A huge number of unique trees grow on our planet, some of them amaze with their colossal size, others with their unusual appearance, and others with the number of years they have lived. And when trees appear before us that are noticeably different from the usual ones, we have no doubt that our Mother Earth is in fact an amazing creator of the eternal and beautiful. Do you know what the most tall tree in the world? No? Then our article will be interesting for you.
Tallest coniferous tree on earth
The title of the tallest tree on our planet belongs to the evergreen coniferous tree - sequoia. This tree was discovered in 2006 by naturalists Chris Atkins and Michael Taylor, who gave it the name Hyperion. For security reasons, its exact location is not made public, but it is known that the tree is located in California national park Redwood on the slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountains. According to the latest data, the height of Hyperion is 115 m 24 cm (for comparison, the height of a modern 22-story building is 70 m), the diameter of the trunk is 11 m, and its approximate age- 700-800 years.
Sequoias are very tall and, at the same time, not very powerful coniferous trees, with thick, fibrous bark that is resistant to combustion. Their height can reach more than 100 m, and their trunk diameter can reach more than 10 m. Average duration The lifespan of this living organism is about 4 thousand years, although it is known that the oldest tree of this species existed on earth about 4484 years ago. Today, such trees can only be found in California or Southern Oregon. The largest number of giant sequoias are found in California's Sequoia National Park, where you can also find the largest volume of wood and the oldest tree on the planet - General Sherman (its height is 83 m, the trunk circumference at the base is about 32 m, and its age is about 3 thousand years).
Tallest deciduous tree in the world
The title of tallest deciduous tree rightfully belongs to the giant eucalyptus, which grows in the dense foliage of Tasmania. Its height is 101 m, and the length of the trunk at the base is 40 m. The experts who assessed it concluded that the age of this tree, which was named Centurion, is about 400 years. The giant unquestioningly got into the Guinness Book of Records, but not only as the highest deciduous tree on earth, but also as the tallest tree among the flowering ones.
Other tallest trees on the planet
From time to time, this title is transferred to another, new discovery by ecologists among the highest creations of nature. Thus, not so long ago, the tallest tree in the world was a Californian sequoia called Helios, whose height reaches 114.69 m. However, it did not hold this title for long; literally three months later Hyperion was discovered. Third place in the list of leaders discovered in the 21st century is occupied by the Icarus sequoia, with a height of 113.14 m. An equally honorable fourth place belongs to the Giant Stratosphere sequoia, which was discovered in 2000 with a height of 112.34 m, however 
the tree continues to grow and already in 2010 its height was 113.11 m.
Tallest tree in Russia
According to some data, the tallest tree in Russia is considered to be an 18-meter cedar with a trunk circumference of more than 3 m, which was found in Siberian region Kuzbass. This is coniferous evergreen tree, which is also considered one of the most beautiful long-lived trees in Siberia. However, this is far from its maximum height. It is known that Siberian cedar can reach 40 meters in height and 2 m in trunk diameter.
Various studies show that today the tallest trees are conifers. Record holders usually come from the genus of eucalyptus, sequoia or other members of the Cypress family. While not all corners of the world have been thoroughly studied, there is a possibility that new technologies will help make new botanical discoveries.
For example, plants that are now considered the tallest in the world were discovered between 2006 and 2008. For a long time the location of the giants was kept secret so that the flow of curious naturalists would not harm the ecosystem of the place where the giants grow.
Tallest tree in the world
Today, the tallest tree in the world is the Hyperion sequoia, which grows in California. The trunk of this plant has a diameter of 4.85 meters. The tree has grown 115.5 meters in height and covers an area of 502 square meters. Researchers believe that Hyperion took root in the 13th century, and estimate its age at seven to eight centuries. The tree got its name in honor of one of the titan gods in ancient greek mythology. The exact coordinates of the giant, which could be entered into GPS, were not released to the public. It is known that the tree is in one of remote areas state reserve Redwood in the USA.
