Tree Information
Common Name: southern magnolia
Scientific Name: Magnolia grandiflora
Native/Naturalized: Native to Virginia
Database ID: 2963
Status: alive
National Champion: no
Virginia Champion: no
Trunk Girth: 241 in.
Tree Height: 85 ft.
Crown Spread: 71 ft.
Points: 344
Date Last Measured: 2022
Last Measured by: Dylan Kania, Byron Carmean, Gary Williamson. Eric Wiseman, Moriah Moss
Date First Measured: 2022
Comments:
This tree appears to be part of the original landscape design of the Antebellum home on the adjacent parcel because another magnolia frames the home on its opposite front corner (but much smaller than this one). Age of home or tree are unknown at this time.
Tree is in remarkably good condition and shows no signs of serious structural flaws or health impediments. It benefits from growing in a large swath of trees that shelter it from wind and other disturbance. A bed of English ivy surrounds the base of the tree and climbs the trunks. Equine center personnel frequently remove the climbing vines.
The tree has developed an unusual growth habit in which the original scaffold branches near the base of the trunk have overcome apical dominance of the central leader and upsweep into the upper crown. This creates a candelabra growth habit and has contributed to the central leader atrophying due to competition for light and space. Some of the low branches have swept down to the ground and made contact with the soil, resulting in rooted layering that has spawned several upright shoots that give the tree a feeling of a forest unto itself.
The growth habit complicates measurement of trunk girth. Measurement of the atrophied central leader at 4.5' above ground was 143", but it is a very poor metric of the massive bulk of the tree. Likewise, the sweeping branches are not trunks and therefore do not justify a composite functional circumference measurement. The decision was made to measure the trunk with a measuring tape wrap around the base, below all scaffold branches at about 6" above ground. This has the effect of rendering a slightly exaggerated measurement, but seems to be the most fair approach to represent the hulk of this tree.
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Location of Tree
Tree is located in: City of Hampton
Land Owner: Hampton University
GPS Coordinates: 37.030317, -76.304358
Directions: On the grounds of the Hampton University Equestrian Center (Hampton University Stables). As you enter the Equine Center, drive down the main driveway to the main barn. Tree is located towards the back of the paved area on the left slightly in front of the house located on the back of the property.
Owner Address: 1360 N Mallory St.
Hampton, VA 23663
Contact Information
Contact Name: Mrs. Bishop
Contact Email: barnbythesea@gmail.com
Contact Phone: 757-848-5904
Contact Info: Mrs. Bishop is the Stable Manager. Additional contact: Byron Carmean; 757-934-0588; rockplantrn@gmail.com
Nominators
Original Nominator(s): Dylan Kania
Other Nominators: Byron Carmean, Gary Williamson. Eric Wiseman, Moriah Moss
Additional Information
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