1 of the tallest trees in the world. Tallest tree in the world

This is a list of the 10 largest trees in the world. The exact location of the 10 tallest trees is kept secret, so photographs of these trees are almost impossible to find. The trees are not guarded 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, but only classified information so that the flow of tourists does not destroy the infrastructure and prevent the trees from growing further.

10. Mendocino tree - 112.20 m, USA

Species: Sequoia sempervirens.
Location: Montgomery Woods, USA.
Diameter: 4.19 m.

Between December 1996 and August 2000 it was the most tall tree in the world. It was discovered in the city of Montgomery Woods and named the Mendocino Tree. The tree is one of dozens of similar tall trees in the grove and was never specifically declared the largest for protection purposes. Previously highly publicized candidates for the tallest tree in the world have suffered greatly due to numerous tourists.

9. Paradox - 112.56 m, USA

Species: Sequoia sempervirens.

Diameter: 3.90 m.

8. Rockefeller - 112.60 m, USA

Species: Sequoia sempervirens.
Location: Humboldt, California, USA.
Diameter: The exact diameter is unknown.

7. Lauralin - 112.62 m

Species: Sequoia sempervirens.
Location: Humboldt, South Fork Eel River, California, USA.
Diameter: 4.54 m.

6. Orion - 112.63 m

Species: Sequoia sempervirens.
Location: Redwoods, California, USA.
Diameter: 4.33 m.

5. National geographical society- 112.71 m

Species: Sequoia sempervirens.
Location: Redwood Creek, California, USA.
Diameter: 4.39 m.

The fifth tallest tree in the world is located in Redwood Creek. Since 1994, after this tree was found, it became the tallest tree in the world until 1995.

4. Giant of the stratosphere - 113.11 m

Species: Sequoia sempervirens.
Location: Humboldt, Rockefeller Forest, California, USA.
Diameter: 5.18 m.

The stratosphere giant was once the tallest tree in the world. It opened in July 2000 in national park Humboldt. When first measured in 2000, the height of the tree was 112.34 meters, and it continues to grow. The height of 113.11 m was recorded in 2010. The tree is surrounded large quantity trees are almost the same size. To avoid damage from tourism, the exact location of the tree has not been revealed to the public.

3. Icarus - 113.14 m

Species: Sequoia sempervirens.

Diameter: 3.78 m.

2. Helios - 114.58 m

Species: Sequoia sempervirens.
Location: Redwoods, tributary of Redwood Creek, California, USA.
Diameter: 4.96 m.

Helios is the tallest tree in the world from June 1, 2006 to August 25, 2006. The tree lost its title after foresters found Hyperion on the other side of a Redwood Creek tributary.

Photo shows Richard Preston and his daughter climbing a tree in Humboldt Park.

1. Hyperion - 115.61 m

Species: Sequoia sempervirens.
Location: Redwoods, tributary of Redwood Creek, California, USA.
Diameter: 4.84 m.

Hyperion was discovered on August 25, 2006 by naturalists Chris Atkins and Michael Taylor. The tree was measured to be 115.55 meters tall. The tree was found in a remote area of ​​Redwood National and State Parks, acquired in 1978. The exact location of the tree has not been made public out of fear that tourist traffic could disrupt the tree's ecosystem of life. The area of ​​the tree is estimated at 502 square meters, and its approximate age is 700-800 years.

The tallest trees are long dead. Moreover, they don't exist. And a 150 meter Australian Eucalyptus regnans, measured by a forester in 1872, and another eucalyptus from Australia, which reached 143 meters in 1885, remained record holders only on paper. However, the height competition between living trees continues. Moreover, competition has recently intensified.

Let's look first at the Guinness Book. Since July 2004, the tallest living tree in it has been the Stratosphere Giant (). This is a California sequoia ( Sequoia sempervirens) 112.7 meters tall, which was discovered by naturalist Chris Atkins in Redwood National Park in California in August 2000.

This summer, Atkins returned to Redwood Park with fellow amateur naturalist Michael Taylor, Humboldt State University biologist Steve Sillett, and ecologist Robert Van Pelt. The four decided to measure the record holder and perhaps find taller sequoias.

This, it seems, is the Stratosphere Giant. Do you see the man? (photo by Thomas B. Dunklin).