In the park where the giant tree is located, there are several other very tall sequoias. These include Helios, whose height is 114.5 meters. He bore the title of absolute giant among his fellows until a taller specimen was found. By the way, this happened just a few months later in the same area. Interestingly, in ancient Greek mythology, Hyperion is the father of Helios. The trees grow close to each other. The trunk of Helios is thicker than that of Hyperion and is 4.96 meters. Given the available data, it turns out that the two tallest trees in the world are in the United States.
Record holders in Russia
The Siberian fir is recognized as the record holder for height in Russia. But in a country with the most large area forests, there is no official holder of the title of botanical giant. There are many giant fir specimens in Siberian forests. The height of representatives of this family can reach 100 meters. There is no doubt that somewhere in the depths Siberian taiga towers a giant, not inferior to the American Hyperion. By the way, speaking of sequoias, an impressive representative of this species grows in Crimea. In the Nikitsky Botanical Garden in Yalta there is a tree whose height is 38 meters. The age of the Crimean giant does not exceed two hundred years.
The peninsula is also home to some of the oldest trees in Russia. Yews and some types of junipers, according to preliminary estimates of researchers, took root in mountainous area Crimea no earlier than 2-3 thousand years ago. It is noteworthy that yews and junipers do not differ in height and large trunk diameter. They fit compactly into rock crevices, without fear of cliffs and steep mountain slopes. A height of 20 - 25 meters for such trees is evidence of an age of several thousand years. At least a dozen such trees have already been registered by volunteers in Crimea.
Widest tree
Baobab is a tree whose width exceeds that of all competitors. The trunk diameter of representatives of this species can reach ten meters. The most powerful fat man today is a tree, which is called only “ Big baobab" The girth of its base is 47 meters. The Big Baobab is located on the Van Heerden ranch in Limpopo province.
While landscaping the area, the owners noticed a cavity in the trunk of a huge tree, they cleaned it out and set up a bar in the resulting space. The Van Heerdens called their establishment “The Baobab Bar.” The diameter of the tree trunk is 10.6 meters. Research has shown that this baobab tree is more than 6 thousand years old, but the most interesting thing is that it continues to grow and bloom every spring.
Tallest tree in Africa
Speaking about baobabs, one cannot fail to mention that in their homeland there are also many giant trees. The tallest tree in Africa is on Mount Kilimanjaro. It comes from the genus Entandrophragm. The family of these plants settled in Tropical Africa and are not found anywhere else, this species is endangered. The highest entandrophragm on Mount Kilimanjaro reached 81.5 meters.
According to researchers, the tree is about 500 years old. Near the giant there are several more worthy representatives of their species. The group of trees on Mount Kilimanjaro was measured for four years, and in 2016 it was finally reported that average height entandrophragm in this area is 70-80 meters.
Record holders of the past
When talking about the tallest trees in the world, we cannot fail to mention the famous giants of the past. The most famous tree measured is the regal eucalyptus, found in Australia by forester William Fergusson. The man measured the tree and left notes about his discovery in 1872. According to Fergusson, the eucalyptus at the time of its discovery had a height of 132.5 meters, but according to indirect signs The forester concluded that previously the tree crown was 20 meters higher. Unfortunately, it is no longer possible to verify this data. The eucalyptus was felled and sawn into pieces for later use as building material.
To others famous giant of the past is Douglas yew from the Lynn Valley in British Columbia. According to reports in 1902, the tree grew 126.5 meters in height. It was also cut down and used for firewood. The third dead tree, the record of which has already been broken by representatives of the same genus, is another Californian sequoia. In 1873, foresters reported the height of this tree to be 112 meters.
Australia's tallest tree at the beginning of the last decade was destroyed by fire. Eucalyptus, which received the name El Grande, was one of the most worthy inhabitants of the forest in the south of the island of Tasmania. At the time of death, the tree was more than 79 meters high. In 2008, a tree was found in the same area, which is now considered the main giant of Australia. The regal eucalyptus, 99.6 meters high, received roman name Centurion.
