Trees surround us everywhere. Some, thanks to their characteristics, make them admire them, others remain “in the shadows”. But there are plants of extraordinary size that support the sky. There are plant giants, the size of which is many times greater than most of their counterparts. The largest trees in the world are not just long-lived; some specimens have been decorating the world for many centuries. These representatives of the flora grow in different parts of the world.
What types of trees are there and their importance for the environment?
More than three trillion species of trees grow in the area green planet. They are divided into coniferous and deciduous species. Each performs a very important function for living organisms, filling the Earth with oxygen.
Humanity cannot do without this vegetation either in everyday life or in industry, since in many industries it is difficult to replace wood with anything.
They amaze with their bizarre shapes and growth. Researchers from all over the world are collecting and recording data on the most unique specimens. To measure the gigantic height of plant giants, a laser rangefinder is used, which gives the most exact result. There is another way that also indicates the real size of the tree - this is a falling measuring tape.
Record-breaking plants
Trees differ from their botanical counterparts not only in that they have a branching axis covered with bark and a lush crown, but also in their growth, age, and volume. So diverse vegetable world, that all the features cannot be listed. The ranking of record-breaking trees was compiled in order to show the greatness of Mother Nature’s creations.
Sequoia is a plant of the cypress family, popularly called mahogany. Geographical location concentrated on the Pacific coast. Sequoia is number one on the list of trees that have achieved record growth. This particular specimen deserves the title the highest representative plant kingdom.
Today it leads the ranking of giant trees. It has its own name - Hyperion. The copy is located in national park Redwood, in northern California. A more precise location has not been disclosed due to the fact that frequent visits from people may somehow affect the health of the old-timer.
The age of this giant is almostVIII centuries.
Its size is so impressive that the numbers speak for themselves: the volume of the trunk is 502 m3, and the height is 11561 cm.
In terms of vertical dimensions, no plant species can compete with sequoia. Only her fellow giants can tower so proudly above everyone else. Helios, reaching 11458 cm, Icarus, 11314 cm high, and several other tallest trees grow in the USA.
Ficus bengal is his middle name. Belongs to the Mulberry family. Ranked second in rating table, which lists the largest trees. This giant is located on the territory of a botanical garden located in India. Its lifespan is hundreds of years.
It grows from many aerial roots that resemble trunks, so it seems that this is not one, but many trees. But the most remarkable thing about it is its crown, which is so thick and spreading, and its circumference reaches almost 600 m. With its green dome, the Great Banyan is able to protect quite a large number of people from the rays of the sun. Most common in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
Baobabs are also the largest trees on the planet, but their maximum size is measured not in height, but in volume. The diameter of the thick stem of the plant can reach 10 m, the crown grows up to 40 m, with a height of approximately 20 m. The homeland of baobabs is the hot African continent.
Precisely because climatic conditions it has such a weird shape. The wood of these giants, the largest in thickness, differs from their relatives growing in northern latitudes.
Due to its porosity, during rare rains the trunk is filled with life-giving moisture, which is then consumed during the dry period.
The largest trees in Russia are in Siberian forest areas. The fir is called Siberian fir and belongs to the pine family. It can reach vertical dimensions of almost 60 meters, and on average the plant height ranges between 40-50 m.
Life expectancy is several hundred years. As proven through research, the life span and even the size of the plant directly depends on the region of growth. Fixed gigantic sizes specimens growing on the territory Krasnodar region. The growth of the fir reached 80 m, the diameter of the trunk was 2 m. Such giants live for almost 5 centuries. Nordmann fir got its name in honor of the scientist who headed the botanical garden in Odessa at the end of the nineteenth century.
A bright representative of the pine family, growing in the mountains, at an altitude of 1000-2000 meters above sea level. It seems that this giant is trying to hide from prying eyes in the heights of the mountains. And it was not in vain that people cut down trees en masse; only six groves were preserved. The lifespan of this species reaches several hundred years. Cedar grows to a height of 40-50 m, its trunk diameter is 2.5 m. It rightfully takes its place on the list greatest plants on the ground.
It also has a name - Portuguese cypress, most common in South America, in Mexico. It amazes with its greatness and the article is considered the most beautiful tree planets.
Cypress is the leader among large species precisely by the thickness of the trunk.
Naturalists have recorded a tree that lives for about four centuries, the thickness of the trunk is almost 17 m. Cypress grows 30-40 m high. The life of the Mexican plant species can last up to 2 thousand years.
