Tree Champions: Sumo freestyle

From 6 - 8 June, Westonbirt's learning and participation team will be hosting the Tree Champions family event. The event will include a trail around some of our own Olympic champions - our trees and shrubs - as well as some great Olympic-themed craft activities with a woody twist! Here, the team reveal some of the Tree Champion facts you can discover at Westonbirt…

Sweet chestnut

The Tree of the Hundred Horses, a sweet chestnut that once grew on Mt Etna in Sicily, Italy, is the tree with the greatest girth ever.

In 1780 its girth measured a staggering 57.9m!

Unfortunately the tree is no longer alive and is in three separate pieces.

Whilst the sweet chestnut still holds this record, the current living champion is a Montezuma cypress, growing in Mexico, with a girth of 36m.

Useful links

Become a member of the Friends of Westonbirt Arboretum

More about Westonbirt’s family events