March 2013 Update
Greetings tree aficionado's
The year is Marching on as they say so we are pleased to bring you our latest update. It has been a busy start to the year for us with many new tree records coming in from around the country.
New Trees and New Years Resolutions
Several people took up our challenge to get cracking and become an active contributor to the NZTR. Two people stand out, Darryl Judd of Palmerston North and Phil Sale of Tauranga have created or updated 17 and 11 single tree or group tree records respectively already this year – well done chaps! Another keen contributor has been Matt Smillie of Wellington on his quest to track down many of the trees S.W. Burstall considered to be the largest/best in the country. Check out some of the highlights below.New Zealand Tree Register Highlights
Norfolk Island pine (404 Points) Yatton Park, Tauranga. BPR/1068 2nd tallest in World (51.4m)Bunya Bunya (341 Points) Yatton Park, Tauranga. BPR/1025 NZ Champ
Queensland kauri (376 Points) Yatton Park, Tauranga. BPR/1026 NZ Champ
Redwood (494 Points) Memorial Grove, Rotorua. BPR/1072 Tallest in NZ (68.7m)
Chinese swamp cypress (219 Points) Botanic Gardens, Christchurch. CR/1071 NZ Champ
River she-oak (348 Points) Hunter Estate Reserve, Katikati. BPR/1063 NZ Champ
Bermuda cedar (191 Points) Parnell, Auckland. AR/1070 NZ Champ
Giant sequoia (536 Points) Botanic Gardens, Christchurch. CR/1074 'The Prince Alfred Tree'
Undoing History
Occasionally we come across trees previously recorded were errors have been made. Sometimes trees have been listed as the wrong species or simply an error was made measuring it. In some instances multiple-stemmed trees have been measured as a single measurement. It is very hard to ‘undo’ a record once it is created so from time to time we will profile trees that fall into this category.The Frimley Park river she-oak (HBR/203) near Havelock North is one of those trees. Former paper records showed this tree to be very big. A recent update revealed that it has a double stem.
The Anzac Park American elm (NNR/775), once recorded as the only large tree of this species recorded in NZ was finally confirmed to be a Dutch elm after it was recently removed and a herbarium sample sent for verification.
Bunya Bunya Tree Hunt
Three new Bunya pines have been added to the NZTR following our call to chase down prominent specimens of this tree. Check out new trees in Christchurch CR/1056, Auckland AR/1069 and Tauranga BPR/1061. Do you know of a Bunya Bunya that is not listed on the NZTR? If so, take the time to measure, photograph and create a permanent online record of it.Sponsors
Is your organisation looking to support a good cause? Consider joining our growing list of Annual Supporters of the Trust. Maybe you might even be in a position to become a Region Sponsor. See our NZNTT Sponsors List and contact us for more information.Kind regards,
The Notable Trees Team
www.notabletrees.org.nz
December 2012 Update
Season’s Greetings tree aficionado's
Christmas is fast approaching and before you know it will be the close on another year. That’s of course if the world doesn’t end this Friday. We at the Trust are quietly confident that the Mayan’s have got it wrong and that life will go on as we know it.
New Zealand Tree Register
Here are several highlights and one sad loss to bring to your attention from activity on the NZTR over the past few months.
• Norfolk Island pine (353 Points), Mission Bay, Auckland. AR/1038
• Tulip tree (280 points), Caccia Birch House, Palmerston North. MWR/1053
• Weeping ash (131 points), Knox Church, Dunedin. OR/1021
• Totara (394 points), Manawatu Scenic Reserve. MWR/1023
• Atlantic cedar, one of Burstall’s picks at Westoe near Marton. MWR/1041
• Tulip Tree (162 years), Isel Park, Nelson. Significantly damaged in a storm recently. NNR/087
Bunya Bunya Tree Hunt
Do you know of a Bunya Bunya that is not listed on the NZTR? If so we’d be keen to see it along side the 24 nationwide tree records that we currently have. The trust and everyone else with an interest will thank you for your effort.
