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The tallest tree in the world: What is it called and where is it located. The largest trees in the world The largest tree in the world

Magnificent and unique. There are truly incredible specimens that amaze with their age, size, extraordinary appearance and legendary fate. Choose just ten of the most amazing trees the world is very difficult, but, unfortunately, we are limited to the scope of this article. Among the plants remained silent witnesses to global tragedies, the rise and fall of entire civilizations, wars, and climate change. These wise, huge creatures - the largest and oldest trees - have been reaching out to the sun for thousands of years and quietly contemplating the restless world around them.

Giant trees can be found on almost all continents. They are impressive and amaze with their size. Being next to someone like this unusual plant- a real miracle, reminding people how small their role is compared to the huge world.

Pando Tree

Pando, nicknamed the Trembling Giant, amazes the imagination with its area, age and weight... Indeed, this is the largest tree in the world! Pando Grove is a colossal forest of fifty thousand aspen poplar trunks, which, surprisingly, is one plant with a single root system. All trees are parts of a giant living organism that weighs 6,600 tons and covers an area of 43 hectares. The age of the Giant Pando is estimated by researchers at 80 thousand years. This unique forest tree grows in the USA, near the Colorado Plateau, Utah.

Sequoia General Sherman

The General Sherman Sequoia is the largest free-standing tree in the world by volume and is 2,000 years old. The girth of the trunk of the ancient giant is almost 25 meters, and the crown is 33 meters. This sequoia has already reached almost 85 meters in height, and it is still growing. One can only guess what it will be like in, say, a thousand years. The giant sequoia grows in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, USA.

Thule tree

Tule is the largest tree in the world by trunk girth. The curiosity is located in the immediate vicinity of the city of Oaxaca, Mexico. Circle giant plant- 58 meters at the foot, and age - from one and a half to six thousand years. It was once believed that there were three trees, but recent DNA analysis has refuted this assumption.

Hyperion

In the Redwoods region (USA, California), the largest tree in the world grows in height, which already reaches 115 meters. They named him Hyperion. The location of the giant is carefully hidden. Scientists fear that frequent visits could destroy the surrounding ecosystem and damage the health of the plant, which is conservatively estimated to be 800 years old.

Great Banyan

The Great Banyan is a tree consisting of many interlacing trunks and has the largest crown in the world (its circumference is approximately 350 meters). It grows in India, the city of Howrah. The Great Banyan Tree is estimated to be 250 years old. This plant of the species Ficus benghalensis (Ficus Bengal) is more reminiscent of a small grove, and all because of the huge number of roots protruding from the ground and clones that have separated from the main trunk.

Methuselah

One very important thing was named after the biblical prophet. ancient tree species of pine is durable, according to other sources - intermontane bristlecone. The long-lived plant is almost 5 thousand years old. Outwardly, it is practically unremarkable, but scientists believe that it is the oldest tree in the world. To protect the rarity from vandals, it was necessary to hide its exact location. We only know that this is the Inyo National Forest, USA, California.

Hundred Horse Chestnut

The oldest chestnut tree that grows on the slope of Etna is about 3 thousand years old. Among its “relatives” it is considered the largest. This plant is even associated with a beautiful legend about Giovanna of Aragon, Queen of Naples, who, together with a hundred knights and their war horses guarding her, was able to wait out the rain under the spreading thick crown.

Dragon Tree

The island of Tenerife has a unique appearance Dragon Tree. Scientists still cannot accurately determine its age, because this miracle of nature does not have a trunk as such. The tree is held together by the finest interweaving of many stems, which firmly cling to each other and form something like a column. Above this makeshift trunk there is a dense canopy of leaves. The plant secretes a resinous sap when its leaves and bark are cut, which local residents called dragon blood. The tree is considered healing and is actively used in folk medicine.

