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This giant Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) grows in Drumtochty Glen, near Fettercairn, Aberdeenshire. One of the largest-girthed examples so far recorded for this species in Scotland, it measures an impressive 6.78 metres (22 feet 3 inches) in girth.
Its height is equally remarkable, at 50 metres (164 feet). It has a superb shape and is a fine example of a species that has radically changed the face of Scottish forestry.
Menzies and Douglas
Sitka spruce, a native of the Pacific north west of North America, owes its now ubiquitous presence in the United Kingdom to a pair of pioneering Scots. Discovered by Archibald Menzies in 1792, it was introduced to these shores by the prolific plant collector David Douglas in 1832. However, it was not until the formation of the Forestry Commission in 1919 that the species received any particular attention.
It soon became apparent to those charged with regenerating the UK’s much depleted woodland resource that Sitka was the new ‘wonder tree’, thriving in the mild, wet Scottish climate and with a capacity to produce high yields on poor sites. These features rapidly endeared it to a fast-developing forestry industry, and today Sitka continues to play a vital role in the nation’s timber supply.
Where to see the Drumtochty Sitka:
Alongside a Forestry Commission Scotland car park on an unclassified road that runs east from the B974 road from a junction about 4.8km (3 miles) north of Fettercairn, Aberdeenshire, at the Clatterin' Brig restaurant. An interpretation board and free public access are available throughout the year.
Image: copyright Archie Miles