Post Conference
For those that could not make the joint NZ Arb and NZNTT conference in Wellington last October make sure you plan early for Queenstown next year – you missed a great event. We’ve had some positive feedback on Bryan Gould’s presentation (Building Public interest in Significant Community Trees) which focused on how the NZTR can be used to educate the public and raise the profile of important trees. Brad Cadwallader’s presentation (What Makes a Champion Tree – Then and Now) also stimulated a great deal of interest. He gave an overview on how we determine champion trees now and what’s changed over the years. It is clear that we need to put our historic tree records aside and start taking a fresh look around the country before any further claims can be made.
Sponsors
The Trustees are pleased to welcome Auckland Council as a new Annual Supporter of the Trust. View the complete NZNTT Sponsors List here. Is your organisation on the list?!
New Trees and New Years Resolutions
Remember, you can add a tree at anytime and for any reason to the New Zealand Tree Register. Just log in and get cracking!
The Notable Trees Team wish you a happy and safe Christmas and we look forward to an awesome 2013.
www.notabletrees.org.nz
September 2012
Greetings tree aficionado's
It has been a while since our last update. New entries on the New Zealand Tree Register (NZTR) have been slow but steady over the past four months but there are several highlights to bring to your attention.
- The largest known hoop pine in New Zealand located in Auckland, record 992.
- The monstrous 1860 'Grey Pine' near Geraldine, record 1008.
- Two very big totara at Mt. Peel Forest Park. 'Mills Totara', record 1009 and the Dennistoun tree, record 1010 .
- Use the tree search to check out the current dawn redwood listings to see two very big recent discoveries near the top of the table (Auckland and Blenheim).
- Two Royal trees at Government House in Wellington. Planted in 1954 by Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh, record 1016.
The Trustees are pleased to welcome the New Zealand Recreation Association (NZRA) as a new Annual Supporter of the Trust. View the complete NZNTT Sponsors List here.
Remember, you can add a tree at anytime and for any reason to the New Zealand Tree Register. Just log in and get cracking!
Kind regards,
The Notable Trees Team.
www.notabletrees.org.nz
Jan 2011 Newsletter
Dear Notable Tree Enthusiasts,
The New Year is well underway with many of us here in New Zealand still in holiday mode. 2010 ended on a high following another successful joint NZAA/NZNTT conference in Auckland where attendees enjoyed the mix of social gatherings held over a comprehensive 3-day programme. Kauri Dieback was the subject of the free public Tane Mahuta Lecture where Dr. Nick Waipara presented the audience with a grim account of the potential loss of our iconic tree to Phytophthora taxon Agathis (PTA). This was, in effect, a timely reminder of the importance of recording our current tree heritage so that, in the event of decline or loss, future generations can at least marvel at what we were able to experience.
There have been a number of interesting trees added to the database in the past few months. In addition to this we are pleased to release more improvements to the database. More below but first,
A note about measuring the girth of trees on slopes
In the last newsletter we talked in general terms about measuring tree girth. Trees growing on sloping ground create problems in relation to where to place the baseline of your tape to determine breast height (1.4m). Do you measure from the bottom of the slope at ground level, or on the top side? For consistency and accuracy we prefer breast height to be taken from the mid-slope position. To do this, sight down the centerline of the stem to where it comes in contact with the ground. Place the baseline of your tape here and then take your 1.4m measurement.On very steep slopes you may need to measure the tree above 1.4m to clear the ground on the topside. As examples, tree 778 was measured at 2m and tree 779 was measured at 1.6m. In the notes a reference has been made to the height of girth relative to the topside of the tree. This provides good reference information to other tree measurers who may re-measure the tree in the future.