Pirangi tree

In the vicinity of the city of Natal (Brazil) you can find unusual tree cashew, which, as a result of a long-standing mutation, over 127 years of life has grown by as much as 2 hectares. As soon as a branch that bends to the ground touches the soil, it takes root and turns into another trunk of this single forest. Farmers claim that this magnificent tree bears more than 80 thousand fruits annually.

The tree of Life

In the very center of the Bahrain desert, in the middle of the hot sands without any signs of vegetation, for the past 400 years there has been a lonely acacia tree, which is called the Tree of Life. No one can say for sure how this plant can exist for several centuries without visible sources of life-giving moisture and normal soil. Some claim that this acacia comes from the mythical Eden and has special powers.

All listed in our article are the most big trees in the world deserve to be included in the Guinness Book of Records. Each of them has something to brag about: some amaze with their height, others with their age or wondrous beauty, and still others with their incredible resilience and desire to survive. But they all have one thing in common overall quality- these giants support in people the ability to be amazed at the wonders of our incomparable planet.

There are many tall trees around the world whose extraordinary height has been exaggerated and disputed. However, with the help of the latest measuring instruments, such as laser rangefinders and tape fall measurements, it was possible to find out the real height of the giant trees. Here ten tallest trees in the world, which remain unchanged while the world changes around them.

Almost all of the trees presented are so tall that it is simply impossible to photograph them in full. Dense vegetation also prevents this from happening.

The height of the tree is 112.20 m.

Located in Montgomery Woods ( nature reserve in the USA), Mendocino held the title of the world's tallest tree from 1996 to 2000. There are other redwood trees growing near Mendocino, but when you look at them from above, the giant towers over its fellows the same way Arnold Schwarzenegger towers over the kids in the movie Kindergarten Cop.

Height - 112.56 m.

The tree, located in the John Davison Rockefeller Forest in Humboldt (USA), was considered the tallest tree on the planet until number ten in our ranking, that is, from 1995 to 1996. In terms of trunk diameter, it is inferior to Mendocino (3.9 meters versus 4.19 meters). And it was very difficult for researchers and simply curious people to find it, since there were no photographs or coordinates of Paradox at that time. Of all known to date giant trees The paradox stands out for its beauty.

Height - 112.6 m.

A neighbor of Paradox, also native to California's Humboldt Redwood National Park and the eighth longest tree on Earth. Named after the billionaire, famous not only for his fortune, but also for the number of years he has lived. Rockefeller's long, slender "body" invariably delights those who are lucky enough to see him. And this is not easy to do, since the exact coordinates of most of the tallest trees are kept secret (this is easier than protecting them from vandal tourists around the clock), and from below it is not so easy to distinguish Rockefeller from other sequoias. Its trunk diameter has not yet been measured.

Height - 112.62 m.

Once again, a “resident” of Humboldt Park made it into the top 10 giant trees. It was discovered by Paul Zinke and Al Strangenburger. Like other sequoias, Lauralin is an entire ecosystem, with birds nesting, insects living in it, lichen and other representatives of the local flora sprouting. It is noteworthy that the location of Lauralin is not hidden from the public.

Height - 112.63 m.

One of the tallest trees grows in California's Redwood National Park Finding Orion is a nearly impossible task because the tree giant is located right next to two other giant sequoias, although it is twice their size when viewed from above. Orion is about 1500 years old.

Height - 112.71 m.

A giant with a long name, belonging to the redwoods, was discovered in 1994. At that time, it was considered the largest known tree in the world and held this title for a year. The tree is located near Redwood Creek, but its exact location is being kept secret. In terms of trunk diameter, it is larger than Mendocino and Paradox (4.39 meters).

Height at the time of discovery - 112.34 m

This worthy representative the tallest trees were found in 2000 in the territory National Park Humboldt. At that time the tree was 112.34 meters high, but it continues to grow. In 2010, it reached a height of 113.11 meters. Like all the other numbers in our hit parade, the Stratospheric Giant belongs to the redwoods and is blocked by many trees that are almost as tall. The exact location of the tree is hidden to prevent it from being damaged by overly active citizens.

