Ealing - Walpole Park (London)

January 2007	November 2009

Thanks to Michael for these photographs taken of a Wellingtonia in Walpole Park in Ealing. Michael says "On 6th November 2009 I measured the girth and it is 4.14 metres (I'm 5'8" so measured it from my chin height). I measured its height (using the stick at arm's length) at around 21.5 metres, but am not convinced I did it correctly. It is roughly the same height as some mature London Plane trees (Platanus × hispanica) near to it so this roughly supports my measurements. As you can see from the second picture the trunk branches into two separate sections. This branching out is from around 7 foot up from the ground. Is this usual in Wellingtonias?" The branching usually occurs when the leader is damaged and two (or more) side shoots take over as the main trunk. It is relatively rare in the Wellingtonia (Sequoiadendron giganteum), more common in the Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens). Redwood World has a few other examples of Wellingtonia with a split trunk: Canterbury (Kent) Craigdarroch (Dumfriesshire) Great Baddow (Essex) Haslemere (Surrey) Salisbury (Wiltshire) Dedham (Essex) Knebworth (Hertfordshire) Rutherglen (Lanarkshire) Brighton (Sussex)