(AP) — An eastern cottonwood tree near Beatrice is being recognized as the largest known species of its kind in the country.

The University of Nebraska Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources says Tuesday the tree beat out an eastern cottonwood in Kansas and will be named national champion by the conservation group American Forests.

The Nebraska tree is 10 miles northeast of Beatrice on land owned by Kevin Naber.

It stands 88 feet tall with a 108-foot canopy and a trunk circumference of 36 feet, 9 inches.

Graham Herbst, a community forestry specialist with the Nebraska Forest Service, says the tree dwarfs those around it and can be seen from far off.

The Kansas cottonwood had taken the title after Nebraska’s previous champ near Seward was downed in a 2007 storm.