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List of tallest trees

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This is a list of the tallest known species of trees, as reflected by measurements of the tallest reliably-measured individual specimen. Although giant trees grow in both tropical and temperate regions, they are very restricted geographically and phylogenetically. All the known giant trees occur in mesic climates, and nearly all of them are found in three regions: western North America from California to British Columbia, Southeast Asia (especially Borneo) and southeastern Australia (especially Tasmania).

Tallest living individuals by species

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The following are the tallest reliably-measured specimens from the top species. This table contains information on all species for which at least one specimen has been reliably measured at 80 meters (262 feet) or taller.

List of tallest trees by species
Species Height Tree name Class Location Continent References
Meters Feet
Coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) 116.07 380.8 Hyperion Conifer Redwood National Park, California, United States Western North America [1][2] It reached 116.07 metres (380.8 ft) in 2019.[3] The second and third tallest trees, both redwoods, were also found at Redwood National Park in 2006 when Hyperion was found, and were named Helios 114.7 metres (376 ft) and Icarus 113.1 metres (371 ft) tall (in 2006).[3]
Himalayan cypress (Cupressus torulosa) 102.3 336 unnamed Conifer Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon, Bomê County, Nyingchi Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region, China East Asia [4][5]
Yellow meranti (Shorea faguetiana)[note 1] 100.8 331 Menara Flowering plant Danum Valley Conservation Area, Sabah, Malaysia on Borneo island Southeast Asia [6] Believed to be tallest tree in Asia until 2023 discovery of 102.3 metres (336 ft) cypress in Tibet.[5]
Mountain ash (Eucalyptus regnans) 100.5 329.7 Centurion Flowering plant Arve Valley, Tasmania, Australia Southeastern Australia [7][8][9][10]
Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) 100.2 329 Conifer Redwood National Park, California, United States Western North America [11][12][13]
Coast Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii) 99.5 326.4 Conifer Siuslaw National Forest, Oregon, United States Western North America [14]
Giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) 96.3 316 Conifer Sequoia National Forest, California, United States Western North America [15][16]
Southern blue gum (Eucalyptus globulus) 90.7 298 Neeminah Loggerale Meena, or Mother and Daughter. Flowering plant Tasmania Southeastern Australia [17][18][19]
Noble Fir (Abies procera) 89.9 295 Conifer Goat Marsh Research Natural Area, Washington, United States Western North America [20][21]
Manna gum (Eucalyptus viminalis) 89.0 292.0 White Knight Flowering plant Evercreech Forest Reserve, Tasmania Southeastern Australia [22][23]
Dinizia excelsa 88.5 290 Flowering plant Near the boundary of Amapa and Para states, Brazil. Central-Northeastern South America [24][25][26]
Brown top stringbark (Eucalyptus obliqua) 88.5 290 Princess Picabella Flowering plant Tasmania Southeastern Australia [27]
Alpine ash (Eucalyptus delegatensis) 87.9 288 Flowering plant Tasmania Southeastern Australia [18]
Mengaris (Koompassia excelsa) 85.76 281.4 Pontiankak Putih Cantik Flowering plant Tawau Hills National Park, in Sabah on the island of Borneo Southeast Asia [28][29]
Mountain Grey Gum (Eucalyptus cypellocarpa) 85.0 278.9 Flowering plant Victoria Southeastern Australia [30]
Karri (Eucalyptus diversicolor) 85.00 278.9 Stewart Karri Flowering Plant Western Australia South Western Australia (24)
Shorea argentifolia 84.85 278.4 Flowering plant Gaharu ridge of Tawau Hills National Park, in Sabah on the island of Borneo. Southeast Asia [28][29]
Shorea superba 84.41 276.9 Flowering plant Gergassi Ridge of Tawau Hills National Park, in Sabah on the island of Borneo. Southeast Asia [28][29]
Shining gum (Eucalyptus nitens) 84.3 277 Flowering plant O'Shannassy Catchment, Victoria Southeastern Australia [31]
Taiwania (Taiwania cryptomerioides) 84.1 276 Conifer North-central Taiwan East Asia [32]
Sugar pine (Pinus lambertiana) 83.45 273.8 Conifer near Yosemite National Park, California, United States. Western North America [33]
Abies chensiensis var. salouenensis 83.4 274 Conifer Zayü County, Nyingchi Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region, China East Asia [34]
Western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) 83.34 273.4 Conifer Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, California, United States. Western North America [35]
Hopea nutans 82.82 271.7 Flowering plant Gaharu ridge of Tawau Hills National Park, in Sabah on the island of Borneo. Southeast Asia [28][29]
Shorea johorensis 82.39 270.3 Flowering plant Coco-Park boundary of Tawau Hills National Park, in Sabah on the island of Borneo. Southeast Asia [28][29]
Shorea smithiana 82.27 269.9 Flowering plant Coco-Park boundary of Tawau Hills National Park, in Sabah on the island of Borneo. Southeast Asia [28][29]
Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) 81.77 268.3 Phalanx Conifer in Myers Creek drainage of Rogue River – Siskiyou National Forest, Oregon, United States. Western North America [36]
Entandrophragma excelsum 81.5 267 Flowering plant at Kilimanjaro, Tanzania Eastern Africa [37]
Sydney blue gum (Eucalyptus saligna) 81.5 267 Flowering plant Woodbush State Forest, Magoebaskloof, Limpopo, South Africa. The world's tallest planted tree. Southern Africa (non native), but endemic to eastern Australia) [38][39]
Grand fir (Abies grandis) 81.4 267 Conifer in the Glacier Peak Wilderness, Washington, United States. Western North America [40][21]
Shorea gibbosa 81.11 266.1 Flowering plant River Flats of Tawau Hills National Park, in Sabah on the island of Borneo. Southeast Asia [28][29]
Lawson cypress (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana) 81.08 266.0 Conifer In Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, California, United States. Western North America [41]
  1. ^ The tree is on a slope, and the reported 97.58 metres (320.1 ft) height is the average measurement between the distance to the lowest part of bole and the distance to the highest part of bole