A deciduous woody plant of the beech family, which is most often found in North America, Asia and Europe. The climate of these latitudes is most favorable for these trees. Beech trees reach up to 30 meters. The axis of the tree is about two meters in diameter.
The average lifespan of these trees is about 400 years. Scientists call the beech tree the oldest resident of the planet, with fossils of the plant's trunks dating back to about 65 million years ago.
An amazing specimen called Thule has a record axis diameter of 3620 cm. The gigantic height of this botanical perfection reaches 3500 centimeters. A giant adorns the central church square of a Mexican city. There was a hypothesis that the tree consists of several, fused together. However, after DNA analysis, the unity of this tree was confirmed. As for the time of his stay on the planet, the date of birth is supposedly 15 centuries ago, although some researchers admit that the real life cycle may be several thousand years.
It is difficult to call this outlandish plant the greatest in size, but it has the most extraordinary record - the date of its germination.
The appearance of this miracle dates back to 2831 BC.
The plant life form belongs to the species Intermontane bristlecone pine, located in the state of California. A new specimen was discovered in the White Mountains, in the eastern part of the state. He is several centuries older than his brother.
Completes the list plant species eucalyptus, having a record height, width or age, its record is that it grows very quickly. It reaches a height of 1000 cm in the first three years from the moment of germination. Over ten years of life, it rises by more than 2000 cm. Tropical climate is its favorable environment. It is most often found in Australia and New Zealand. Thanks to their ability to quickly grow into a powerful tree, eucalyptus trees grow into forests that occupy vast areas.
We have not presented the entire list of trees worthy of being called wonderful embodiments of nature. Each type plant life, of all those listed, is very worthy of its kind and delights with its beauty, height, volume and longevity.
The flora of our planet never ceases to amaze with its diversity. A special place is given to trees. They have grown on Earth since ancient times. Diversity in appearance, shape, habitat, size - all this forces a person to study them with special care. Sometimes you can meet real record holders, for example, the tallest tree in the world. This will be discussed in this article.
Growth champion - general information
Sequoia is the name of the tallest tree in the world. This is a coniferous tree found mostly only in the state of California (USA).
It got its name in honor of the Indian chief who invented the Cherokee syllabary and became the founder of a newspaper in this language.
The local population, who are already accustomed to these giants, simply call this plant “mahogany.”
Most of these giants are found in the Muir Forest, Redwood Nature Reserves and Sequoia National Park.
Among the giants you can find both “aged” and fairly young specimens.
Currently, the title of "Tallest Tree in the World" belongs to a sequoia called "Hyperion". It is over 115 m tall, 11 m in diameter and about 800 years old.
What is the tallest tree in the world? A little history
In ancient times, when air humidity was higher, sequoia was also found in today's territories of Japan, France, Spitsbergen and the New Siberian Islands. The Ice Age also had a significant impact on settlement.
Until 1848, this tree was not exploited in the forest. This is due to the large size of the plant, since it was difficult to fell it with an ax and even (later) a saw.
Extermination begins unique forest The “gold rush” is considered to have come to these territories in the same 1848. The US authorities took protection of this tree only after about half of these giants had been cut down. Then the sequoia was declared a national property.
Appearance
The crown of the plant has a conical shape. Sequoia branches grow mostly horizontally, less often with a slight downward slope.
The bark of this giant is quite thick and can reach 30 cm in width. It is fibrous and soft to the touch; when you touch it, it seems as if your hand is plunging into it; the sensations are very unusual. When the bark is removed, it is red-brown, but after a while it darkens.
The tallest tree in the world changes its appearance as it ages. In “youth” (up to 100 years) it resembles a dark green pyramid. The branches densely cover the trunk from the ground to the top. Over time, its lower part becomes exposed and becomes thicker.
The leaves are small, reaching 15-25 cm in length. In young sequoia they grow elongated and flat, in long-lived ones they grow with arrows in the lower crown, and scaly in the upper crown.
The cones of these giants are small, no more chicken egg, approximately 1.5-3.5 cm. Pollination occurs at the end of winter, and after 8-9 months up to 7 seeds ripen. They fall to the ground when the cone dries and opens.
It is expected that by 2017 the record holder will change again, and it will become the Helion sequoia, which now reaches 114 meters. This is due to the fact that the tree grows very quickly, which cannot be said about “Hyperion” with its top damaged by woodpeckers.
Age
Sequoia is not only the tallest tree in the world. It also breaks world records for the fauna of our planet in terms of age. The plant is also called a "living fossil" or mammoth tree. On average, a sequoia lives from two to four thousand years.