register.notabletrees.org.nz/tree/view/778
register.notabletrees.org.nz/tree/view/779
An update – The Pahi Moreton Bay fig in Northland
This tree was considered by Bob Burstall in 1971 to be the finest looking specimen in the country. Updated measurements and images have been recently entered into the database – and, from the new information, you can see that Burstall’s comment is still true today. Check out register.notabletrees.org.nz/tree/view/501A new listing of the Moreton Bay specimen at Monte Cecilia Park, in Hillsborough, Auckland, shows that this tree is still the largest tree of this species recorded in New Zealand register.notabletrees.org.nz/tree/view/783. To view the full potential of these trees go to the Australian Big Tree Register www.nationalregisterofbigtrees.com.au/listing_view.php
New listings
Two standout trees have been listed along with many other new trees. In brief – firstly, the Caucasian fir (Abies nordmanniana) at Mararewa, near Tapawera in Tasman is an exceptional specimen – particularly since it has come to light that it is the largest recorded specimen outside its natural range register.notabletrees.org.nz/tree/view/696 . The second tree is the Coulter pine (Pinus coulteri) located at Otekaieke, North Otago. The institution where this tree is located has a very interesting history. Despite the tree record being dated 1984 (S.W. Burstall) it is still the largest known Coulter pine in the world. Images on the Internet of the Campbell Park Estate appear to show that the tree still exists and one wonders at how much it has grown over the past 30 years. register.notabletrees.org.nz/tree/view/776
New features
We have had lots of feedback regarding the new database features reported in the last newsletter. The map feature and tree dimension format on the search results table have been well received. The ‘recent changes’ report, located on the database home page, has also been very popular. Thank you all for your feedback.
Text Search
The tree notes are now fully searchable. This development was made possible by the Ministry for Culture and Heritage and the Trust thanks them for their assistance and support. The feature will be of particular interest to historians and writers. To use this feature select ‘Text Based Search’ located at the top of the search page. Enter your key word/s and click ‘Enter’. For example, to see how the feature works, try searching ‘Prince or ‘World War’.
Quick Search By Region
You will note the new map on the home page of the database and the ‘drop down’ for each region in New Zealand. This enables users to quickly search trees listed within given area.
Regional Sponsors
Users will notice sponsor banners showing up on the tree file pages. The Trust is pleased to offer individuals and organisations the opportunity to support the project and in return gain some recognition. Anyone wishing to sponsor all the trees of a particular region in New Zealand should contact the Trust via the website.
Mark Your Calendar!
The NZNTT will be hosting an informal information event at Cornwall Park in Auckland on Friday 18 February. A brief presentation on using the database and listing new trees will be given. This will be followed by measuring trees in the field. Bring a lunch and come join us in the park. Meet at the Education Room at the Cornwall Park visitor’s information centre at 9.00am.Thank you to those that have sent in updates and new tree records. For those of you who would like to get in on the action to update tree records or register new trees, simply go to the website and follow the instructions.
Kind regards,
The Notable Trees team
www.notabletrees.org.nz
Sept 2010 Newsletter
Dear Notable Tree Enthusiasts,
We have had some exceptional trees added to the database in the past few months. In addition to this we are pleased to release several new database features that we have been developing. The new features will enable easier interpretation of data and also make it easier to find the latest tree updates and new listings. More below but first,
A Note About Measuring Tree Girth
Whilst tree girth or circumference is generally taken at 1.4m in New Zealand (C or GBH) certain latitude is required when measuring trees that deviate from the norm. Trees that have huge swollen buttresses should be measured above the buttress and this height noted. The following is a good example register.notabletrees.org.nz/tree/view/695 Additional measurements can be taken of the buttress for the record.
Low branching trees can also create challenges for measuring GBH. When measurements are unduly influenced by branch swellings, or even burls, then take your measurement above or below the swollen area and record this height. A girth height of 1.15m was recorded in this example register.notabletrees.org.nz/tree/view/665
Remember ‘less is more’ when it comes to taking girth measurements. Slide your tape around to obtain the smallest measurement then record the height so that subsequent records can be taken from the same reference point.