Height - 113.14 m.

Coming in third on the list of longest trees is a sequoia discovered by Chris Atkins and Michael Taylor in Redwood Park, California. Icarus got its name from its dead, sun-bleached “top of the head.” However, there are plenty of other trees in the Redwoods with dead tops, so it will be deliberately difficult to find Icarus, and the public is not told where exactly he is.

Height - 114.58 m.

Another tallest sequoia tree, found in Redwood Parkland by Chris Atkins and Michael Taylor in July 2006. It is not much shorter than the competitor occupying the first line of the rating.

1. Hyperion – 115.61 m

The top 10 tallest trees in the world are headed by a sequoia from Northern California, bearing the proud name Hyperion. The volume of its trunk is 502 m³, and its age is estimated at 700-800 years. Tireless naturalists Chris Atkins and Michael Taylor discovered the tree in Redwood National Park and believe Hyperion might have been taller if not for woodpeckers. They damaged the trunk of the titanic tree at its very top. Hyperion was last measured in 2015.

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Redwoods, also known as redwoods, are the tallest tree species on Earth. Representatives of the species "pretty fir" (aka Douglas fir) and eucalyptus in Australia could compete with them, but the largest of these trees were mercilessly cut down. By the way, the same fate awaited Hyperion, but fortunately for him, the Redwood Valley became Redwood National Park in the 70s of the last century and cutting down trees there was prohibited. There are currently hundreds of sequoias exceeding 100 m in height and no living trees of other species exceeding this height.

Although Hyperion is unsurpassed in trunk length, it is inferior in volume, weight and age to the redwood tree called General Sherman. The height of General Sherman is modest compared to other representatives of the tallest trees rating - 83.8 m, but the weight is a record 1900 tons, the trunk volume is 1487 m³, and the age reaches from 2300 to 2700 years.

Tallest tree in the world - Hyperion

Until August 2006, the title " the most tall tree in the world" belonged to a giant 112.7-meter sequoia nicknamed the "stratospheric giant." It is located in Humboldt National Park in California. To give you some idea of the massive size of this tree, it is twice the height of the Statue of Liberty, minus the foundation.

But the giant lost its status when two naturalists, Chris Atkins and Michael Taylor, came across a group of trees in Redwood National Park in California that were taller than any they had seen before. They took preliminary measurements using professional laser equipment, and found not one, not two, but three trees that were taller than the "stratospheric giant."

Hyperion means "very high"

The height of the tallest tree, named Hyperion, is 115 meters. If you have no idea how big Hyperion is, consider this: Big Ben in London is 96.3m tall, making it significantly shorter than this tree.

This gigantic redwood tree (sequoia) would have been even taller if not for the woodpeckers that damaged the very top of the trunk. This slowed Hyperion's upward progress.

When Atkins and Taylor announced their discovery, a team of scientists led by ecologist Steve Sillett of state university named after Humboldt arrived in the park to measure the find.

This was done in the most precise manner: Sillett climbed to the top of the tree to lower the tape from there directly to the ground. The descent of this tape was filmed for National Geographic.

Hyperion was very lucky: in the 70s of the 20th century, just a few hundred kilometers from it there was clear felling trees. About two weeks before a man with a saw would approach Hyperion, Redwood Valley became National Park Redwood. Logging companies feared this would happen and worked 24/7 to harvest valuable wood redwood trees and mercilessly destroying the old growth forests that were there long before humans entered the valley. Most redwoods, from which the tallest trees grow, are less fortunate than Hyperion. To date, only 4% of America's redwood forests remain.

By mahogany standards, Hyperion is quite young and still growing. Sillett believes that the tree is “only” 600 years old, which is about 20 years by human standards.

