Tree Of The Week (2)

While vandals destroy trees standing in splendid isolation in the UK, in New Zealand they shower them with accolades.

The New Zealand Arboricultural Association recently revealed that the winner of their third Tree of the Year competition with 42% of the votes cast is a 32-metre tall northern Rātā (Metrosideros robusta) which grows near Karamea, on the west coast of the country’s South Island. It is an impressive sight, its structure earning it the moniker of “The Walking Tree” and resembles Tolkien’s Ents.

The Rātā is one of New Zealand’s tallest flowering trees and begins life as an epiphyte, attached to another tree. Eventually its roots reach the ground and it envelops its host. Apparently they can live for 1,000 years and “The Walking Tree” has been in situ since at least 1875.

Let’s hope some English tourists don’t find it.