In the next newsletter we will talk about measuring girth of trees growing on sloping ground.
An Update – New Zealand’s Largest English Oak
For many years the Rotorua ‘Arawa oak’ has been considered New Zealand’s largest recorded English oak (Burstall 1984). Recent comparative measurements have found a larger oak near Motueka in the Top of the South register.notabletrees.org.nz/tree/view/694 . There are several older records on the database that may be strong contenders now and we are certain other large trees exist. If you have a local tree you wish to add to the database we’d be happy to see it. If you are located in Hastings we would be keen to have an update on the Frimley Park tree that was last measured in 1983. register.notabletrees.org.nz/tree/view/213
New Listings
A standout new listing is the ‘Grange’ Norfolk Island pine (NIp) located near Warkworth (pictured, photo credit: Lyn Wade). This tree was missed from early tree surveys and first measured by S. W. Burstall just after he completed his unpublished forest mensuration reports and his subsequent book, ‘Great Trees of New Zealand’. The tree has the largest girth of any NIp in the world and, whilst not the tallest, is the current world champion with 526 points.
New Features
Map Feature – this feature is not exactly new but it transpires that the majority of people have not found it yet! We have made it easier to locate. Try searching Norfolk Island pines, select ‘All Trees’ and search. At the top right of the column of search results is ‘Click to view all results on a map’. This will take you a Google map with a marker for each tree shown in a distribution view. You can click to view any tree. Searching and viewing all our records with this feature makes for a very interesting picture!
Tree Dimension Format – here is a really functional format. This allows users to compare search results with ease without having to jump from one record to another. Try searching blue gum, select all records and click search. At the top left of the column of search results is ‘View Results by Tree Dimension’. You will now see the data is showing in height, girth, diameter and spread format. Each column header can be clicked to ‘sort by’ largest to smallest. Give it a go – its great.
Recent Updates and New Trees – we appreciate finding new trees was easy, as these were always added to the end of the register. Locating newly updated trees was a bit more of a challenge, so we have created a ‘Recent Changes’ report that users can quickly scan to see the most recent changes to the database. This can be found on the right-hand side of the Home view page register.notabletrees.org.nz/
Ten Year Report – this feature is also located on the Home page view. This report allows a user to quickly locate any trees in their area that require a measurement or verification update. Simply click the link and scroll to your region then, grab your notebook and measuring gear - and off you go!
Thank you to those that have sent in updates and new tree records. For those of you who would like to get in on the action to update tree records or register as a tree recorder simply go to our website and follow the instructions.
Mark Your Calendar!
Our joint conference with the NZAA is nearly upon us. Another combined programme has been put together to enlighten the mind and facilitate our annual social gathering of the tree-minded.
Mark your calendar for the 11th – 13th November.
This year’s venue will be the Ellerslie Convention Centre, Auckland
You can keep up on the 2010 Conference developments by going to the NZAA website www.nzarbor.org.nz where there is a full programme available.
Kind regards,
The Notable Trees team
www.notabletrees.org.nz/
Conference 2010
On the back of the success of last year’s joint conference with the NZAA, the NZNTT are pleased to announce that we are planning another combined programme.
Mark your calendar for the 11th – 13th of November
This year's venue will be at the Ellerslie Convention Centre, Auckland
You can keep up on the 2010 Conference developments by going to the NZAA website www.nzarbor.org.nz where there will be a full programme available soon.
May 2010 Newsletter
Dear Notable Tree Enthusiasts,
Our last newsletter stimulated some considerable discussions! Many people seem to have encountered larger radiata pines that our New Plymouth Tree 714 and quite a few of you seem have cut larger ones down. A 'report' of 80m trees being cut down near the Bridge-To-Nowhere on the Whanganui River was most interesting! Alas, there appears to be no evidence or formal record. Several trees claimed to be larger in diameter were found to be multiple stemmed trees and so do not qualify. Even the Awaroa macrocarpa 686 was challenged, but we are confident that it is a single stem.
