Champion and ancient tree registers: who keeps them in the US, UK, Australia and New Zealand, and what each one records
Five public registers of notable trees, read from their own pages: the American Forests National Register of Champion Trees, the Woodland Trust Ancient Tree Inventory, the Tree Register of the British Isles, the National Register of Big Trees in Australia and the New Zealand Tree Register. The page gives what each records, the count its page shows, and how a tree gets onto it.
Checked against the sources at the bottom of this page on October 9, 2026. Rules, fees and pay change: the source has the last word.
Two kinds appear below. Size registers name the biggest or tallest trees of their species. The Ancient Tree Inventory maps ancient and old trees. None of the pages read says that being listed gives a tree legal protection. Rules on protected trees are on the pollards and veteran trees page. The counts below are the numbers each page showed on October 9, 2026, and they change as trees are added.
The five registers
| Register | What it records | Count and how a tree is added |
|---|---|---|
| National Register of Champion Trees, USA, kept by American Forests | The biggest tree of each species as reported to the organization. The page offers a 2021 register as a PDF and a search by species, state, size or total points. | The page does not state a total. A February 5, 2024 feature on the program says the register lists 561 species and that the program was moving to the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. |
| Ancient Tree Inventory, UK, kept by the Woodland Trust | The oldest and most important trees in the UK, mapped. The page shows a sample of trees from the register with species, girth and place. | More than 190,000 trees listed. The page invites anyone who sees an old tree to add it, and carries a five-part video series on what to record. |
| The Tree Register of the British Isles, a volunteer-run charity | Champion trees, meaning the tallest and the largest in trunk girth of their species, by country and county. It covers Britain, Ireland, the Channel Isles and the Isle of Man. | Over 90,000 champion trees in a member database and over 280,000 notable trees in the wider register. The page invites volunteers to measure trees and offers guidance and tuition. |
| National Register of Big Trees, Australia | The largest tree of each species, native and naturalised, scored by a formula that uses circumference, height and crown spread. | Started in May 2009 with 18 trees; over 900 on the page. Anyone can nominate a tree, and the site has pages on how to nominate and how to measure. |
| New Zealand Tree Register, kept by the NZ Notable Trees Trust | Detailed information on notable trees, with a map by region. | 2152 trees in the register. The page says a person logs in to submit a tree for consideration, or gets in touch so that a qualified person from the trust can inspect the tree. |
How the registers differ
The Australian register scores each tree with a points formula built from circumference, height and crown spread, and lists the points beside each species. American Forests also searches by total points. The Tree Register of the British Isles defines a champion by the tallest and the greatest trunk girth. The Ancient Tree Inventory describes itself as mapping the oldest and most important trees, and its page says there are more ancient trees in the UK than in most other European countries. The New Zealand register is about notable trees, and the page describes an inspection by a qualified person from the trust for a tree that someone wants added.
Who can add a tree
The Woodland Trust page invites anyone who spots an old tree to add it, and the Australian register invites nominations and adds that the nominator does not have to be an expert on trees or on measuring them. The Tree Register of the British Isles asks volunteers to check that champion trees survive and are correctly plotted, and its champion database is open to members. American Forests says in its feature that a 2014 measuring guidelines handbook of 86 pages was published to make champion measurements more consistent.
Registers of this kind sit beside the legal protections in each country, which are covered in tree protection laws. A register listing is a record of the tree, and none of the five pages is a record of a protection order.
Sources
- American Forests, National Register of Champion Trees, read October 9, 2026
- American Forests, The National Champion Tree Program (feature of February 5, 2024), read October 9, 2026
- Woodland Trust, Ancient Tree Inventory, read October 9, 2026
- The Tree Register of the British Isles, home page, read October 9, 2026
- National Register of Big Trees Australia, home page, read October 9, 2026
- NZ Notable Trees Trust, New Zealand Tree Register, read October 9, 2026