What's a big tree?
What does it mean to be a "big" tree? The National Register of Big Trees and Tennessee Champion Trees list use a point system based on three charactistics that make a tree "big": the circumference in inches + the height in feet + 1/4 the average crown spread in feet.

The biggest trees
Based on this kind of "score", the library's willow oak (2-1030) has a slight edge in the contest for largest tree on campus. However, the margin of error in measurement is great enough that there is essentially a four-way tie.

• If you park in the Wesley Place garage and walk to main campus, you pass the winning willow oak between the central library and Benson Chapel. It is on your left as you ascend the steps up to Library Lawn.
• Not surprisingly, one of the four is the most famous tree on campus, the Bicentennial Oak, which is also possibly the only tree in the arboretum that predates the campus. The Bicentennial Oak has a massive girth and is actually wider than it is tall, with a single branch that stretches 21 meters (69 feet).
• Another is the only southern red oak on campus, which stands in front of Godchaux Hall. It is well known to those who walk from Peabody to Main Campus across the 21st Ave.S. bridge. It is one of the tallest trees on campus.
• The big sugarberry is in the Divinity School courtyard.

Seeing the big trees
A "Trail of Giants" tree tour is under construction. You can take the tour now, although the descriptive text for each tree isn't finished.

About this list
The primary criterion for inclusion in this list is that the tree has a diameter of 1 meter (40 inches) or more. The list also includes individual trees that are the largest known examples of their species, regardless of their diameter. Those trees are listed on bold type. If the tree has a web page, it is linked to the tree's ID code. To see the location of the tree, click on the "location" link. In cases where the tree is near a road, Google Street View can be used to view the tree.

The list below includes many of the largest trees on campus, and will be extended as more trees are measured. In particular, there are probably some large hackberries that need to be added. We are still collecting data on the height and crown spread and will update the list as we obtain that information. The list is ordered by points where available; otherwise the trees are listed in order of diameter.

A more extensive public database is at https://github.com/vanderbilt-arboretum.

If you interested in knowing how old the trees might be, see How old are trees in the Vanderbilt Arboretum?

