Working off tips from volunteers, two giant-hunters are tracking down the biggest, tallest, oldest trees in the eastern U.S., from sweetgums on Staten Island to white pines in the Adirondacks.
After hearing about this Black Walnut tree (Juglans nigra) from two separate people, photographer Brian Kelley knew he had to see it for himself. “From a distance I could make out its massive limbs, though the base wasn’t completely clear,” he says. “As I got closer, it became obvious that this walnut could be the largest of its species in New York State. Around the same time I was measuring the tree, the current National Champion had been taken down. With nothing else close to this one in total points, it may ultimately prove to be the largest Black Walnut in the United States.” Location: Livingston County, New York. Circumference: 303”. Height: 101’. Average Crown Spread: 106’. Total: 430 points.
ByJohn Sargent
Photographs byBrian Kelley