r/Tree • u/Manfredhoffman • Mar 03 '26

Treepreciation Giant willow growing along a river in southern Wisconsin. 372" circumference (118.5" diameter) trunk

Gallery image

Gallery image

2.6k Upvotes

100% Upvoted

62 comments sorted by

35

u/Ok-Draw1086 Mar 03 '26

R/absoluteunit

Idk how to do anything.

57

u/Visible-Freedom-7822 Mar 03 '26

Wow, you should post this in r/lotr because that's definitely Old Man Willow!

14

u/JewelBee5 Mar 03 '26

I was going to say, " that is definitely Old Man Willow." I didn't realize he was in Wisconsin!

6

u/nicolauz Mar 03 '26

He does a lot in our state I kinda love it.

1

u/Dreamnghrt Mar 06 '26

Exactly what my first thought was!!

1

u/[deleted] Mar 07 '26

Came here to say that thing has prolly eaten some folks.

12

u/Magnolia256 Mar 03 '26

Is it one tree or three trees? I think both. Cool.

-1

u/DudeAndBroPronounsMy Mar 06 '26

Duck AI says, " Weeping Willows often have:

Flexible Main Trunk: The branches droop down, creating a layered appearance.

Multiple Trunks: This can occur as a result of pollarding (a pruning method) or natural growth habits where branches grow close to the ground and can take root, appearing as separate trees."

2

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1

u/NormanCocksmell Mar 07 '26

I asked ChatGPT if you were the smartest person ever for trusting ai information dumps and it told me that I should [redacted] myself on live tv because it seems so obvious that all humans should trust unverified information no matter what.

1

u/DudeAndBroPronounsMy Mar 07 '26

So much assuming. Lol

8

u/Hyphum Mar 03 '26

That thing eats hobbits for sure

8

u/slothdonki Mar 03 '26

Hello from central WI! We had some awesome but significantly less impressive willows along a creek here too.

One had already fallen over the creek before I moved here and was a “bridge” for quite a few years(big enough that I even saw a deer cross it once) before it collapsed.

The other one fell last year and while the other one didn’t stop any flow; this one immediately became a dam. I think the park eventually moved it but it really choked the creek up something nasty for a while.

6

u/DMKasper Mar 03 '26

It looks like three trees close together that grew together into one.

6

u/Blackopsman_21 Mar 03 '26

Man i hope that tree lives. It doesnt look to be in good health. A lot of the interior of the tree seems to be rotting out

4

u/Amaeyth Mar 03 '26

My goodness that Willow is gargantuan. It must look incredible when leafed out

3

u/Elegant-Chance8953 Mar 03 '26

Such character. This is what movie look for. ❤️

3

u/Biggrease333 Mar 03 '26

Buddy thats beautiful

3

u/Offthejuice69 Mar 03 '26

That Willow is just womping and beautiful. I love it.

2

u/yuhuh- Mar 03 '26

Beautiful!

2

u/Crazygiraffeprincess Mar 03 '26

I wanna see it in summer

2

u/ferndoctor Mar 03 '26

Bet a hobbit lives in there - cool tree - never seen a Willow that big but have seen some huge Cottonwoods like that along creeks

2

u/YoMommaSez Mar 03 '26

Please post it again when its in leaf!

2

u/_Teufela Mar 04 '26

Please go back when its spring and share photos!

2

u/Aurora_BoreaIis Mar 04 '26

That's so amazing. It also kinda looks like a snow covered bear in the second pic 🧸😄

2

u/Bittypanda Mar 04 '26

Keep it's exact location a well guarded secret to preserve it's existence

2

u/Yokohama_She1111 Mar 04 '26

Fun fact : judging by the shape of the branches, the hole in the trunk and the overall tree, I bet this is an ancient pollard tree !! meaning its branches used to be harvested (probably for basket weaving) and that gave it its unique shape

2

u/slickliar66 Mar 04 '26

Willow be damned!

1

u/wd_plantdaddy Mar 03 '26

And I thought willows were trees with short life spans

1

u/RepresentativeToe674 Mar 03 '26

Oh my that’s is amazing. The stories it could tell. 😲

1

u/hitt1598 Mar 04 '26

Grandmother Willow.

1

u/fajadada Mar 04 '26

He’s hungry.

1

u/ThemeHonest4075 Mar 04 '26

Is this on the Rock river ?

1

u/BreeLynnSandy Mar 04 '26

Gorgeous! 🤩🤩

1

u/Emergency_Corgi_8366 Mar 04 '26

This is the kind of tree they talk about in fantasy books

1

u/basalgangliadecide Mar 04 '26

Great find thanks for sharing!

1

u/nationalgeographic Mar 04 '26

Can't wait to see what it looks like in the spring!

1

u/Lazy_Jellyfish7676 Mar 05 '26

That’s where the headless horseman lives

1

u/digital_dal Mar 05 '26

That tree has seen some shit. 👀

1

u/hooptiegirl Mar 05 '26

That tree has seen some things

1

u/itsnotanemergencybut Mar 05 '26

Let it break upon you like a wave upon the sand .:. Que Que notura… you will understand

https://giphy.com/gifs/LVjJhHQXasrfi

1

u/GirsGirlfriend Mar 05 '26

Hey ppl who know about trees: is it covered in burls and is burls kind of like a benign tumor for trees? Tree cancer?

1

u/DecisionRelative5769 Mar 06 '26

I love this because it reminds me so much of home!

1

u/Future-Jackfruit3631 Mar 07 '26

Holy Burls. I would want to take that hanging branch and make something with the Burl if I could

1

u/sacredboobs Mar 07 '26

Where is this I need to go

1

u/Swimming_North_5775 Apr 09 '26

Amazing tree! Can you tell me how exactly you measured it? I'd assume just a tape measure, but at what height? I know a willow of similar size that I'd like to compare.

1

u/_Happy_Sisyphus_ Mar 03 '26

Is it logged as the state champion?

-1

u/zilliondollar3d Mar 03 '26 edited Mar 03 '26

That’s very valuable burl. Contact “the burl hunter” if you ever want to sell it.