ID code	species	dia. (cm)	dia. (in.)	height (m)	height (ft.)	ave. crown spread (m)	ave. crown spread (ft.)	points*	location	notes
2-1030	Quercus phellos (willow oak)	135	53	31.7	104**	29.3	96	295	between the central library and Benson Chapel
2-691	Quercus macrocarpa (bur oak)	149	59	25	82	30	98	291	between Rand and Garland Halls	the Bicentennial Oak
2-244	Celtis laevigata (sugarberry)	146	57	28.5	94	21	69	291	Divinity School courtyard
2-123	Quercus falcata (southern red oak)	132	52	32	105	27.5	90	291	between Godchaux Hall and 21st Ave.S.
3-589	Ulmus americana (American elm)	125	49	31	102	30	98	281	by the Beta Omicron Pi house on 24th Ave.S.
9-379	Quercus phellos (willow oak)	154	61	23	75	18	59	281	between 1114 19th Ave.S. and Edgehill
2-795	Quercus phellos (willow oak)	117	46	32	105	26	85	271	near library loading dock and 21st Ave.S. crosswalk
2-1021	Quercus shumardii (Shumard oak)	128	50	27	89	28	92	270	south of Furman Hall
2-161	Quercus alba (white oak)	117	46	28	92	34.5	113	265	between Kirkland Hall and Curry Field
4-487	Magnolia grandiflora (southern magnolia)	134.5	53	25	82	17.8	58	263	in front of Buttrick Hall	second magnolia north of entry walk
4-855	Celtis laevigata (sugarberry)	123	48	29	95	17.5	57	262	west of Community Partnership House
1-683	Quercus rubra (red oak)	118	46	29.5	97	20.5	67	260	in front of Payne building on Peabody Esplanade
2-437	Quercus imbricaria (shingle oak)	114	45	30.2	99**	20	66	256	against the south side of the central library
2-253	Celtis laevigata (sugarberry)	126	50	22	72	27.8	91	251	between the Law School and Calhoun Hall
1-625	Quercus palustris (pin oak)	113	44	27.5	90	22.5	84	251	northeast part of Magnolia Lawn
2-638	Fraxinus americana (white ash)	111	44	28	92	24.5	80	249	west of Furman and north of Benson Halls
2-402	Liriodendron tulipifera (tulip tree)	118	46	26***	86	21	69	249	northwest corner of Furman Hall
N/A	Quercus rubra (red oak)	115.5	46	26	85	24	79	248	in front of the University School of Nashville	located on USN property but included for historical reasons
4-522	Celtis laevigata (sugarberry)	131	52	20	66	22.5	74	246	south of Community Partnership House
3-419	Quercus rubra (red oak)	106	42	28	92***	26	85	245	north end of Alumni Lawn
3-62	Populus deltoides (eastern cottonwood)	110	43	27	89	20	66	241	Kensington and 24th Ave.S.
3-327	Quercus shumardii (Shumard oak)	104	41	27	90***	25.5	84	239	south side of sidewalk in front of Cole Hall	Big Al's twin
9-4	Tilia americana (American basswood)	124.5	49	21	69	19.3	63	239	in front of 1110 19th Ave.S.
1-730	Magnolia grandiflora (southern Magnolia)	122.5	48	22.5	74	15	49	238	center magnolia along Magnolia Circle on south side of Magnolia Lawn
2-209	Quercus nigra (water oak)	120	47	20.5	67	21.8	71	234	north of Benson Hall
3-52	Platanus occidentalis (American sycamore)	103	41	25	82	27.5	90	232	south of Cole Hall
4-702	Platanus occidentalis (American sycamore)	94	37	27	89	29	95	229	largest tree in Stevenson Courtyard
1-429	Magnolia grandiflora (southern Magnolia)	120	47	20	66	17.5	57	228	Magnolia Lawn east of Kennedy Center
2-411	Maclura pomifera (Osage orange)	124	49	17	56	20.8	68	226	east of Calhoun Hall
2-1036	Magnolia grandiflora (southern Magnolia)	114	45	21	69	18.5	61	225	east of Kirkland Hall; third tree north of curve in drive
2-319	Magnolia grandiflora (southern Magnolia)	118	46	20	66	16.5	54	225	between Rand and Old Central	has second 59 cm diameter stem
4-943	Magnolia grandiflora (southern Magnolia)	109	43	22	72***	19	62	223	in front of Buttrick Hall south of the entry walk
2-528	Ulmus serotina (September elm)	83	33	28.6	94**	20.5	67	218	between Benson and Garland Halls
2-247	Magnolia grandiflora (southern Magnolia)	110	43	18.5	61	18	58	211	in front of the central library veering north
2-182	Catalpa speciosa (northern catalpa)	111	44	18	60***	16	52	211	between Garland Hall and the Divinity School
2-663	Magnolia grandiflora (southern Magnolia)	109	43	18.5	61	16	52	209	northeast of Bishop McTyeire's tomb	trunk splits just above measured height
2-1002	Magnolia grandiflora (southern Magnolia)	106	42	19	62	17	57	208	between Kissam dorms and Curry Field	Trunk splits into two at head height.
2-185	Ginkgo biloba (ginkgo)	100	39	18	59	23.5	77	202	between Kirkland and Barnard Halls	"Galloway's ginkgo"
2-461	Magnolia grandiflora (southern Magnolia)	107	42	15	49	15	50	194	east of Kirkland Hall; second tree north of curve in drive
3-140	Quercus muhlenbergii (chinkapin oak)	97	38	14***	44	22.5	74	183	by the Station B post office entrance
2-584	Quercus velutina (black oak)	115	45						east of Rand and north of Bicentennial Oak	only black oak on campus
1-672	Quercus phellos (willow oak)	106	42						by entrance to Susan Gray playground on Magnolia Circle
1-298	Quercus rubra (red oak)	105	41						between the Susan Gray playground and 21st Ave.S.
2-780	Liriodendron tulipifera (tulip tree)	104	41						between Kirkland and Furman Halls
2-499	Quercus nigra (water oak)	101	40						west of Calhoun Hall
1-68	Quercus alba (white oak)	100.5	40						on the Peabody Esplanade by the library
4-891	Carya illinoinensis (pecan)	98	39						between McTyeire and the Round Wing
1-1278	Ulmus pumila (Siberian elm)	83	33						southwest of Peabody Administration Building	mistagged as Ulmus serotina
4-208	Sophora japonica (Chinese scholar tree)	75.5	30	20***	64	16	52	171	east of Buttrick Hall	former state champion
3-99	Fraxinus pennsylvanica (green ash)	74	29						between Phi Delta Theta and Zeta Beta Tau houses
4-616	Juglans nigra (black walnut)	72	28	18***	58	19	62	163	between McTyeire Hall and the Round Wing
2-791	Magnolia grandiflora (southern magnolia)	58	23	19	62	17.8	58	149	east of the drive near Kirkland Hall	Trunk splits three ways just below breast height; would be over 200 points if measured below the split.
2-845	Zelkova serrata (Japanese zelkova)	60	24						west of the Owen School	state champion tree, planted by Bishop McTyeire
4-474	Aesculus glabra (Ohio buckeye)	54.5	21						Between McTyeire Hall and the Round Wing	former state champion tree
1-81	Aesculus flava (yellow buckeye)	51	21						southwest of Peabody Administration Building
2-70	Magnolia virginiana (sweetbay)	34	13						against the south wall of Kirkland Hall, on the right	former state champion tree
1-375	Cornus florida (dogwood)	32	12	6.6	22	8.9	29	68	west side of Magnolia Lawn on north side of the sidewalk	This tree is probably over 100 years old.

^* Points are calculated according to the criteria used in the National Register of Big Trees: the circumference in inches + the height in feet + 1/4 the average crown spread in feet.

^** Measured in feet by the Civil Engineering CE-161 class in April 2014.

^*** Measured students from the Vanderbilt School for Science and Math. Measured value has asterisks.

Except as noted, English values are rounded conversions of the SI units. The diameter measurements should be quite accurate. The height and crown spread measurements are crude estimates and will hopefully be improved over time. Therefore, differences among trees of only a few points are probably not significant due to measurement error.