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While the annual Bird of the Year poll has met with controversy, the winner of the 2026 Tree of the Year should come as no surprise as, surely, Pukekohe’s famed Judas tree will take the title.
As the award is intended to identify the country’s most interesting tree, the Pukekohe entry appears to tower over the competition.
Its origins stretch back to the Second World War when a wounded Kiwi soldier, Sam Allen, rested against its parent tree in the Sangro Valley, Italy.
On returning to New Zealand, he gave its seeds to his mum who nurtured it in a container at the family home in Parnell.
In 1948, Sam’s brother planted the tree, as a sapling, in his Pukekohe garden. The tree was then transplanted a few years later when the family moved to Seddon Street.
When the property was sold, it became Seddon Park where the tree remains.
Voting is open for Tree of the Year until July 9, the Times understands. Click here for more information.