A Note About Champion Trees
Only single stemmed trees are considered for champion tree status and will have scores automatically calculated on the database. In other words, only trees that contain a single pith within the girth measurement will qualify. Champion tree scores are not calculated for trees with multiple or fused stems although we still recognise the historical and cultural significance of these trees on the database.
An Update - A World Class Angophora!
Our pick of newly updated records is the Angophora costata at Hobsonville (pictured, image credit: Brad Cadwallader). This tree has long been considered as our second largest tree of this species in New Zealand. It has been recently found to be the largest in the country and may well be the largest in the world. This extraordinary tree is well worth a visit if you are ever in the Auckland area. register.notabletrees.org.nz/tree/view/334
New Listings
Of note amongst our new tree listings are 10 dawn redwood records from around the country. Some of the tallest and largest can be seen by using the genus/species search or our NEW FEATURE, the common name search. Try searching ‘dawn redwood’, ‘water fir’ or ‘shui-shan’. If you then click on the 'Score' at the top of the column you are able to further sort your selected data to find the current National Champion and top 5 specimens of this species identified in a recent national survey undertaken by Brad Cadwallader. Some of the other trees listed, whilst not large, are significant because they are some of the first trees on record to be cultivated in New Zealand.
Several Norfolk Island pine trees have been added to our records. These Northland trees were amongst the first of the species introduced into New Zealand in 1836. The Waitangi tree is quite outstanding and despite the presence of multiple tops, so too are the Wahapu Reserve and Scandrett Regional Park trees.
Thank you to those that have sent in updates and new tree records. For those of you who would like to get in on the action to update tree records or register as a tree recorder simply go to our website and follow the instructions.
Mark Your Calendar!
On the back of the success of last year’s joint conference with the NZAA, the NZNTT are pleased to announce that we are planning another combined programme.
Mark your calendar for the 11th – 13th of November.
This year’s venue will be at the Ellerslie Convention Centre, Auckland
You can keep up on the 2010 Conference developments by going to the NZAA website www.nzarbor.org.nz where there will be a full programme available soon.
Kind regards,
The Notable Trees team
notabletrees.org.nz/
Feb 2010 Newsletter
Dear Notable Tree Enthusiasts
With 2010 well underway, the main focus of the Trust’s efforts has been updating and verifying current records held within the database. In addition to this activity there has been many new records added. To view all updated records and any new trees added to the register simply go to the search page and select Verified Trees Only
register.notabletrees.org.nz/tree/search
A selection of the more notable new trees added to the register are:
The largest single stemmed macrocarpa recorded in the world. Location - Awaroa
Go to: register.notabletrees.org.nz/tree/view/686
The largest Pinus radiata recorded in the world. Location - New Plymouth
Go to: register.notabletrees.org.nz/tree/view/714
The largest dawn redwood recorded in New Zealand. Location – New Plymouth
Go to: register.notabletrees.org.nz/tree/view/711
To see an update on the progress of the worlds largest manna gum as it stays a nose ahead of the Aussies in the girth stakes.
Go to: register.notabletrees.org.nz/tree/view/348
Tree of the Month
We have received notification of a truly outstanding puriri tree (pictured, image credit: Thilo Beeker). The tree was submitted from a visitor from Sweden. Whilst some measurements of the tree where not able to be taken, close scrutiny of the image will show just how large this tree is! Further information is being sought on the tree to complete the file.
To view the tree, type 710 into the ‘Jump to a specific record’ search and click Jump.
Thank you to those that have sent in updates and new tree records. For those of you who would like to get in on the action to update tree records or register as a tree recorder simply go to our website and follow the instructions.
www.notabletrees.org.nz/
Best wishes for 2010 from the Notable Trees team