City giants
It is unlikely that anyone would be surprised by the fact that the tallest and oldest trees are hidden from people in the thicket of the forest, nature reserve or in the mountains. In cities, giant plants simply cannot survive. In every locality there is a giant of its own, but the parameters of such plants are usually more modest than those of their wild-growing counterparts.
The Moscow champion in height among trees is the most beautiful magnolia kobus, which grows on the territory of the Botanical Garden next to the Moscow City complex. According to gardeners, this particular plant is the tallest in the Russian capital. There are many relict trees on the territory of the botanical garden, which are listed in the Red Book. Most vegetation that is presented in this interesting place, you won’t see it anywhere else in Moscow.
The American Capital District also has a champion - a 32-meter white oak tree growing on Northampton Street. Interestingly, the giant is protected by local residents as a city treasure. Volunteers take care of the tree's crown, prevent acts of vandalism, and even organize tributes to the giant. The oak has a rival in Georgetown, namely the 29-meter lyran or tulip tree. A plant from the magnolia family received one of its names due to the shape of the flowers that appear on the branches at the end of May. In the USA the tree is also called "yellow poplar".
To the west of Canada's main city, in the tiny town of Arnprior, there grows a 47-meter Weymouth pine, which is considered an Ontario record holder. This tree is at least two hundred years old and is a local landmark.
In Japan, trees are not rated by height, but there is a champion there too. A huge wisteria, about 150 years old, grows in the Ashikaga Flower Park. During the flowering period, the plant attracts crowds of curious spectators who take photos and videos of the tree’s crown, which stretches over an area of two thousand square meters.
The oldest tree
Speaking of records, it is worth mentioning trees that survived world wars, drought, climate change and even some states. The tree with the oldest root system today is recognized as the spruce nicknamed Old Tikko. Researchers suggest that this plant has been living for nine and a half thousand years. Its trunk can be seen on Mount Fulufjellet in Sweden.
Spruce "Old Tikko" - the oldest tree in the world Another representative of antiquity is the intermountain bristlecone pine Methuselah. Its age is estimated to be between 4500-5000 years. Despite his advanced age and rather shabby appearance, the tree is considered alive. It is native to the Inyo National Forest in America.
Trees are one of the isolated biological forms with a huge amount unique features. We see them every day, but we don’t even think about how unusual and interesting they are. For example, the seeds of this plant can differ millions of times from the adult specimen in size and shape. This statement is true even for ordinary oak, birch or linden, so let’s not even talk about such giants as baobabs or sequoias. It will be very interesting to find out which tree is the tallest and largest in the world, which differs in its crown, girth, and also the time (period) of its existence (age). This is exactly what we will talk about today.
The leader in height among trees on the planet: a magnificent giant
For the title of big tree many representatives claimed on the planet flora V different time. One of the most famous was a specimen of evergreen sequoia ( Sequoia sempervirens), which even has given name. A tree named Hyperion grows in one of the National parks(Redwood) of the state of California, in the USA. Last time official representatives The scientific community measured it in two thousand and fifteen. At that time, the height of the sequoia was 11 meters and 61 centimeters.
Contrary to misconceptions, a colossal number of corners of our planet remain unexplored even today, when science and technology have reached enviable heights. Therefore, there may be many more new giants of the plant world that we do not know about. For protection purposes environment Due to the general “pilgrimage” of tourists, the exact coordinates of the growth of the already discovered huge trees are strictly classified. Until recently, even their approximate location was limited to the country and region.
Accurate information about Hyperion
Two American nature lovers, biologists and researchers, Chris Atkins and Michael Taylor, decided to go to National Park Redwood. There they were going to replenish their knowledge about the flora of this region, as well as the specifics of tree growth. In the middle of summer, they came across an incredibly giant sequoia, which received a personal name - Hyperion - in honor of one of the ancient Greek mythical giants.