The real record holder among representatives of this species is a tree with an age of 4484 years. It was established using the growth rings of a cut sequoia tree in 1965.
In the pre-glacial period, the number of these plants was greater, perhaps dinosaurs also rested under them. Archaeologists have proven that the tree grew in the Jurassic period.
The secret of the longevity of these giants is in their root system. It is superficial and widely branched. Thanks to this, when searching for water and other nutrients, it covers a larger area.
The special sequoia bark plays a significant role; it is very thick and contains chemical elements, repelling various insects and other pests.
Sequoia National Park
It is located in the state of California and has an area of 1683 sq. km. It got its name thanks to its majestic inhabitants. It was formed in 1890 with the aim of protecting these trees. It has mountainous terrain.
The largest plants are under special protection, surrounded by a fence and even have their own name.
The most popular is the General Sherman tree. You can see him in the Forest of Giants. It is about 2 thousand years old, the plant reaches a height of 81 meters, and its circumference at the base is 32 meters.
The General Sherman Sequoia continues to grow today, each year the diameter of the trunk increases by an average of 1.5 cm. Its wood would be enough to build a six-room house.
Thanks to such amazing characteristics the tree received the title of “largest”.
The tallest tree in the world, the Hyperion sequoia, is located in another Redwood National Park. However, five out of ten record holders among plants for growth grow here.
The national park is also famous for other attractions. Here you can drive a car through a small tunnel cut through the middle of a sequoia tree that fell onto the road and blocked further movement.
The park is also famous for its caves, of which there are more than 250.
Living conditions
Sequoia needs high humidity, that's why it grows near the coast Pacific Ocean. The tree can be found at an altitude of 30-750 m above sea level. It grows both on the shore and in the mountain gorge. It loves fogs, from which it receives up to 30% of all the necessary humidity, which allows the tree to grow taller and larger.
Despite their small numbers (only 500 specimens remain in the world), the most tall trees very viable in the world. Around the huge stumps left over from the cut down giants, you can always see young shoots, and they also begin to grow instead of a broken branch or top. Usually the “new generation” grows very quickly.
It has been proven that the tallest trees in the world - sequoias - have the ability to purify the air from carbon dioxide better than other plants. Forest owners who have not cut down a significant part of them for a hundred years receive special compensation for lost profits. It's called a carbon credit.
Fires are not destructive to this tree; its bark does not burn. On the contrary, they have great importance for his survival. Fire prepares forest floor for germination and thins the forest from other plants, providing access sun rays to young shoots. The heat also causes the buds to open, causing the seeds to fall to the ground.
Sequoia will grow well in other conditions (someone even tries to plant it at home), but the process will be long, and it will not reach its majestic size, as in natural environment a habitat.
The tallest and largest trees in the world
These titles are transferred from one to another creation of nature from time to time.
Sequoia - absolute record holder among all the trees. However, you should not ignore other plants.
A giant eucalyptus from the dense forests of Tasmania is the tallest deciduous tree in the world. It reaches 101 meters. Experts have established that its age is 400 years old, the plant was named “Centurion”. It is included in the Guinness Book of Records because it is the tallest flowering tree in the world.
One should not ignore another giant - a record holder, but this time in terms of trunk thickness. This is a baobab, or Adansonia palmata. It grows only 30 m in height, but its diameter can reach 9 m. This plant does not have growth rings, which will make it difficult to determine its age. However, thanks to special analyzes it has been proven that a tree with a trunk diameter of 4.5 meters is approximately 5000 years old.
Only the European chestnut can compete with the baobab. A tree with a trunk diameter of 20 m has been known since 1845.
Tallest tree in Russia
Our country also has its own giants. These are Siberian firs. They grow up to 60-100 meters. The straight trunk of the tree is densely covered with branches, making it seem as if the crown starts from the ground itself.
IN Krasnodar region the Nordmann fir is known, which favorable conditions reaches 80 m in height. Even the common spruce, which grows throughout Russia, can stretch up to 60 meters.
There is another tall tree - it is 18 meters Siberian cedar, its trunk girth is 3 m, age is 250 years. This evergreen coniferous tree is considered one of the most beautiful in this region. Siberian cedar can reach a maximum height of 40 meters, since it grows up to 500 years.
Incredible facts
If you watched the movie Avatar, then you were probably impressed by the forests of Pandora. But to see the most fantastic trees, you don't have to go on an intergalactic journey.
Trees are part of our lives, providing us with oxygen, food, homes, warmth and building materials. There are about 100,000 various types trees, including a quarter of all living plant species on Earth.
