UCA’s roots run deep in Arkansas; however, one particular tree on campus has roots older and larger than most in the state.
On the lawn between the Harding Centennial Plaza fountain and Thompson Hall stands a 104-foot-tall willow oak champion tree.
The tree, which can be seen from Donaghey Avenue, has been growing longer than UCA’s campus has existed, said Kevin Carter, associate vice president of facilities at UCA.
“More than likely it grew naturally. We don’t know the exact age of the tree, but it is probably between 125-150 years old, which would predate our campus,” Carter said.
The Arkansas Champion Tree Program, which recognizes the largest tree of each species in the state, honored the willow oak as a “champion tree.”
Carter said for UCA’s groundskeeping staff, which is listed as the owner of the tree, it takes quite a bit of work to maintain and care for a tree of the size and age as UCA’s willow oak.
“For a tree to make it to this size and age, it requires maintenance and attention from our grounds staff. Because this tree splits into 3 separate trunks, we’ve had to wire it together with steel cables twice over the last 25 years,” Carter said. “Due to the weight of each trunk, this tree would likely have split due to high winds by now if these measures hadn’t been taken. We’ve also had a licensed arborist look at it over the years to make recommendations on necessary pruning.”
The tree on campus isn’t the only one to boast a champion tree title in Conway. There are four other champion trees in the city: the common persimmon, eastern redbud, winged elm and sugarberry. Of these, the only one on public property is the common persimmon.
The common persimmon tree stands along Stone Dam Creek Trail in Conway, near the UCA campus. According to Krista Quinn, a member of the Conway Tree Board, a local noticed the size of the tree.
“A local resident recognized that the persimmon tree on Stone Dam Creek Trail was very large for that species and contacted the Arkansas Forestry Division,” Quinn said.
Conway Parks and Recreation owns the tree, and contrary to what Carter said of UCA’s willow oak, the persimmon has required little maintenance.
“A mature tree like this one doesn’t need a lot of specialized care. It grew to this large size with very little attention from humans,” Quinn said. “The city will mostly work to protect a tree like this from harm.”
Quinn said while there might be certain types of trees that are bigger than or older than other champion trees, there are certain qualities a tree must possess to be considered a champion tree.
“There are a lot of large oak trees in Conway and many are probably bigger than some of the other species of Champion Trees we have, but the Champion Trees are the largest known trees of each tree species in Arkansas. Trees can be big in a lot of different ways. They can be tall, wide, or have a large trunk. To determine what trees are the biggest of each species, they calculate a bigness index based on all of the ways a tree can be big,” Quinn said.
The formula the Arkansas Department of Agriculture’s Forestry Department uses to determine a tree’s bigness index is: circumference in inches plus height in feet, plus one-fourth of the average crown spread in feet, equals the bigness index.
According to its website, this formula is consistent for all champion trees across the country. The site also said circumference is measured four-and-a-half feet from ground level and, sometimes, the tree’s diameter is measured and converted to circumference.