The State Forest Service publishes a listing of the largest "known" specimen trees for each species in the State. Via letter of April 9th, I am nominating six trees in Hackensack, one in Maywood, and one in Plainfield as new State Champions.
Whether or not they are actually State Champions is uncertain, because other persons may have nominated larger specimens since the last time the list was published.
One of the very largest trees of ANY species in the entire State is in Hackensack. This specimen is the great Cottonwood in Foschini Park, growing northwest of the baseball field house. Another potential champion in a city park is the Mimosa in The Green. Special care must be taken by the city DPW to safeguard the health of these trees.
To follow is the actual letter to the State Forest Service, with descriptions of each nomination >>>>>>>>>
April 9, 2006
NJDEP
Division of Parks & Forestry
State Forest Service
PO Box 404
Trenton, NJ 08625
REF: BIG TREE LIST
8 NOMINATIONS FOR STATE CHAMPION TREE
I wish to submit the following eight nominations for State Champion Trees, based either on points or circumference. See attached photos of each:
(1) EASTERN COTTONWOOD (Populus deltoids) - There is a Cottonwood located near the baseball field house in Foschini Park, Hackensack, NJ that measured 19’0” at a height of 4.5’ on 2/11/06. I nominate this specimen based on points, not circumference. The Foschini Cottonwood will score high on the 3-parameter standard, +/- 350. This is a magnificent specimen (see photo). This tree is about 100’ in height, with the trunk dividing into 3 massive trunks at a height of about 20’. It has a well-balanced crown. I believe that this is one of the very largest trees in the State of New Jersey of any species, based either on total points or wood volume. The Foschini Cottonwood is growing very rapidly on a dirt-covered ash & cinder landfill (circa 1880?) only a few feet above sea level. It has gained nearly 3’ in circumference since I first measured it about 20 years ago. The total wood volume of this specimen leaves the viewer awe-struck. The enclosed photo does it no justice; it must be seen upfront.
Eastern Cottonwood
(2) UMBRELLA MAGNOLIA (M. tripetala) --- Your Exotic Tree list says the record Umbrella Magnolia is 4’10”, a Pennsylvania specimen. I measured one 4’11” at a height of 4.5 feet on 2/11/06. Is this the new state champion? This tree is along the south side of Fairmount Ave about 200 feet west of Summit Avenue in Hackensack, NJ. The address is 655 Summit Avenue. This specimen is not healthy.
Umbrella Magnolia
(3) MIMOSA (Albizia julibrissin) --- You list the record Mimosa in NJ as 5’10”. I measured one 6’6” at a height of 3’ on 2/11/06. Is this the new state champion? This tree is in a historic public park, “The Green”, at Main and Washington Streets in the heart of downtown Hackensack. Tree appears to be healthy.
Mimosa
(4) SLIPPERY ELM (Ulmus rubra) --- I measured a specimen 14’8” along the curb across the street from 840 South Ave, Plainfield, NJ on 4/8/2006. (Sorry, photo is not yet developed). Is this the new state champion? Your 1998 directory says you seek nominations for this species. There’s a good chance to find many State Champion trees in Plainfield, Westfield, and Montclair, I suspect.
(5) EUROPEAN BEECH --- I measured a specimen 13’10” on the front lawn of 46 E. Central Avenue, Maywood, NJ 07601 in February, 2006. The Exotic Tree list records a 15’3” specimen at the Morris Arboretum in Pennsylvania, but there is no listing for NJ. Is this the new state champion? The homeowner is an Austrian immigrant, and takes great pride in maintaining this tree.
European Beech
(6) RED PINE --- You list the State Champion as 7’8” in Middletown, NJ. I measured one 8’10” on the front lawn of an Elks Lodge located at First and Berry Streets in Hackensack, NJ. Is this the new state champion? (see photo).
Redpine
(7) WITCH HAZEL --- You have no published record for this species, so I’ll nominate the largest one in the Borg’s Woods, an old growth forest. Several are over 13”, and I measured one that was just shy of 14” circumference on March 19, 2006. Many Witch Hazel in Borg’s Woods are over 3” in diameter, therefore they are trees, not shrubs. This 14” specimen is located in the Borg’s Woods Nature Preserve about 80 feet south of Fairmount Avenue (Hackensack, NJ), in the vicinity of 350 Fairmount Ave. Is this the new state champion? Unfortunately, a specimen close to 18” in circumference was killed a few years ago when Fairmount Ave was extended.
Witch Hazel
(8. EASTERN HOPHORNBEAM --- You list the State Champion at 3’11” in Montclair, NJ. I’m sure there are plenty of larger ones hiding out there. I measured one at 4’8” at a height of 18” in Hackensack River County Park, in Hackensack, NJ. Is this the new state champion? This specimen is along the bank of the Hackensack River about 40 feet south of the mouth of an unnamed stream (locally known as Vornado Creek) that starts as a ditch along the south side of the Pathmark Shopping Center parking lot. The tree uprooted over 20 years ago, but has recurved upwards and is very much alive as a bizarre twisted specimen.
Eastern Hophornbean
(9) TALLEST TREES - The Big Tree List mentions that the tallest officially measured tree is 135 feet. There are some big ones in Hackensack’s Borg’s Woods that might be in that range. One that blew down in 1979 measured 125 feet on the ground, and it wasn’t the tallest in the woods (see
www.hackensacknow.com/Borgswoods.html for more info on Borg’s Woods). However, “Beechwood Forest”, a town-owned nature area in Harrington Park has the highest canopy of any old-growth forest that I have yet visited, even surpassing Helyar’s Woods in New Brunswick. The largest Beech measured 12’1” on 2/11/06, and the trunk forks into two massive limbs at an amazing height, perhaps 75 feet. I call it the “King Beech”. Good chance that it is about 135’ in height, and there are TALLER Beech nearby (but with lesser circumference).
For your next edition, please publish a ranking of all trees over 20 feet in circumference, regardless of rank within the species. I’m sure there are many huge old White Oak and other trees over 20’ in circumference that are not State Champions. They simply must be recognized. Call it the 20-foot club. And print another list for the top ten trees based on points.
Sadly, I must report that the state record Bigtooth Aspen, at 181 Cedar Ave, Hackensack, NJ, died a number of years ago. Unsure of the cause of death. I reported this tree back in the 1980’s, and my name appears in the 1998 New Jersey’s Big Trees publication.
The attached photos have notes on the back of each. I can e-mail you the digital versions of the photos, simply contact me at (edited) and request them.
Sincerely,
Eric Martindale, Jr.