Among the billions of trees around the world, there are completely unique and amazing representatives.
1. Giant sequoia "General Sherman"
Giant sequoias that grow in Sierra Nevada in California are considered the most big trees in terms of volume. The largest tree is " General Sherman" V Sequoia National Park, the height of which reaches 83 m, the volume is about 1,486 cubic meters. m, and weighs more than 6000 tons. The tree is believed to be somewhere between 2,300 and 2,700 years old, and each year the tree grows as much wood as a typical 18-foot tree. It is a true natural masterpiece and greatest living organism on earth.
2. Aspen poplar: Pando
Pando or Trembling Giant, located in Utah, USA, is an amazing massive colony aspen trees, sprawled across 100 acres in Utah. Almost all the trees in this colony are genetically identical, that is, they are clones of each other. Every tree in this area comes from a single organism, being part of a giant underground root system.
Pando consists of 47,000 trunks, and its collective weight is 6,600 tons, making it the heaviest organism in the world. Although average age individual trunks are about 130 years old, the entire body is already about 80,000 years.
3. Taxodium mexicanis: Tule tree
The Thule tree is a particularly large tree of the species Taxodium mexicanis which is located near the city Oaxaca in Mexico. By this tree largest trunk girth(58 m) and a trunk diameter of 11.5 m. It is said that Thule tree so thick that you don’t hug it, but it hugs you.
The tree is believed to be about 2000 years old. For a time, detractors claimed that there were actually three trees camouflaging there, but careful DNA analysis confirmed that it was, in fact, one beautiful tree.
In 1994, the tree was under threat: the leaves became painful yellow and there were dead branches everywhere. The tree was dying. When the “healers” of the trees were called, it turned out that the problem that caused the Tule tree to suffer was simple thirst and it needed to be treated with water. Naturally, after careful water procedures the tree came to life.
4. Tree of Life
The tree of Life in Bahrain it is the most lonely tree in the world. The mesquite tree is located on the very high point barren desert of Bahrain, hundreds of kilometers from other natural trees. It is believed that its roots extend several tens of meters to aquifers. The exact age of the tree is unknown, but it is believed to be over 400 years old.
However, the secret Tree of life is not its size, age or shape, although it is quite large and very beautiful. The most amazing thing is that it stands alone in a barren desert on the highest point of Bahrain, in an area that has absolutely no water. In a place where it seemed nothing could survive, this tree seems to radiate life itself. People come here in droves because local residents They believe that the tree stands on the site of the Garden of Eden.
5. Wollemia
Despite its uniqueness and beauty, interesting qualities Wollemia are not hiding in appearance, but in his history.
Wollemia, growing in Australia, is a real living dinosaur. Oldest tree fossil Wollemia dates back to 200 million years ago. When, in 1994, scientists suddenly discovered a living tree Wollemia, they were simply dumbfounded.
The exact location of these coniferous trees was carefully hidden in order to protect those remaining trees, of which there are less than 100 left in nature. To save these trees from extinction, a program was launched in 2006 that allowed the general public to purchase seedlings Wollemia and now they can be seen in various botanical gardens.
6. Pirangi Cashew Tree
This famous tree, located near the city of Natal in Brazil, is a 177-year-old cashew tree that covers almost 2 hectares of land. It was planted in 1888 by a fisherman who did not know that the tree had a genetic mutation that allowed it to take up so much space. Unlike an ordinary cashew tree, when the branches of the tree Pirangi touch the ground, it takes root and continues to grow.
Today this tree serves as a tourist attraction. If you get close to it yourself large tree cashews in the world, you will feel like you are entering a forest. In fact, this is all one tree, the size of which reaches 8400 square meters. m. Tree 80 times larger than the average cashew tree and covers an area larger than a football field, bearing about 80,000 fruits per year.
7. Tenere Tree
The Ténéré tree is mentioned in this list because it no longer exists. A lone acacia tree growing in the Sahara desert of Niger in Africa, which was more than 300 years old, was the only tree within a radius of about 400 km. It was the only tree that remained from a huge forest that was swallowed up by the merciless desert. When the scientists dug a hole next to the tree, they discovered that its roots went down to a depth of 36 m below the groundwater level.
In 1973, the Tenere tree was hit by a drunk truck driver, and today a metal monument was built on the site in honor of Lone Tree Tenere.
8. Banyan: Mahabodhi Tree
The banyan tree is named after the banyan trees or Hindu traders who sold their goods sitting under this tree. Even if you have never heard of the banyan tree, you will probably recognize it. The shape of this giant tree cannot be confused with anything: a majestic dome with aerial roots that descend from the branches to the ground.