It should be noted that most redwood trees in the Redwoods are registered, so the researchers headed to an area that was added to the park due to the expansion of its boundaries relatively recently - less than 30 years ago.

Here the group found 135 red trees, the height of which exceeds 106 meters. But the main thing is that it turned out that the Stratosphere Giant is not a champion. Moreover, he has not one, but three opponents!

One of the participants in the last expedition, Robert van Pelt, has already written two books about the “Forest Giants,” which, in particular, he accompanied with his own drawings. These pictures are based on the results of laser measurements, so the scale is respected (illustration from forestgiants.com).

The tallest sequoia now bears the name Hyperion - it is 115 meters 24 centimeters! Another tree, Helios, is slightly inferior to the new record holder - its height is 114.69 meters. And the Stratosphere Giant, removed from the podium, is only “a meter with a cap” behind the sequoia Icarus, whose height is 113.14 meters.

No photographs of Hyperion have been published. And it’s probably difficult to remove it if the champion is tightly surrounded by other trees. This drawing shows Hyperion in comparison with the Ferry Tower in San Francisco. Large blue marks on the tree indicate every 100 feet. Once again there is a man below for scale (illustration by John Blanchard).

For measurements, Atkins' team used a laser on a tripod, like this one. And soon he is going to repeat the procedure with the addition of another method called “tape drop”: someone will have to climb a tree and throw down a tape, the length of which will determine the height.

Only through repeated measurements can Hyperion’s record status be confirmed and the Stratosphere Giant be ousted from the Guinness Book of Records.

But this is not a quick thing. Measurements can only be taken at the end of September. This is not possible now because the Redwood Park protects the long-billed murrelet living in the redwoods ( Brachyrhamphus marmoratus). The measurement results will then need to be sent to the Guinness World Records verification department in the UK, which will also take several weeks.

In general, it will take a couple of months for registration. But by the standards of the champions themselves, this is nonsense, because in order to become “skyscrapers” it took them more than 1.5 thousand years! More precisely, from 1600. That is how long another giant (Dyerville Giant) lived in Redwood before falling in March 1991 from a height of 113.4 meters.

By the way, the place where Hyperion with Helios and Icarus grow is also of interest. For a long time It was believed that very tall redwood trees love so-called alluvial soils, which are characterized by high fertility and saturation with water. But newly discovered trees grow on slopes.

“Even though these redwoods are on steep slopes, they grow in some of the finest redwood habitat on the planet,” says Chris Atkins. “They get enough sun, the mountain range protects them from the wind, there is plenty of water nearby, and, in addition, there is fog, thanks to which the local microclimate is moderate and moderately damp.”

At the same time, researchers categorically refuse to name the exact location of the trees - they remember that superlative, applied to certain trees, sometimes leads to problems. There have been cases when, due to an excessive influx of curious people, very small sequoia root systems were damaged, and the tree died.

Dear readers of the site “I and the World”, hello! Have you ever looked at the tallest tree in the world? Moreover, standing under him. It seems that its crown rests on the clouds and props up the sky. In the article you will see in the photo and find out which trees are currently taller than others.

In 5th place is the Tsar Oak - 46 m

The height of the royal oak reaches the 15th floor of a high-rise building, and its girth is 2.14 m. The oak has been growing for 800 years in the Pozhezhinsky Park of Belarus. Now the oak has been awarded the title of Natural Monument.

One day, lightning struck its crown and the top burned to the ground. Good people They decided to help, and with difficulty, but they cut down the burnt crown, and inserted and secured a lightning rod into the trunk so that such situations would not happen again.

We gave 4th place to Sequoia “General Sherman” - 83 m

This sequoia lives for 2700 years, and its trunk diameter has reached 7.7 m. This conifer much heavier in weight than the largest aquatic animal - blue whale, which weighs 190 tons. The weight of the wood General is about 2000 tons. Sequoia branches are arranged in an unusual way: they grow horizontally and slightly bend towards the ground. In ancient times, sequoias grew on almost all continents, but now they can only be found in Australia and California. Only a few groves have survived, and the largest are protected by law.

