ragnhildur

The wych elm standing in front of the house at Túngata 6 is one of the treasures of Reykjavík. Its expansive crown has grown without constraints from nearby buildings or other trees. Its trunk splits into two at about 1 m height. A measurement in 1948 put its height at 7,15 m, in 1965 its 9 m and is then the tallest elm in the city, but in 1999 it measured at 10,7 m and had lost its first place standing in height to a nearby elm. Its circumference at the split at 1 m height was 2,45 m in 1999. Its age is disputed, with claims made both for it being planted sometime between 1890-1895 and in 1902. Information from descendants of previous owners of the house at Túngata 6 indicates that the tree was probably planted sometime after 1908, with assistance from Agner F. Kofoed-Hansen, the first head of forestry in Iceland, who lived nearby. The tree would have come from a tree nursery run by Einar Helgason, but many of the oldest trees in Reykjavík came from there.

Location of the tree on Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/v9m4QXR3KFgj6Tmi7

An article (in Icelandic) from Skógræktarritið – The Journal of the Icelandic Forestry Association about the tree (here).

The Tree of the Year 1998 stands in a garden at Sniðgata in Akureyri and is a birch tree, with branches drooping from a large crown. No reliable information has been found on its origins, but information from previous owners of the house has indicated it came from a plant nursery at Hallormsstaður around 1920. The tree seems, despite it shape to be a downy birch (Betula pubescens) rather than silver birch (Betula verrucosa var. pendula). Birch trees of a similar drooping shape can be found in other gardens in the area, indicating that someone has purposefully cultivated trees with this shape in the early part of the 20^th century.

Location of the tree on Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/JwBBuNWYC2YKqQA39

An article (in Icelandic) from Skógræktarritið – The Journal of the Icelandic Forestry Association about the tree (here).

The first tree nursery at Akureyri was founded at the turn of the 20^th century. The first supervisor of the nursery lived at Aðalstræti 52 and cultivated his garden there. A photo taken in 1912 shows a few larch trees in the garden, about 2 m in height. Nothing is known about their origins, but they are most likely Russian larch, probably of a southerly cultivar because it usually doesn’t finish shedding its needles until November and buds about ten days earlier than most of the Russian larch used in forestry in Iceland. The trees have suffered some frost damage early on and formed a large crown. The tallest trees in the garden were around 16 m at the time of the nomination, with the largest having a diameter of 190 cm at chest height.

Location of the trees on Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/W64sFVkJTSLE3jJ37

An article (in Icelandic) from Skógræktarritið – The Journal of the Icelandic Forestry Association about the trees (here). 

The larch is in the Skrúður garden, that has a notable history as one of the first ornamental gardens in the country. The date of planting is not known exactly but based on notes regarding the garden it was most likely planted between 1908 and 1910, derived from seed sown in Akureyri between 1900 and 1905. Growing conditions at that time were quite difficult, especially during winter storms. The fact that the larch tree survived can be put down to the care of Sigtryggur Guðlaugsson, the founder of the garden, who took great care to shelter the trees during winter. At some point in the trees early years some goats also escaped into the garden and ate the top of the tree. A lower branch emerged as a new top, leading to a noticeable twist in the trunk of the tree. The tree has been regularly measured. In 1966 its height was measured at 8 m, in 1985 it had reached 9,55 m height and in 1995 10,55 m, with a circumference of 2 m at 1 m height.

Location of the tree on Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/oDCLZy8zNqxEiQiLA

An article (in Icelandic) from Skógræktarritið – The Journal of the Icelandic Forestry Association about the tree (here).

The rowan tree stands close to the shop at Ferstikla, right by the Hvalfjarðarvegur road and is easily visible from the road. The tree was planted in 1945, along with six other rowans. The trees initially thrived but after being sprayed accidentally with a cooling liquid from a fire prevention system six of the trees died and the one remaining tree suffered serious frost damage. The remaining tree recovered, however, and has since grown and thrived. The farmer at Ferstikla has looked after the tree, giving it fertilizer now and then and guarded it against any plans to cut it down. Now the tree lends beauty to the spot.

Location of the tree on Google Maps https://goo.gl/maps/F6LkFL9pza5ZcpQV8

An article (in Icelandic) from Skógræktarritið – The Journal of the Icelandic Forestry Association about the tree (here). 

The sycamore at Suðurgata was planted by the merchant Nicolaj Bjarnason and his family in 1918. The tree stands at over 10 m tall, with a large and even canopy. It has often borne ripe seeds and thus has descendants all over the country. Sycamore grows quite well in Iceland, although it is relatively slow growing and needs fertile soils and care in its youth. In its original habitats it can reach a height of 20-25 m and an age of at least 500 years, so the sycamore at Suðurgata still has a long life ahead of it.

Location of the tree on Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/DMSSYtHQf8Kz7wHs6

An article (in Icelandic) from Skógræktarritið – The Journal of the Icelandic Forestry Association about the tree (here).

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After no nominations for a Tree of the Year from the first tree in 1989 the project was re-launched in 1993, with expanded criteria (rarity, historical interest, beauty, unique positions etc.) with a birch tree in Fljótsdalur selected by the forest farmer Helgi Hallgrímsson as the Tree of the Year 1993. The tree stands in Skógarbali on the land of the farm Vallholt, along with four other birch trees, that have been nicknamed “eikurnar á Skógarbala” (“the oaks at Skógarbali”, large trees in the area have traditionally been referred to as “oaks”) and that are the last remnants of a large birch forest that used to cover the area. A local poet has written an ode to the tree, and the cluster of birch trees used to be a popular rest spot for travellers. The trees date back to the late 19^th century, so are well over a century old.

Location on Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/R4uS8v6sFsoVEgPZ9

An article (in Icelandic) from Skógræktarritið – The Journal of the Icelandic Forestry Association about the tree (here).

This first Tree of the Year was selected by Sigurður Blöndal, former head of the Icelandic Forestry Service and is a birch tree, standing in the outskirts of Vaglaskógur, near one of the main forest roads. At the time the tree was described as being tall for birch trees in Iceland, around 10 m in height and forming a single trunk up to about 3 m height, much broader than most birches. The bark was white and smooth, and the canopy is large, splitting into five main branches forming a larger canopy than most birch trees found in Iceland.

An article (in Icelandic) from Skógræktarritið – The Journal of the Icelandic Forestry Association about the tree (here).