Maximum limits of tree height

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Two main opposing forces affect a tree's height; one pushes it upward while the other holds it down. By analyzing the interplay between these forces in coast redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens), a team of biologists led by George Koch of Northern Arizona University calculated the theoretical maximum tree height or the point at which opposing forces balance out and a tree stops growing. This point lies somewhere between 122 and 130 m (400 and 426 feet).[42] On the one hand, the researchers found, trees in forests "desire" to grow as tall as possible to overtake neighboring trees and reach stronger sunlight. On the other hand, gravity makes it more and more difficult to haul water upwards from the roots to the canopy as the tree grows, and leaves thus become smaller near the top. They discovered that despite the moistness of the ground far below, the leaves at the treetops struggle to get enough water, so they are effectively living in a constant drought. The difficulty of getting water so far up into the sky is what ultimately constrains growth.[43] Other researchers have developed models of maximum height for Coast Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii) trees that yield similar estimates of 109–138 meters (357–452 feet),[44] a range that includes the height of the tallest reliably-measured historical (dead) specimen, a 126-meter tree.[44][45][46]

Other claims of superlative height

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There are many historical and contemporary claims of superlative height for species beyond those listed in the table above. For example, several articles published in 1878 describe an Eucalyptus amygdalina exceeding 380 feet (120 m) and others nearing 420 feet (130 m) up to 500 feet (150 m), including the Nooksack Giant which was measured using a tape at 465 feet (142 m) after being cut down.[47][48][49]

