Picea sitchenisis
Randolph’s Leap, River Findhorn, Moray, Scotland
Not many of our tall trees look as spectacular as the tallest Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) at Randolph’s Leap on the bank of the River Findhorn, near Forres, Moray. At 66m (centre tree in first image with dark foliage) this is the tallest of 12 trees currently recorded in Britain and Ireland over 60m. The majority of these are in Scotland, appropriately as it was brought to the attention of the botanical world in 1792 by a Scot, Archibald Menzies, and introduced to Britain in 1831 by David Douglas, another Scot.
The great flood of August 1829 may have helped clear the banks of the Findhorn for the planting of these new exotic conifers but whether this is an original is unknown. It is a challenging tree to measure and has a girth at 1.5m of 6.4m, whilst at lower heights for European or USA comparisons this increases to 7.6m.
The tallest Sitka recorded in the world is just over 100m, in the Redwood National Park, whilst outside of the USA and Canada this tree is currently the tallest known in Europe.
A number of our tallest spruce over 60m in height have succumbed to the Green spruce aphid (Elatobium abietinum) but this one appears to be healthy and still adding height. Whilst pests and diseases are probably its biggest threats, in the shelter of the Findhorn valley could this become the first Sitka to reach 70m in Europe?