One of the most famous types of banyan tree is called ficus sacred or bo tree is Mahabodhi tree V Anuradhapura, in Sri Lanka. The tree is said to have been grown from a cutting from a real tree, under which Buddha achieved enlightenment in the 6th century BC
Having been planted in 288 BC, it is the oldest tree in the world, planted by a man with exact date landings.
9. Baobab
Madagascar is considered the birthplace of the baobab; it is also common in Africa and Australia. Baobab trees are the oldest forms of life on mainland Africa and many of those that still stand today have been growing since Roman times.
Amazing baobab or " monkey breadfruit" can grow up to 30 m high and 11 m wide. Most they remain without leaves for years . Characteristic feature Baobab is their pot-bellied trunk, which serves as a water storage facility. baobab tree can hold up to 120,000 liters of water to survive severe drought conditions. Some trunks are so large that people live inside the tree.
One of the most beautiful clusters of baobabs of the species Adansonia Grandidier located on Baobab Avenue in Morondava in Madagascar. Some baobabs take on the shape of a bottle, a skull, and even a teapot.
10. Dragon Tree
Dragon's Tree Icod de los Vinos in Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands, is unique representative. It is believed to be between 650 and 1,500 years old, but experts find it difficult to draw exact conclusions as it does not have one trunk. He's more likely consists of many small trunks, which hold on to each other as they grow upward.
It has a dense canopy of leaves and gets its name from the resin that is released when its bark and leaves are cut. Residents believe that this is dried dragon blood and have been using it to treat various ailments since ancient times.
This is a world of incredible contrasts. In this world there are almost invisible dwarfs and real giants, it’s incredible dangerous plants and vice versa, incredibly useful. The most contrasting representatives of the flora will be discussed below.
The largest tree in the world
It is also the largest and heaviest living organism on Earth. This title belongs to sequoiadendron by name "General Sherman", which has been growing for 2500 years in the United States. The dimensions of this one are simply impressive: height 84 meters, diameter 11 meters, base circumference 31.3 meters. Even more serious indicators are in weight - 1910 tons and volume - 1490 cubic meters.
Tallest tree
This nomination must be divided into 2 categories: - currently growing trees, - record holders of all time. Of the trees currently growing, the tallest is sequoiadendron(aka mammoth tree and giant sequoia), to whom the Americans also gave the nickname - "Hipperion". On this moment its height is 116.2 meters.
The absolute record holder is regal eucalyptus, which was felled in 1872 in Australia, the length of this eucalyptus exceeded 150 meters.
They also grow very tall, among them you can find many plants whose length reaches more than 100 meters.
Longest tree
Palm rattan, which looks more like a vine, grows up to 300 meters. Interestingly, the diameter of the trunk at the very roots is only a few centimeters. In terms of its growth form, the rattan palm is also more like a liana; it twists around other trees and clings to them with the help of thorns located on the leaves.
The largest crown
Many types of ficus have interesting feature form aerial roots (layers) and thereby grow horizontally. This form of ficus life is called banyan. The largest banyan tree today is "The Great Banyan" from the Indian Botanical Garden, its area is 1.5 hectares.
The oldest tree
Bristlecone pine intermountain - apparently is the longest-living tree on Earth. Pine tree by name "Methuselah", which grows in the high mountain region of North America, will turn 4863 in 19 years, and if this happens, it will break the record of another pine of the same species, Prometheus. Today the age of "Methuselah" is 4844 years!
The thickest tree (the thickest trunk)
Taxodium mexicanis(cypress) growing in the city of Santa Maria del Tule has a diameter of 11.62 meters and a girth of almost 36.5 meters.
Baobabs and European chestnuts also achieve impressive results in this category.
Fastest growing plant
This record belongs to plants from the bamboo family. Almost all types of bamboo grow at a speed of up to 20-30 cm per day, but the fastest growth rates are observed in edible psyllid. This plant grows 40 cm per day.
Tallest grass
Fun fact, the tallest grass in the world is banana(banana palm). This is not a joke, bananas are real herbaceous plants. The record belongs to the variety Musa itinerans- 12 meters in height.
Largest aquatic plant
Kelp macrocystis can grow up to 300 meters in length, however the average size ranges from 70 to 200 meters.
The largest water lily
Water lily victoria regal(Victoria Regia) is the largest in the world, its diameter is more than 2 meters. It grows in the Amazon River basin.
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