Hyperion's exact location is kept secret by park rangers to avoid tourist crush near the tree. This can upset the delicate balance of the forest ecosystem and harm the tree. After all, tourists can not only admire huge tree, but also chop off part of the bark “as a keepsake” or scratch something on it in the style of “Jack and Sally were here.”

As Sillett puts it, trees can't outrun the paparazzi like humans, and history teaches us that bad things happen to trees that become too popular.

It is not at all clear whether Hyperion is the tallest redwood tree or simply the largest sequoia known to us. After all, 96% of redwood forests fell victim to loggers.

Tallest tree ever measured

The tallest tree in the world, which was measured in the 19th century, is not a sequoia, but a mountain ash.

In 1872, a report by Australian State Forests Superintendent William Ferguson mentioned a fallen and burnt Eucalyptus regnans (also called Eucalyptus regnans) that had height at least 132 meters.
Around the same time, several 140 m tall specimens were recorded. Unfortunately, we cannot verify these measurements: all these trees were cut down. Rowan was and is important building material in Australia.

The tallest living eucalyptus trees can be found in Tasmania. The height of the eucalyptus, bearing the proud nickname “Centurion”, is about 100 meters. This is the tallest thing alive deciduous tree on the ground . It was discovered in October 2008 using a laser mounted on an aircraft, which measured terrain height, forest height and forest biomass.

How tall can a tree be

In an article entitled "Exploring the limits of maximum tree growth", Jonathan Amos of the BBC Science Department argues that the maximum the height of the tree can be about 130 meters.

As the tree reaches this point, it will pump less and less less water And nutrients. There simply won't be enough for new growth.

There is no living tree in the world that will grow to 130 meters.

Here is the definition of this tree can be found on Wikipedia:

General Sherman- a specimen of giant sequoiadendron ( Sequoiadendron giganteum), growing in the "Giant Forest" of Sequoia National Park in California, USA. In terms of volume, it is the largest tree on Earth. The height of the General Sherman tree is 83.8 m, the trunk volume is estimated at 1487 m³, the weight is 1900 tons, and the age is 2300-2700 years.

The General Sherman tree is the largest and heaviest living organism on our planet. However, it is neither the tallest sequoia (this record belongs to the Hyperion tree, which belongs to the sequoia evergreen species), nor the tallest representative of sequoiadendrons (specimens with a height of 95 m are known, but they have a smaller volume). It is also known that the Crannell Creek Giant tree, which was felled in the mid-1940s. Crannell Creek Giant) species of evergreen sequoia, growing near the city of Trinidad, had approximately 15-25% greater volume than General Sherman

Let's take a closer look at it...

Photo 2.

In the nineteenth century, explorer John Muir called the area where the famous tree grows the “Giant Forest” when he discovered giant sequoias. The name of this part of the park is " Giant forest", remains to this day. Many tourists describe the General Sherman tree, which is striking in its size, as a red-orange “rock”, the top of which is impossible to see.

Tourists specially come to the park to see the General Sherman tree, named after the hero civil war General William Sherman, and take a photo. Next to the sequoia they seem so fragile and small.

Photo 3.

For a long time it was believed that the General Sherman tree was over three thousand years old, but recent research has determined its exact age - exactly two thousand years. This means that this is not the oldest tree in the world.

The oldest tree in the world, special type The California pine was 4,484 years old when it was cut down in 1965. Sequoia trees that were about 3,000 years old were also cut down. It is believed that 5,000 trees still exist on Earth.

In the winter of 2006, General Sherman's tree lost part of its crown, the largest branch of the tree fell off, the diameter of which was about two meters and the length was about 30 meters.

Photo 4.

Scientists are worried: is the tree really dying? However, we came to the conclusion that this incident does not indicate any problems in the condition of the tree, but could only be natural defense mechanism from adverse weather conditions.

When the branches fell to the ground, the fence around the tree and the road leading to it were destroyed. Even after this, General Sherman's tree did not lose its status as the largest tree on the planet.

