ Estimated age:\u202f400+ years \/ Girth: 7.68 metres<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>
$\"Castle$ Castle Archdale. Credit: Matt Huddlestone<\/figcaption><\/figure>
This tree, with its vast, gnarled trunk now split into two towering stems, was likely standing throughout the building, capture, burning and abandonment of nearby Castle Archdale (County Fermanagh<\/a>) in the 17th century, now in ruins. The area was a hive of activity during the Second World War too, when Castle Archdale was a military base.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>
Vote for the Castle Archdale oak<\/a><\/strong><\/p>
\u2018Elephant Oak\u2019, Old Slode Inclosure, Sussex\u00a0<\/h3>
Estimated age:\u202f150-300 years \/ Girth: 3.96metres<\/em>\u00a0\/ Public wildcard nomination<\/p>
$\"Elephant$ Elephant Oak. Credit: Claire Sheppard<\/figcaption><\/figure>
This tree takes its name from its unusual shape, and was nominated by supporter Claire Sheppard, who said: \u201cThis is my favourite oak tree to photograph at Old Sloden inclosure, New Forest. It\u2019s a pollard oak known as the \u2018Elephant Oak\u2019 due to its massive trunk! I hike for around 5km from Abbotswell car park to get there and back, and this wood always gives me goosebumps. It\u2019s not the easiest place to reach and hence it\u2019s always very quiet; I get a real sense of peace and solitude here.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>
Vote for the Elephant Oak<\/a><\/strong><\/p>
More stories from the British countryside<\/strong><\/p>
What’s the tallest tree in the UK?<\/a><\/li>
Sycamore Gap tree: ‘Astonishing’ new shoots emerge from stump<\/a><\/li>
80% drop in plastic carrier bags on UK beaches<\/a><\/li>
Rare ‘jumping sharks’ spotted off the coast of Wales<\/a><\/li><\/ul> <\/body><\/html>\n
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Tree of the Year 2024 nominees<\/h2>