ENTS,
 
Upon arriving at Congaree National Park around noon on Friday feb 20th I set out looking for the other ENTS who I had heard were somewhere near Weston Lake. While hiking in I immidiately noticed how big the American Hollies where. I started out measuring some of them. Many rivalled the few 60 footers I found back home and some easily surpassed them. Before finding Marcus and his band I had measured one to 81 feet! 

Huge Holly
 
The next day we again followed Marcus as our guide to measure former champions and to find other possibly new champions. Among these were some magnificent American Hollies. Bob Van Pelt measured the first really big one which was located across a creek. It was just over 88 feet tall!  Later our group found and measured four other truly great holly trees. The greatest one was measured at a whopping 97 feet tall!  Only a 106 footer in the Great Smokies has been found taller. It would not surprise me at all if a 100 footer was here somewhere.

Tall Holly
 
Some areas of the forest was amazingly green because of holly. Many of these holly trees would have been canopy trees in other forests. Even in Congaree's tall forests the tallest hollies reached upper midstory heights.

Green in Winter
 
I think the Holly King must live at Congaree!
 
American Holly ( Ilex Opaca )
 
Friday
 
Height        Girth       Spread
 
60.1'           3' 7"
68.1'           3' 8"
78.6'           5' 7"
81.0' !         3' 11"
68.3'           2' 9"
75.0'           3' 5"
76.2'           5' 10"
65.4'          
75.2'           3' 0"
 
Saturday
 
93.7' !          5' 2"
94.1' !          5' 4"
92.0' !          6' 7" !        34' avg spread.      
97.0' !          5' 6"
 
All of the 90ft plus hollies were found off trail.  
 
More on Congaree to come!
 
 
James Parton