The heights of the tallest trees in the world have been the subject of considerable dispute and much exaggeration. Modern verified measurements with laser rangefinders or with tape drop measurements made by tree climbers (such as those carried out by canopy researchers), have shown that some older tree height measurement methods are often unreliable, sometimes producing exaggerations of 5% to 15% or more above the real height.[50]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Martin, Glen (September 29, 2006). "World's tallest tree, a redwood, confirmed". SFGate. Retrieved 2009-08-09.
  2. ^ "Sequoia". Gymnosperm Database.
  3. ^ a b Ghose, Tia (May 23, 2022). "What is the world's tallest tree?". LiveScience. Retrieved June 24, 2023.
  4. ^ "Tallest tree of Asia found in Tibet". China Daily. 27 May 2023. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  5. ^ a b Lydia Smith (June 21, 2023). "World's deepest canyon is home to Asia's tallest tree - and Chinese scientists only just found it". LiveScience. Retrieved June 24, 2023. Claim in article that it is second tallest tree in the world is consistent with sloppy reading of Wikipedia's List of tallest trees as of June 21, 2023, but is apparently false: an earlier LiveScience article in 2022 reports on heights of three taller coastal redwood trees in the United States: Hyperion, Helios, and Icarus (third tallest, at 113.1 metres (371 ft) measured in 2006).
  6. ^ Shenkin, Alexander; Chandler, Christopher; et al. (2019). "The World's Tallest Tropical Tree in Three Dimensions". Frontiers in Forests and Global Change. 2: 32. Bibcode:2019FrFGC...2...32S. doi:10.3389/ffgc.2019.00032. hdl:2164/12435. ISSN 2624-893X.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ McIntosh, Derek. "Mountain Ash "Centurion" – tallest tree in Australia". National Register of Big Trees. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  8. ^ "Tall trees". Tasmania's Giant Trees.
  9. ^ "The Arve and Huon Valleys". Tasmania's Giant Trees.
  10. ^ "100 metres and growing: Australia's tallest tree leaves all others in the shade". www.abc.net.au. 2018-12-11. Retrieved 2020-09-13.
  11. ^ "Tall and Big Tree news". Victoria's Giant Trees. Retrieved 2021-06-25.
  12. ^ "Picea sitchensis". Gymnosperm Database. Retrieved 2007-06-10. This tree also has a sign nearby proclaiming it to be 'the world's largest spruce'. The two tallest on record, 96.7 m and 96.4 m, are in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, California
  13. ^ "Picea sitchensis". Gymnosperm Database.
  14. ^ "Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii". Gymnosperm Database.
  15. ^ "A New Tallest Giant Sequoia". Sequoia Parks Foundation. 2011. Archived from the original on 2016-09-24. Retrieved 2016-09-03.
  16. ^ "Sequoiadendron". Gymnosperm Database.
  17. ^ "Tallest Blue Gum in the world Eucalyptus globulus preview". YouTube. 15 April 2018. Retrieved 15 Apr 2018.
  18. ^ a b "Tasmanian Giant Trees Register" (PDF). Forestry Tasmania. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-19.
  19. ^ "Ancient Indigenous Forest Trees". Retrieved 13 August 2003.
  20. ^ Van Pelt, Robert (2001). Forest giants of the Pacific Coast. Vancouver; San Francisco: Global Forest Society in association with University of Washington Press, Seattle. ISBN 978-0-295-98140-6. OCLC 45300299.
  21. ^ a b Van Pelt, Robert. (2015). Champion trees of washington state. [Place of publication not identified]: Univ Of Washington Press. ISBN 978-0-295-99745-2. OCLC 921868759.
  22. ^ "Tree Data". Australia National Register of Big Trees.
  23. ^ "The White Knight | Giant Tree Expeditions: Tasmania". giant-trees.com. 2018-06-10. Archived from the original on 2023-03-16. Retrieved 2020-09-13.
  24. ^ "LIDAR technology leads Brazilian team to 30 story tall Amazon tree". 11 November 2019. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  25. ^ Odilla, Fernanda (September 1, 2019). "Pesquisadores encontram arvore mais alta da Amazonia...etc". BBC News Brasil. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
  26. ^ "el arbol mas grande...etc". September 4, 2019. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
  27. ^ "Tall and Big Tree news". Victoria's Giant Trees. Retrieved 2021-01-19.
  28. ^ a b c d e f g "Borneo II". Native Tree Society. Archived from the original on 2018-08-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  29. ^ a b c d e f g James V. LaFrankie Jr. (2010). Trees of Tropical Asia. Black Tree Publications, Inc. p. 47. ISBN 978-971-94794-0-6.
  30. ^ "Tall and Big Tree news". Victoria's Giant Trees. Retrieved 2022-04-19.
  31. ^ "Victoria's tallest regrowth trees". Victoria's Giant Trees.
  32. ^ Hsiung-feng, Chang; Mazzetta, Matthew (30 January 2023). "84.1-meter Taiwania tree confirmed as Taiwan's tallest". focustaiwan.tw. Focus Taiwan. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  33. ^ "Pinus lambertiana". Gymnosperm Database.
  34. ^ "Looking for the Chinese Giant Tree - 83.4 meters! China's first giant tree climbing comprehensive scientific research completed".
  35. ^ "Tsuga heterophylla". Gymnosperm Database.
  36. ^ "Pinus ponderosa subsp. benthamiana". Gymnosperm Database.
  37. ^ Hemp, Andreas (2016). "Africa's highest mountain harbours Africa's tallest trees". Biodiversity and Conservation. 26: 103–113. doi:10.1007/s10531-016-1226-3.
  38. ^ "Champion Trees of South Africa" (PDF). Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Republic of South Africa. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-05-11. Retrieved 2020-01-11.
  39. ^ Teo Kermeliotis; Jenny Soffel (November 7, 2013). "Ain't no tree high enough: Climbing South Africa's leafy summits". CNN.
  40. ^ "Abies grandis". Gymnosperm Database.
  41. ^ "Chamaecyparis lawsoniana". Gymnosperm Database.
  42. ^ "How Tall Can Trees Grow?". Live Science. 17 June 2011. Retrieved June 17, 2011.
  43. ^ Hopkin, Michael (2004). "Height limit predicted for tallest trees". Nature: news040419–5. doi:10.1038/news040419-5. Retrieved 19 April 2004.
  44. ^ a b Domec, J.-C.; Lachenbruch, B.; Meinzer, F. C.; Woodruff, D. R.; Warren, J. M.; McCulloh, K. A. (2008-08-19). "Maximum height in a conifer is associated with conflicting requirements for xylem design". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 105 (33): 12069–12074. Bibcode:2008PNAS..10512069D. doi:10.1073/pnas.0710418105. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 2575339. PMID 18695232.
  45. ^ Carder, A. C., 1910- (1995). Forest giants of the world, past and present. Markham, Ont.: Fitzhenry & Whiteside. ISBN 1-55041-090-3. OCLC 30973773.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  46. ^ Koch, George W.; Sillett, Stephen C.; Jennings, Gregory M.; Davis, Stephen D. (2004-04-22). "The limits to tree height". Nature. 428 (6985): 851–854. Bibcode:2004Natur.428..851K. doi:10.1038/nature02417. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 15103376. S2CID 11846291.
  47. ^ Scientific American, "Australian Gum Trees". Munn & Company. 1878-11-30. p. 344.
  48. ^ Scientific American, "The Tallest Tree in the World". Munn & Company. 1878-12-14. p. 375.
  49. ^ "Topics of the Times" (PDF). The New York Times. 7 March 1897. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
  50. ^ "Native Tree Society". Native Tree Society. Archived from the original on 2018-08-17. Retrieved 2012-08-01.
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