The weather’s cooler, high school and college football teams have taken the field and the leaves soon will be changing colors. What better time to look for Missouri’s champion trees?
![American elm tree](http://liveandkern.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/elm-500x749.jpg)
Champion trees are the biggest, oldest trees as calculated by American Forests and the Missouri Department of Conservation. In the St. Louis area that includes:
- 103-foot tall, 149-inch circumference white basswood tree at the Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis;
- 35-foot tall, 72-inch circumference red buckeye tree at Forest Park in St. Louis;
- 76-foot tall, 142-inch circumference cucumbertree tree at Forest Park in St. Louis;
- 102-foot tall, 191-inch circumference American elm tree at Bellefontaine Cemetery in St. Louis County;
- 51-foot tall, 189-inch circumference red mulberry tree at Bellefontaine Cemetery in St. Louis County;
- 109-foot tall, 174-inch circumference shingle oak tree at Bellefontaine Cemetery in St. Louis County;
- 132-foot tall, 193-inch circumference pecan tree in the right-of-way along Butler Hill Road in St. Louis County;
- 18-foot tall, 19-inch circumference possumhaw tree at the Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis;
- 72-foot tall, 196-inch circumference black walnut tree at Matson Hill Park in St. Charles County;
- 95-foot tall, 79-inch circumference black willow tree at the Missouri Department of Conservation in St. Louis County;
State champion trees on private property in the St. Louis area:
- 130-foot tall, 164-inch circumference green ash tree in St. Louis County
- 49-foot tall, 254-inch circumference American basswood tree in St. Charles County
- 78-foot tall, 176-inch circumference Kentucky coffeetree in Warren County
- 134-foot tall, 296-inch circumference eastern cottonwood tree in St. Louis County
- 79-foot tall, 196-inch circumference rock elm tree in St. Louis County
- 104-foot tall, 132-inch circumference slippery elm tree in Warren County
- 22-foot tall, 17-inch circumference fringetree in St. Louis
- 79-foot tall, 222-inch circumference hackberry tree in Lincoln County
- 110-foot tall, 185-inch circumference hackberry tree in St. Charles County
- 70-foot tall, 204-inch circumference chinkapin oak tree in St. Charles County
- 35-foot tall, 29-inch circumference pawpaw tree in St. Louis
- 23-foot tall, 28-inch circumference wild plum tree in St. Charles County
- 62-foot tall, 78-inch circumference western soapberry tree in Jefferson County
- 41-foot tall, 106-inch circumference eastern wahoo tree in St. Louis County
- 130-foot tall, 186-inch circumference yellow-poplar tree in St. Louis County
The white basswood champion at the Missouri Botanical Garden also is a national champion. So is St. Louis County’s eastern wahoo champion.
The Department of Conservation has tips on how to measure trees, if you think you’ve come across a potential champion. See the complete list of the state’s champion trees.