Trees symbolise strength, life and continuity. They are perfect memorials for those we hold dear or events we wish to remember. As a result, an entire industry is dedicated to planting trees for remembrance. Mark Roberts, former President of the International Society of Arboriculture and the NZ Arboricultural Association, looks at this tradition and recommends some options for your own clients
As clever marketing often goes, this concept has been borrowed from the past. Even before avenues of honour started to roll out after World War 1, there were living memorials created with trees. The Duke of Wellington planted oaks to commemorate the Battle of Waterloo and the end of the Napoleonic Wars. Some Aboriginal peoples of Australia planted trees to mark the passing of a loved one. They would plant a tree into the hollow of an existing tree, using the standing tree to provide shelter and protection for the new sapling within.
It’s hard to say when this practice began but it is assumed it started over a thousand years ago. However, memorial trees aren’t there just to remember loss or sacrifice. The British Royal
family commissioned tree plantings to mark births, marriages and various jubilees. Happy occasions! As dutiful members of the Commonwealth, we joined in and there is hardly a town in New Zealand that hasn’t got at least one ‘royal oak’ to commemorate one auspicious royal occasion or another. There are memorial trees everywhere and the message is simple: if you want something to stand the test of time, plant a tree!
Unlike structures, which deteriorate day by day, trees are alive and they self-repair. While structures crumble, trees endure. In theory, trees can live forever. The science behind this has to do with DNA replication and telomeres caps – but we’ll save that for another day. Obviously, trees don’t live forever but they can stick around for quite some time. The oldest living tree is possibly 40,000 years old. And no, it’s not a bristlecone pine, it’s a type of poplar tree (quaking aspen – Populus tremuloides). To put that age into perspective, the ancient Egyptian pyramids are a measly 4,500 years old. And while the pyramids look their age, the oldest tree is still in its first flush of youth.
A quick arborist confession: quaking aspens can regenerate from suckers, meaning the same tree can be in a constant state of living and dying. A sucker grows from the roots and that sucker becomes a tree. From that tree, another sucker grows and so on. The oldest tree is not a single stem but a sea of stems.* There are so many stems that the tree is in fact a forest covering 106 acres. Each stem is genetically the same tree; a sea of stems described as a clonal forest. So, while it is true to say that the quaking aspen in its first flush of youth, is also a teenager, middle-aged, falling apart and a rotting stump all at the same tim
As living legacies go, quaking aspen have the endurance side sorted but I’d not recommend them as a memorial tree. Most of the usual contenders (oaks, redwoods, rata, pohutukawa and, of course, the mighty totara) can outlive the structures built around them. At over 200 years old, some of the original oaks planted by the Duke of Wellington are still alive. To ensure continuance and to keep the living memory alive, material has been propagated from those first plantings. Saplings have been produced and planted back onto the site; newer versions of the same tree. The process can be repeated over and over again. The same tree (genetically speaking, at least) can live on for as long as we can take cuttings and plant them.
There are many living legacy trees and gardens around the world. In such places, there is a direct and tangible link to the past, present and future. You can actually place your hand on something that someone 200 years ago touched and someone in 200 years will touch. That’s pretty special. So, if you find yourself working on a commemorative project, plan wisely and future generations should get to enjoy your work. You will be ensuring that what your client wants remembered will be remembered for the longest time.
*Pando is the world’s oldest and largest tree, a quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) located in Sevier County, Utah, United States.
Memorial options
When selecting a tree, consider:
1. Who or what is to be remembered?
2. How will the site be used (viewed from a distance, or will the tree have a park bench or a
playground under it)?
Bold and big trees for celebration of larger than life people, which can be viewed and appreciate from a distance include:
• Coastal redwood (Sequoia sempervirens).
• Wellingtonia (Sequoiadendron giganteum).
• Copper Beech (Fagus sylvatica 'Purpurea').
Interesting and elegant trees for respectful
remembrance, contemplation and contemplation and reflection:
• Totara (Podocarpus totara)**.
• Pūriri (Vitex lucens)**.
• Dawn redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides).
• Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba).
• Japanese maple (Acer palmatum).
• English oak (Quercus robur).
Trees that attract nature and are bigger than their surroundings; sites for community and interaction:
• Rātā (Metrosideros umbellate).
• Kowhai (Sophora tetraptera).
• Mataī (Prumnopitys taxifolia).
• Holm oak (Quercus ilex).
**Cultural significance to Māori
Mark Roberts is a Dunedin-based arborist and qualified tree risk assessor. He has more
than 25 years of national and international experience and is a former President of the
International Society of Arboriculture, and the NZ Arboricultural Association. More of his writing can be found at: all about trees – robertsconsulting.co.nz/blog/