Howard County has a great variety of both native and exotic trees. The following trees have been elected Champions of their species. If you know of a more impressive specimen, you can nominate it right now.
| American Basswood | Tilia americana |
| American Holly | Ilex opaca |
| American Hornbeam | Carpinus caroliniana |
| American Beech | Fagus grandifolia |
| Copper Beech | Fagus sylvatica |
| Cutleaf Beech | Fagus sylvatica grandidentata |
| Himalayan Birch | Betula jacquemontii |
| Black Cherry | Prunus serotina |
| Black Gum | Nyssa sylvatica |
| Black Locust | Tilia americana |
| Black Walnut | Juglans nigra |
| Black Willow | Salix nigra |
| Boxelder | Acer negundo |
| Butternut | Juglans cinerea |
| Dawn Redwood | Metasequoia glyptostroboides |
| Dogwood | Cornus florida |
| Catalpa | Catalpa speciosa |
| Flowering Cherry | Prunus serrulata |
| Flowering Plum | Prunus cerasifera |
| Ginkgo | Ginkgo biloba |
| Goldenchain Tree | Laburnum x watereri |
| Gray Birch | Betula populifolia |
| Green Ash | Fraxinus pennsylvanica |
| Hazel Alder | Alnus serrulata |
| Eastern Hemlock | Tsuga canadensis |
| Horse Chestnut | Aesculus hippocastanum |
| Japanese Maple | Acer palmatum |
| Japanese Pagoda Tree | Sophora japonica |
| Katsura Tree | Cercidiphyllum japonicum |
| Kentucky Coffeetree | Gymnocladus dioicus |
| Cherry, Kwanzan | Prunus serrulata 'Kwanzan' |
| European Linden | Tilia europaea |
| Littleleaf Linden | Tilia cordata |
| London Plane Tree | Platanus x acerifolia |
| Southern Magnolia | Magnolia grandiflora |
| Norway Spruce | Picea abies |
| Osage Orange | Maclura pomifera |
| Paperbark Maple | Acer grisium |
| Persimmon | Diospyros virginiana |
| Pin Oak | Quercus palustris |
| Purple Plum | Prunus cerasifera |
| Redbud | Cercis canadensis |
| Red Buckeye | Aesculus pavia |
| Red Maple | Acer rubrum |
| Red Oak | Quercus rubra |
| River Birch | Betula nigra |
| Sassafras | Sassafras albidum |
| Siberian Elm | Ulmus pumila |
| Silver Maple | Acer saccharinum |
| Sugar Maple | Acer saccharum |
| Sweetgum | Liquidambar styraciflua |
| Swamp White Oak | Quercus bicolor |
| Tulip Poplar | Liriodendron tulipifera |
| Umbrella Pine | Sciadopitys verticillata |
| Weeping Birch | Betula pendula |
| Weeping Cherry | Prunus subhirtella |
| Weeping Willow | Salix babylonica |
| White Ash | Fraxinus americana |
| White Mulberry | Morus alba |
| White Oak | Quercus alba |
| White Pine | Pinus strobus |
| Willow Oak | Quercus phellos |
| Witch-hazel | Hamamelis virginiana |
| Wye Oak | Quercus alba |
| Yellowwood | Cladrastis kentuckea |
| Yellow Buckeye | Aesculus octandra |
Nominations
Do You Know a Champion Tree?
Have you seen a woodland titan that has withstood the test of time and towers regally above all else? Or spreads its limbs so wide as to shelter an entire herd of cattle?
If so, please help us to identify and recognize these sleeping giants by nominating them for the official Howard County Champion Tree registry.
Email the following information to the Champion Tree Coordinator at hocoforestryboard@gmail.com:
- Your name, phone number and email
- The address or nearest address and a description of the location of the tree
- Tree species, if known
- Estimated size- height and width in feet
- Estimated circumference in inches- this should be measured at 4.5 feet from the ground
- Any further information about the tree- does it have a story?
Visit the Maryland Forestry Board website for more information on the state Big Trees program.
