A lone tree that looks like it’s out for a stroll has been crowned the 2024 Tree of the Year in New Zealand.

This remarkable Metrosideros robusta, often known as The Walking Tree, "walked away" with the New Zealand Arboricultural Association's award. Its peculiar leg-style trunks, which are situated beside a graveyard on the South Island, instantly evoke Tolkien's sentient walking Ents from the fantasy trilogy The Lord of the Rings. The Association said in a statement, "Bryan Bell nominated The Walking Tree, highlighting its remarkable form and captivating presence." "This tree is a striking natural wonder, with its twin trunks stretched as if in mid-stride—and seemingly wearing high heels." Unlike other trees, the walking palm tree doesn't have a typical trunk. Instead, it has a series of stilt roots that are shallowly planted in the ground. These roots allow the tree to sway back and forth in the wind, giving it the appearance of walking.

Out of the six finalists, the magnificent tree also referred to as the northern rātā, received 42% of the votes, making it the obvious winner. It is already recorded on The New Zealand Tree Registry. "It remains a mystery just how long this windswept walker has been strutting its stuff north of Karamea," the Association states about the age of the tree. The northern rātā is one of the tallest flowering trees in New Zealand, with a lifespan of up to a millennium. It starts as an epiphyte that resembles a plant that grows on another host tree high in the forest canopy. Its roots eventually spread to the ground and eventually cover the original tree.

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The northern rātā (Metrosideros robusta), nicknamed The Walking Tree, near the Karamea Cemetery in South Island, New Zealand 

In addition to improving our local ecosystems, trees also play a key role in "providing a sense of place for past, present, and future generations." This is the purpose of the third annual Tree of the Year campaign. According to association president Richie Hill, "The Walking Tree is a prime example of the remarkable trees that we, as New Zealanders, are fortunate to experience."