Interesting trees of Winnipeg. (2003 Feature Section--"Themes and Extremes").

It never ceases to amaze me how so many Canadians who do not live on the prairies believe that trees are either nonexistent or are very scrubby and lack any interest. Manitoba's largest tree is a plains cottonwood (Populus deltoids var. occidentalis) located 18 km south-east of Portage La Prairie. This magnificent single-stemmed giant is 37 m high, 6.6 m in circumference at 1.4 m above the ground, and I would estimate that it has dominated its habitat on the Assiniboine River for over 250 years. This would be a very large tree in most areas of British Columbia. Winnipeg's largest tree is also a plains cottonwood and is located on public lands by the Seine River off John Bruce Road. It consists of three very large stems reaching a height of 32 m and a whopping circumference of 11.5 m at 0.5 m above the ground. The spread or diameter of …