Protecting Our Giants

by Tom Hewitt

One of my favorite gardening books is a paperback I purchased 40 years ago when I first moved to Florida. Titled simply Dictionary of Trees, one sentence in the prologue says it all: There is nothing of which the finite mind can possibly conceive, which contributes so largely and continuously to the comfort and happiness of man as the majestic tree.

Florida has its share of big, beautiful trees. In fact, of the over 600 tree species native to the U.S., over 40% can be found growing within our borders. When you factor in dozens of species that have been introduced over the years, it’s easy to see why Florida has the distinction of having more tree species than any other state in the continental U.S.

Until recently, The Senator was our most famous big tree. It towered 120 feet or so, and had been growing in Big Tree Park in Longwood for an estimated 3,500 years until an act of stupidity destroyed it in 2012. Luckily, another bald cypress growing nearby, Lady Liberty, is still going strong at 2,000 years and counting.

The tragic fate of The Senator underscores the importance of protecting our big trees. Fortunately, there are people like Mark Torok. As a Senior Forester with the Florida Forest Service, he’s responsible for keeping tabs on champion trees from Palm Beach to Key West.

Working out of his Davie office, Torok estimates he spends 50% of his time in the field. A lifelong resident of Florida, he loves his job and has a deep affection for big trees. “They have more to offer than just their size,” he says. “They also give us useful environmental information.”

The Champion Tree Program was started by the American Forests organization in 1940. With 130 species listed, Florida has more trees on the National Register of Big Trees than any other state. But it wasn’t until 1975 that the Florida Forest Service established a registry of its own.

Trees must be either native or naturalized to be on the national register, but state rules are a bit more relaxed. Any species can be nominated for state champion status, Torok notes, as long as it is not listed as an invasive exotic by the Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council. Trees on both the state and national registries must meet the same three criteria. They must have an erect, woody trunk that is 9 inches in circumference at 4.5 feet above average ground level, must be over 13 feet high and must have a definite crown.

Well over half of the champions on the Florida Champion Tree Register are in south Florida, with Flamingo Gardens in Davie containing 20 alone. Mild temperatures and abundant rainfall combine to make this area of the state ideal for many tropical species that grow nowhere else in the country.

Simply being the tallest or oldest isn’t enough to make a tree a champion. It’s overall size that matters. Ratings are done on a point system determined by height, circumference and canopy size. According to Florida Big Tree Coordinator Charlie Marcus, the largest state champions are two bald cypresses in the Suwannee River floodplain in Hamilton County, and a shortleaf fig in Monroe County.

Sometimes the numbers are too close to call. If trees have point totals within 2% of each other, they share co-champion status. Torok doesn’t have to climb trees to measure them. He uses a clinometer to figure height and a logger’s tape to measure circumference. A laser pointer helps determine canopy size. He uses GPS to pinpoint a tree’s exact location, then enters the coordinates into a computer.

One of the most difficult champions Torok has measured is a giant kapok (Ceiba pentandra) on the Lake Trail just south of Whitehall in Palm Beach. Planted in 1892, it stands 67 feet and has a crown spread of 113 feet. With a trunk circumference of 118 feet, the buttress of the tree doesn’t stop swelling till around 30 feet. “Normally we don’t measure all of the indentations of a trunk,” Torok says, “but this species is special.”

Actually, every big tree is special to Mark Torok. He loves keeping track of our champions, and knows many more are out there just waiting to be discovered. “If you think you have a candidate,” he says, “please let us know.”

© 2013 Tom Hewitt. Originally published in Florida Gardening, Oct / Nov 2013. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.