Scientists believe that the tree sprouted its first thin stem back in the twelfth or thirteenth century, so its age tends to be a thousand years. The total volume of wood, according to rough calculations, is half a thousand cubic meters, and the girth at a height of one and a half meters reaches almost five meters. It will be interesting to know that the further rapid growth of the sequoia was prevented by ordinary woodpeckers, who damaged the trunk in the upper part, otherwise the data would already be out of date.
The most famous green giants
The list of the largest trees does not end with the famous Hyperion. There are many other trees that have almost reached the same height. Let's figure out what is known about them and what these representatives of the plant kingdom are famous for.
Helios
Not far from the largest and tallest tree in the world there is another giant, which in the same 2015 already reached 114 meters and 58 centimeters. Due to the fact that Helios continues to grow in height, it appears that he will soon become the new leader in this regard.
Mendocino
Scientists discovered this giant in the vicinity of the city of Montgomery Woods, which is located in California. The tree was surrounded by a grove of almost identical sequoias, and was never officially declared as the tallest in the world. Although in 1996 Mendocino reached 112 meters and twenty centimeters. At the same time, its girth at a height of one and a half meters reached four meters 19 centimeters. Until 2006, it was considered the absolute leader in height.
Laurelin
In the north-central region of California there is a river called the South Fork Ell. It is in her pool that the tree grows, about which we're talking about, in the vicinity of the city of Humboldt. Its height is 112 meters and sixty-two centimeters. The giant's girth reaches four and a half meters.
The sequoia growing in the same vicinity of the Redwood Creek is almost the same size as the previous one. The height of the NGS, as scientists call it for short, in the ninety-fourth year of the last century, reached 112 meters and seventy-one centimeters. The girth was 4 meters and almost forty centimeters. For a year from that moment, the tree remained the largest known on the planet.
Rockefeller
Another giant of the plant world that can impress anyone is the sequoia of the same species, located in the National Park of the same name. Its exact diameter has not been measured since 2005, therefore it is unknown, and the tree reaches a height of 112 meters and sixty centimeters. Few people know where exactly this giant grows.
Orion
This is a sequoia of the same species as the previous specimens. It grows in Redwood, California. Its height in 2004 reached 112 meters and sixty-three centimeters. There is no exact information about the giant’s coverage today, but in 2014 it was 4 meters and 33 centimeters.
Paradox
This wonderful sequoia grew not far from the town with the funny name Humboldt, in the same California (USA). It is located in a national park called Rockefeller Forest. Its height has already exceeded Mendocino and reaches 112 meters and fifty centimeters, with a girth at chest level of three meters and twenty centimeters.
In the hot summer at the dawn of the new millennium, researchers found a huge sequoia tree in Humboldt National Park near the town of the same name. They decided to call it the Giant of the Stratosphere, since the height reached 112 meters thirty-four centimeters. However, the plant did not stop there and continued to grow. In the tenth year of the new century, its height was already 113 meters and eleven centimeters. Also, his girth inspires respect - 5 meters and eighteen centimeters.
Icarus
On the first day of summer 2006, in Redwood National Park, approximately in the area of the left tributary of the Redwood Creek in California, researchers found another tree from the genus of the same sequoias. Its height at that time was 113 meters and fourteen centimeters, and its girth at one and a half meters high was 3 meters and seventy-eight centimeters.
The thickest trees in the world
But height is not the only possible indicator that is taken into account in research. Giants natural world may also have the greatest girth. Therefore, it doesn’t hurt to figure out what the largest (widest) tree is in diameter.