There is a special path leading to General Sherman's tree, and even people with disabilities can see this miracle. At the end of the path there are brick tiles, which show where the roots of the tree reach.

Photo 5.

Each year the giant's trunk grows nearly 1.5 cm in diameter. The General Sherman Tree is still growing and, according to the California State Park website, is adding enough wood each year to fill a five or six-room house.

One of the secrets of durability giant sequoias is their thick and durable fire-resistant bark. But it happens during frequent southern California fires, the tree burns out completely.

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No one can say how long a sequoia can live (or, scientifically, a giant sequoiadendron), but researchers have encountered trees here that are estimated to be 3 thousand years old! (Around this period in Eurasia, humanity learned to process copper and bronze).

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Have you ever wondered how much oxygen such a tree can produce? About 120 kg per year - this will be enough for a family of three to four people!

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A few numbers. The circumference of the trunk near the ground is 31.3 m. The span of the crown is 39.6 meters. total weight tree - 1910 tons, trunk weight - 1121 tons.

General Sherman is found in literature: in the fairy tale “The Gnomobil - Gnousual Gnoves about Gnomes” by Upton Sinclair, as well as in Ilf and Petrov’s book “One-Storey America”.

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General Sherman is a specimen of the giant sequoiadendron (Sequoiadendron giganteum) growing in the "Giant Forest" of Sequoia National Park in California, USA. In terms of volume, it is the largest tree on Earth. The height of the General Sherman tree is 83.8 m, the trunk volume is estimated at 1487 m³, the weight is 1900 tons, and the age is 2300-2700 years.

The General Sherman tree is the largest and heaviest living organism on our planet. However, it is neither the tallest sequoia (this record belongs to the Hyperion tree, which belongs to the sequoia evergreen species), nor the tallest representative of sequoiadendrons (specimens with a height of 95 m are known, but they have a smaller volume). It is also known that the Crannell Creek Giant tree, a species of evergreen sequoia, cut down in the mid-1940s, growing near the city of Trinidad, had approximately 15-25% greater volume than General Sherman

In the nineteenth century, explorer John Muir called the area where the famous tree grows the “Giant Forest” when he discovered giant sequoias. The name of this part of the park, "Giant Forest", remains to this day. Many tourists describe the General Sherman tree, which is striking in its size, as a red-orange “rock”, the top of which is impossible to see.

Tourists specifically come to the park to see the General Sherman tree, named after Civil War hero General William Sherman, and to take photos. Next to the sequoia they seem so fragile and small.

The oldest tree in the world, a special species of California pine, was 4,484 years old when it was cut down in 1965. Sequoia trees that were about 3,000 years old were also cut down. It is believed that 5,000 trees still exist on Earth.

In the winter of 2006, General Sherman's tree lost part of its crown, the largest branch of the tree fell off, the diameter of which was about two meters and the length was about 30 meters.

Scientists are worried: is the tree really dying? However, they came to the conclusion that this incident does not indicate any problems in the condition of the tree, but may only be a natural defense mechanism against adverse weather conditions.

One of the secrets to the longevity of giant sequoias is their thick, durable, fire-resistant bark. But sometimes, during the frequent fires in southern California, a tree burns out completely.

No one can say how long a sequoia can live (and scientifically speaking, it is a giant sequoia), but researchers have encountered trees here that are estimated to be 3 thousand years old! (Around this period in Eurasia, humanity learned to process copper and bronze).

Have you ever wondered how much oxygen such a tree can produce? About 120 kg per year - this will be enough for a family of three to four people!

A few numbers. The circumference of the trunk near the ground is 31.3 m. The span of the crown is 39.6 meters. The total mass of the tree is 1910 tons, the weight of the trunk is 1121 tons.

General Sherman is found in literature: in the fairy tale “The Gnomobil - Gnousual Gnoves about Gnomes” by Upton Sinclair, as well as in Ilf and Petrov’s book “One-Storey America”.