Tree of the Year (Portugal)
The Tree of the Year (Portuguese: Árvore do Ano) competition is held every winter in Portugal. Nominated trees are shortlisted by a panel of experts, before going to public votes to select the winner tree of that year. The panel then selects one of these to become Portugal's tree of the year and be nominated for that year's European Tree of the Year, an annual contest held to find the most "loveable" tree in Europe.[1]
The contest is held by the Environmental Partnership Association (EPA), an organization supported by the European Land Owners Association and the European Commission.[1]
Portugal won the European Tree of the Year award in 2018 with the Sobreiro Monumental.[2] The competition has been run in Portugal each year since 2018.[3]
Winners
[edit]Portugal has had 8 national winners, one of whom has also won at the continental level. Some of these trees include the oldest cork oak in the world, the Sobreiro Monumental,[4] the 180 year old Plane Tree of Rossio,[5] the 150 year old Eucalyptus of Contige[6] and the 300 year old Camélia.[7]
Most of Portugal’s anual winners are Oaks, a common type of tree in the country, that includes their national tree since 2011, the Cork Oak.[8]
As of 2025 all of Portugal's winner trees are from different districts, one from Braga, Vila Real, Viseu, Coimbra, Portalegre, Évora, Setúbal and Beja, in the municipalities of Guimarães, Vila Pouca de Aguiar, Sátão, Coimbra, Portalegre, Arraiolos, Palmela and Mértola, respectively.
Year | Photo | Location | Name | Species | European Tree of the Year |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2018 | ![]() |
Águas de Moura, Palmela | Sobreiro Monumental | Quercus suber | 1st Place[9] |
2019 | ![]() |
Mértola | Secular Holm Oak from Monte Barbeiro | Quercus rotundifolia | 3rd Place[10] |
2020 | ![]() |
Vila Pouca de Aguiar | The Chestnut Tree from Vales | Castanea sativa | 6th Place[11] |
2021 | ![]() |
Portalegre | Plane Tree of Rossio | Platanus × hispanica | 4th Place[12] |
2022 | Arraiolos | The Big Cork Oak | Quercus suber | 3rd Place[13] | |
2023 | ![]() |
Sátão | Eucalyptus of Contige | Eucalyptus globulus | 5th Place[14] |
2024 | ![]() |
Guimarães | Camélia | Camellia japonica | 4th Place[15] |
2025 | ![]() |
Santa Clara, Coimbra | The Lovers Banyan Tree | Ficus subg. Urostigma | ongoing |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b Eric Simpson (1 January 2015). "Branching out: Major Oak aims to win 'Eurovision for trees'". BBC News Online. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
- ^ "Whistler cork oak tree – Tree of the year". www.treeoftheyear.org. Retrieved 2024-02-13.
- ^ "Árvore do ano 2020". portugal.treeoftheyear.eu. Retrieved 2024-02-13.
- ^ "Which is the largest and oldest cork oak in the world?". amorim.com. Corticeira Amorim. Archived from the original on 3 October 2023. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
- ^ "Plátano do Rossio é a árvore do ano". jconline.esep.pt (in European Portuguese). 2020-11-26. Archived from the original on 13 February 2024. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
- ^ "O que distingue a Árvore do Ano que vai agora disputar o concurso europeu". SIC Notícias (in Portuguese). 2023-01-14. Archived from the original on 21 March 2023. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
- ^ "Camélia-japoneira em Guimarães é árvore do ano". CNN Portugal (in Portuguese). 10 January 2024. Archived from the original on 6 February 2024. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
- ^ Geraldes, Helena (2011-12-22). "Sobreiro já é a Árvore Nacional". PÚBLICO (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2025-02-09.
- ^ "Two century old Portuguese cork tree named European Tree of Year in online poll". Retrieved 6 April 2022.
- ^ "Secular Holm Oak from Monte Barbeiro – Tree of the year". www.treeoftheyear.org. Retrieved 2024-02-13.
- ^ "The Chestnut Tree from Vales – Tree of the year". www.treeoftheyear.org. Retrieved 2024-02-13.
- ^ "Plane Tree of Rossio – Tree of the year". www.treeoftheyear.org. Retrieved 2024-02-13.
- ^ "The Big Cork Oak – Tree of the year". www.treeoftheyear.org. Retrieved 2024-02-13.
- ^ "Eucalyptus of Contige – Tree of the year". www.treeoftheyear.org. Retrieved 2024-02-13.
- ^ "Camellia – Tree of the year". www.treeoftheyear.org. Retrieved 2024-03-30.