Champion Camphor Grows in Clearwater

Palm trees line many of the city’s streets. Aged live oaks arc over other old roads.

In addition to the beloved historic kapok on McMullen Booth Road, Clearwater is home to a champion camphor.

A "champion" tree is the largest of its kind. In this case, the 60-foot camphor tree is rooted in a small patch of grass, sandwiched between two restaurants and across from Clearwater Mall. It has an estimated girth of 30 feet and a crown of more than 90 feet.

And it is about 125 years old.

The tree is the last of four that were planted by William Frank Fields for his children to play under in 1890 when he cleared 21 acres in the city's outer limits, near what is now U.S. 19 and Gulf to Bay Boulevard.

The trees were planted at each corner of the home to ensure the Fields’ children always had a shaded place to play, according to a March 29, 1979 Evening Independent article.

The champion tree is all that is left from a time gone by at one of Clearwater’s busiest intersections. The area was mostly citrus groves and farms when the tree first took root.

Now it is seemingly the only tree left in an area covered in concrete and asphalt. The old Fields home is gone. Retail stores have replaced the groves.

But the camphor leaves still sway in the breeze. Its limbs still reach for the sun in the hustle and bustle around Clearwater Mall. 

A bronze plaque, oxidized green, gives little information about the tree’s rich history. The plaque is from the National Arborist Association and has a date of February 1975 engraved on it. The group was established in 1938 and now is called the Tree Care Industry Association.

Aside from giving the name and scientific equivalent, cinnamomum camphora, part of the plaque reads:

“The National Arborist Association recognizes this tree and commends those who had the vision and foresight to preserve it.”

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