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List of tallest trees

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List of tallest living trees, by species

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

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 It reached 116.07 metres (380.8 ft) in 2019. The second and sixth tallest trees, both redwoods, were also found at Redwood National Park in 2006 when Hyperion was found, and were named Helios 114.8 metres (377 ft), and Icarus 113.1 metres (371 ft) tall. The coast redwoods Nugget 113.8 metres (373 ft), Stratosphere Giant 113.5 metres (372 ft), and Paradox 113.3 metres (372 ft) are the third, fourth, and fifth tallest trees. Other coast redwoods rank up to at least the 10th tallest tree in the world. A list can be found at http://famousredwoods.com/
South Tibetan cypress (Cupressus austrotibetica) 102.3 336 unnamed Conifer Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon, Bomê County, Nyingchi Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region, China East Asia
Mountain ash (Eucalyptus regnans) 100.5 329.7 Centurion Flowering plant Arve Valley, Tasmania, Australia Southeastern Australia
Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) 100.2 329 Conifer Redwood National Park, California, United States Western North America
Coast Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii) 99.5 326.4 Conifer Siuslaw National Forest, Oregon, United States Western North America
Yellow meranti (Richetia faguetiana) 97.58 320.1 Menara Flowering plant Danum Valley Conservation Area, Sabah, Malaysia on Borneo island Southeast Asia Believed to be tallest tree in Asia until 2023 discovery of 102.3 metres (336 ft) cypress in Tibet.
Giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) 96.3 316 Conifer Sequoia National Forest, California, United States Western North America
Southern blue gum (Eucalyptus globulus) 90.7 298 Neeminah Loggerale Meena, or Mother and Daughter. Flowering plant Tasmania Southeastern Australia
Noble Fir (Abies procera) 89.9 295 Conifer Goat Marsh Research Natural Area, Washington, United States Western North America
Manna gum (Eucalyptus viminalis) 89.0 292.0 White Knight Flowering plant Evercreech Forest Reserve, Tasmania Southeastern Australia
Dinizia excelsa 88.5 290 Flowering plant Near the boundary of Amapa and Para states, Brazil. Central-Northeastern South America
Brown top stringbark (Eucalyptus obliqua) 88.5 290 Princess Picabella Flowering plant Tasmania Southeastern Australia
Alpine ash (Eucalyptus delegatensis) 87.9 288 Flowering plant Tasmania Southeastern Australia
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
Mountain Grey Gum (Eucalyptus cypellocarpa) 85.0 278.9 Flowering plant Victoria Southeastern Australia
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
Shorea superba 84.41 276.9 Flowering plant Gergassi Ridge of Tawau Hills National Park, in Sabah on the island of Borneo. Southeast Asia
Shining gum (Eucalyptus nitens) 84.3 277 Flowering plant O'Shannassy Catchment, Victoria Southeastern Australia
Taiwania (Taiwania cryptomerioides) 84.1 276 Conifer North-central Taiwan East Asia
Sugar pine (Pinus lambertiana) 83.45 273.8 Conifer near Yosemite National Park, California, United States. Western North America
Abies chensiensis var. salouenensis 83.4 274 Conifer Zayü County, Nyingchi Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region, China East Asia
Western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) 83.34 273.4 Conifer Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, California, United States. Western North America
Hopea nutans 82.82 271.7 Flowering plant Gaharu ridge of Tawau Hills National Park, in Sabah on the island of Borneo. Southeast Asia
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
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
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
Entandrophragma excelsum 81.5 267 Flowering plant at Kilimanjaro, Tanzania Eastern Africa
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)
Grand fir (Abies grandis) 81.4 267 Conifer in the Glacier Peak Wilderness, Washington, United States. Western North America
Shorea gibbosa 81.11 266.1 Flowering plant River Flats of Tawau Hills National Park, in Sabah on the island of Borneo. Southeast Asia
Lawson cypress (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana) 81.08 266.0 Conifer In Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, California, United States. Western North America
  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

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). 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. 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), a range that includes the height of the tallest reliably-measured historical (dead) specimen, a 126-meter tree.

Other claims of superlative height

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.

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.

See also

References

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