Two magnificent Ballarat trees are among the candidates for this year's Victorian Tree of the Year competition.
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A giant turkey oak in Ballarat Botanical Gardens is one of the trees featured on the 10-strong nomination list.
Standing close to the Glass House at the head of the gardens' Prime Ministers Avenue, it is thought to be the largest turkey oak cultivated in Victoria. It reaches 24.5m, and boasts a canopy that fans out 30m - even further than its height.
The second Ballarat tree on the list is a giant Tasmanian Blue Gum, a distinctive 39m tall landmark that towers over Federation University's Mount Helen campus.
Known by students and lecturers as 'The Tree of Knowledge', it is often used as a backdrop for graduation photos.
According to the details provided by the National Trust, who are running the competition, it was planted as a seedling in 1896 and was saved when the campus was developed in the 1960s.
Ballarat is particularly well represented in the list of nominations, with its two trees making up 20 per cent of the featured trees.
Other candidates include an apple box in Beechworth, a London plane tree in Kyabram, as well as an entire avenue of honour along the Goulburn Valley Highway in Shepparton.
The contest is arranged by the National Trust and aims "to recognise significant trees in local communities and celebrate the benefits they provide to our culture."
This is the third time the competition has run. Last year's winner was also local - a monterey pine known as the lollipop tree located at the Mount Beckworth Scenic Reserve, which is said to be visible from around 50km around.
Nominations come from the National Trust's significant tree register, a database of more than 20,000 trees across the state.
To vote, you have to be on Facebook. Visit the National Trust page and 'like' your favourite tree from the nominated list.
Voting concludes on May 19, and the winner will be announced at the end of May.
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