Did the Sun King attend the birth of this giant?
The fact is that in the competition for the tree of the year, the public prize was awarded to a chestnut tree that was planted during the reign of Louis XIV.
To admire this colossus, whose age is estimated at 330 years, you have to go to a residential area of La Celle-Saint-Cloud (Yvelines) with a perfect name: the chestnut grove.
“In the past, there were woods and vast pastures here, tell the magazine Terre Sauvage and the National Forestry Office (ONF), which has been organizing this competition for ten years.
This chestnut tree was able to develop quite comfortably in the middle of a meadow.
From a field tree, it has thus become a city tree.
This year, therefore, he won the honors of the general public with 7,754 votes in his favor out of a total of 23,101 voters.
Those who have had the chance to sit in the shadow of the colossus will no doubt have noticed the irregularities of its trunk which take the form of spiral grooves.
Specialists say that the tree is "screwed".
Having won the public prize is only the first step in his consecration, because he will represent France in the “European tree of the year” competition.
The photos of the winners exhibited at Paris Gare de Lyon
As part of the 2021 competition organized in France, more than 200 specimens from different regions were selected for their aesthetic, biological or historical qualities.
Thirteen trees were finally selected by the jury, which then submitted its choice to public votes from November 2 to January 4.
Three other prizes were awarded: the special favorite prize for an ash tree from Vence (Alpes-Maritimes), the honorary prize for the old millenary oak known as "at the two chapels" of Allouville-Bellefosse (Seine-Maritime) and the jury prize for the chestnut tree with a largely hollow trunk from Celles-sur-Belle (Deux-Sèvres).
The photographs of the winning trees will be exhibited outdoors at Paris Gare de Lyon in Hall 1, from January 20 to March 20.
