CHARLESTON, W.Va. — After meticulous measuring, it was determined Monday afternoon that the state Capitol Complex is home to the largest shingle oak tree in the entire state.
The gigantic tree sits on the north end of the complex near California Ave. It scored a 292 Big Tree number because of some impressive statistics.
“It is a pretty impressive height tree at 129 feet. It is average of crown spread. It’s 12 feet in circumference, which is a rather large tree,” explained Kanawha County Fire Forester Supervisor Tom Oxley.
Oxley said he had no idea that the tree would register such a high score.
“No, we didn’t know. It was just one of those instances where you pick an example. It is a large example; it just ended up being that way,” Oxley said.
Leslie Smithson, Spokesperson for the Division of Forestry said that West Virginia’s Big Tree program has grown in popularity.
“The Big Tree Program is very popular with people. People really like trees, and they really like big trees,” Smithson said. “When we start to measure a tree or say show someone a champion, people always say well I know a tree bigger than that. Then we get more nominations and it just snowballs.”
Trees’ scores are calculated by height, circumference and crown spread. Oxley said the trees measurements put the oak in a class by itself among its kind.
“This is the biggest shingle oak in West Virginia by species, yes sir,” he said.
West Virginia Big Tree National champions include a Virginia Pine in Monongalia County, a Fanleaf Hawthorne in Harrison County and a Mountain Maple in Pocahontas County.