The tree considered to be the thickest does not belong to the baobab tree, as many people think, but to ordinary cypress trees. More precisely, this is Taxodium Mexicana, growing right in the square of one of the Mexican towns in the state of Oaxaca called Santa Maria del Tule. It is thanks to this that the largest tree on the planet received its name. In the year two thousand and five its height already reached forty meters, but we are interested in something else. The girth of the giant's trunk was 36 meters 20 centimeters (119 feet), with a real diameter of 11 meters and 62 centimeters, which is equal to just over 38 feet.
Sunland Big Baobab
These trees are true record holders for the thickness of trunks, if taken in mass terms. Each baobab has an enviable diameter, which residents have long learned to use for their own purposes. African continent. The thing is that a cavity gradually forms inside the trunk, in which you can build a kind of house. Prisons, bus stations, and toilets are located there. The largest, the girth of which was more than thirty meters with a diameter of nine, grows in South Africa, on a farm owned by married couple from Britain - Doug and Heather van Heerden. There is a special cafe inside the giant's trunk.
In essence, this is not the most thick tree in the world, but the diameter of its crown is truly impressive. It covers an area of one and a half hectares, and its circumference in 2005 was 350 meters. In the very high place the tree is twenty-five meters high. A representative of the Ficus Bengal species, the Great Banyan, belongs to the mulberry family, and grows in the botanical garden of the city of Howre, in India. True, scientists today do not consider it one tree, but call it a clonal colony, since after a lightning strike in the twenty-fifth year of the last century it was divided into two parts.
Trees that have been growing since ancient times
It is interesting to find out not only the sizes of representatives of the plant world, but also to find out their age. After all, it took more than a dozen years for something like this to grow.
In cold Scandinavia, namely in the Swedish province of Dalarna, on the picturesque mountain Fulufjellet grows the oldest tree on planet Earth known to scientists. Its age is, according to researchers, at least nine and a half thousand years. This is a separate spruce, because the duration of growth of some clonal colonies sometimes reaches eighty thousand. Nevertheless, Tikko is one of the clone trees (connected into a single organism by the root system).
Methuselah
A famous US botanist, dendrochronologist and paleoclimatologist with French roots named Edmun Shulman spent many months in 1957 in the Inyo National Forest conducting research to determine the age criteria of bristlecone pines. It was then that a tree was discovered, named after the biblical Old Testament centenarian. According to the most conservative estimates, it sprouted approximately in 2831 BC, that is, it real age was about 4 thousand 848 years. Unfortunately, there is no photograph of this plant.
Largest deciduous tree
Centurion
The most famous plant gigantic size Of the flowering and also non-coniferous species, this particular eucalyptus, which grows in remote areas, can be called wet forests Tasmania. Its height in 2000 was 98 meters, and already in 2008 - 101. At the same time, its girth at the base is forty meters.
El Grande
Another famous colossal eucalyptus has not survived to this day. It is sad to report that deforestation in Tasmania, where it is located, and in Australia, has become a serious threat to the environment. True, El Grande did not die from this; it was destroyed to the ground in a fire, for which many later blamed the state company Tasmania Forestry. However, their guilt was never proven, and at the time of the fire the tree reached seventy-nine meters in height.
Longevity champions among oak trees
For residents of Russia, other trees that grow in our area are more familiar. Mostly, our ancestors associated legends and myths with these trees, endowing them with wisdom and strength, due to their longevity. Let's figure out which of them is the oldest and largest oak tree in the world, and the photo will help you better appreciate its scale.
Chapel in France
Scientists do not know the exact age of this wonderful plant. It reaches approximately eight hundred years. This means that the seed sprouted back in the twelfth or thirteenth century. However, according to legend, it was planted in 911, when Normandy was founded. Its height is small, only eighteen, with a width of sixteen meters. In the seventeenth century, Abbot Detroit built a chapel in a hollow trunk and dedicated it to the mother of the Savior, the Virgin Mary. The iron cross towering above the crown has not been preserved, but the date plate on the door is intact to this day.
King Oak
With a similar name you can find many trees around the world. But we are interested in exactly the one that is located in Belarus, which will allow us to go and see it cheaply and quickly. Another name for the tree is Pozhezhinsky Tsar Oak, as it is located on the territory of the forest district of the same name. If you drive three kilometers south of a village called Staroe Romatovo, you will stumble upon it. It has a diameter of almost two meters and forty-six in height. The age of the plant is estimated at eight hundred years.
Artificially ennobled Tree of Life
In the state of Florida (USA), near the town of Orlando, there is a wonderful, one of the most famous and largest amusement parks called Walt Disney World Resort Center. This is where it is located famous tree Life, which many consider alive and thinking. It is the result of the work of twelve artists who built it, demonstrating the connection of all creatures on the planet. This oak is not living, although some of its parts are planted in special pots. Inside the building there is a cinema with more than four hundred seats.
Champion trees of Russia
The tallest tree in the country was recognized as fir, of which there are five species (Siberian, Caucasian, and so on). However, it was not possible to find an absolute champion in the colossal territories covered with forests. There are a lot of such trees, which reach more than a hundred meters, in the Siberian wilds. Perhaps somewhere out there is hiding a giant capable of easily breaking the record of the American Hyperion.
Magnolia kobus
If we talk about the capital of our Motherland, the city of Moscow, then the tallest tree should be looked for in the botanical garden of the First Medical University named after I.M. Sechenov. Recently, they decided to open the park to the public, so everyone can see the notorious plant. It belongs to the magnolia kobus species, and in height it can hardly compete with the famous world giants. Nevertheless, six meters in the air makes him a champion in the city and region.
The tree, which is located in Sequoia National Park, in the Sierra Nevada Mountains (USA), is considered the largest tree on the planet. This giant sequoia, which is called the General Sherman tree. This tree also holds the title of the largest living creature on the planet.
Height General Sherman tree is more than 83 meters. Regarding the circumference of the giant, we can say the following: the circumference of the trunk is 24 meters, and the circumference of the crown is 33 meters.
In the nineteenth century, explorer John Muir came to this area, who called this place the “Giant Forest”, as he was impressed by the giant sequoias growing here. This name stuck and this part of the park is still called that way.
Many tourists from all over the world come to see the General Sherman tree. And it invariably amazes them with its size. Most often they describe unique tree like an orange-red “stone”, the top of which is almost impossible to see from below.
The General Sherman tree was named after General William Sherman, hero civil war. Now many people dream of taking pictures against the backdrop of this landmark: next to the giant sequoia they look very small and fragile.
For decades, it was believed that the uniquely tall tree had lived on our planet for over three thousand years. However latest research helped establish a more accurate age for General Sherman's tree. It turns out that it is quite young - it is only two thousand years old!
Thus, this sequoia is not the oldest tree in the world. The oldest is considered to be Californian pine, which was 4484 years old. But older age she could not dial: in 1965 it was cut down. Sequoia trees, which were approximately three thousand years old, were also cut down. However, scientists hope that five-thousand-year-old trees still grow somewhere on earth.
In winter 2006, the largest branch fell off General Sherman's tree. Its diameter was more than two meters, and its length was more than thirty meters. Thus, the tree lost part of its spreading crown. The moment the branch fell to the ground, it damaged the fence and road. But even after such “deprivation”, General Sherman’s tree still has the status of the most large tree on the planet.
So that even people with disabilities could get to General Sherman's tree; a specially landscaped path leads to it. The brick tiles of the path are laid out to the places where the roots of the modern biological miracle begin.
Every year the trunk diameter of the giant sequoia increases by 1.5 centimeters. This shows that the General Sherman tree is alive and is still developing and growing. The California State Park website states that each year the unique tree adds enough wood to build a five or six-room house.
If we talk about giant sequoias in general, then their mature trees often grow up to 100 meters in height, while the diameter of their trunk is 10-12 meters. Based on the annual rings, it has been established that the oldest giant sequoia that still grows on earth is 3.2 thousand years old.
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