3rd place – Sequoia Hyperion – 115.6 m

Although the diameter of the Hyperion is smaller than that of the Sherman (only 4 m), but what a height! And the giant would have grown even higher if the crown had not been damaged by a woodpecker, hollowing out the wood, so the growth stopped. Its age does not exceed 900 years. The name Hyperion was given in honor of one of the ancient Greek titans, which means “very tall.” 43 floors up and you reach the crown.

In second place is Regal Eucalyptus – 150 m

In the mid-19th century, an Australian forest inspector came across a huge fallen giant, 150 meters long. And although this eucalyptus no longer grows, it can be considered the second tallest giant on earth. evergreen tree was almost 20 m in circumference, but history contains information about eucalyptus trees with a circumference of 25 m.

Currently, such giants no longer exist. They did not survive the Australian fires and burned out completely.

Sequoias grow not only on the Australian continent, but also in South America. Interesting fact: all sequoias got their name in honor of the Indian leader of the Sequah tribe, who fought against the conquerors.

1st place – Baobab – 189 m

Where is the tallest tree in the world located and growing? More recently, it was discovered in Africa, 189 meters high. Previously, it was customary to consider sequoias and eucalyptus trees to be the longest, but this baobab is considered taller than all. Its age reaches 5000 years. The thick tree has a diameter of about 9 meters and is perfectly adapted to life in a very hot climate. Its powerful and long roots go deep into the ground for kilometers.

Baobab is well able to recover from damage to the bark by people or from fires. Even if the core burns out, the baobab tree stubbornly continues to live. The baobab also blooms during the rainy season and is covered with large flowers with delicate white petals.

We would like to especially note the longest plant - Rattan palm. It belongs to the liana family. So, if this fast-growing plant is delivered, for example, to Paris, then it will be higher than the Eiffel Tower (more than 300 meters).

In the article we showed which is the tallest tree in the world and what it is called. We tried to highlight interesting facts some giants. And if you liked everything, suggest reading the article to your friends and acquaintances. See you on the pages of our website!

1. History of discovery
2. Sizes and ages
3. Location
4. Other natural giants

Tree gigantic sizes A member of the evergreen sequoia species, Hyperion is considered the world's tallest plant. Its growth, according to the latest measurements, exceeds 115 m. The giant is listed in the Guinness Book of Records and is considered a national treasure of the United States.

History of discovery

Despite its cyclopean size and solid, more than 600-year-old age, this natural monument was discovered relatively recently - in 2006. There is nothing surprising in this, because a giant tree grows among similar ones in Redwood National Park, located in northern California, near San Francisco.

American naturalists discovered the plant. Its height was measured manually by a team of scientists using a special tape lowered and stretched from the top to the ground. The process was filmed and then shown on the National Geographic TV channel.

The sharp decline in those living before our era magnificent trees contributed to their active cutting, which continued until recently. Almost until the end of the 70s of the 20th century, logging was carried out in the growing area of ​​evergreen sequoia. The wood of coniferous giants is in demand in various industries due to its low cost, excellent technical characteristics and beautiful appearance. This durable, uniformly dense material, not prone to cracking, which lends itself well to any type of processing, is used in the production of furniture, construction and finishing materials, various turning products, pulp and paper.

Active logging of redwoods was limited by the government only in 1978, when more than 90% of the timber was destroyed. It is possible that specimens died under the saw before this moment large sizes than Hyperion. Although coniferous species are restored from the stump growth quite quickly, and the sequoias are not yet in danger of completely disappearing, it would hardly be possible to see the mighty centuries-old giants if logging continues. It can be considered that the tallest tree survived by a miracle, because its fellows, which grew several tens of meters away, were destroyed.

Sizes and ages

It turned out that the giant is more than 3 m taller than the Stratospheric Giant sequoia. Until 2006, this tree was the tallest in the world. The name Hyperion was given to the new record holder in honor of the ancient Greek mythological titan Hyperion, who was distinguished by his unprecedented growth and mighty strength.

The exact height of the giant sequoia is 115.61 m, the girth of the trunk at 1.5 m from the ground is more than 40 m, the volume of wood is about 530 cubic meters. m. For comparison: the height of the famous London Big Ben is only 96 m, and the New York Statue of Liberty without a pedestal is almost half the height of Hyperion.

The age of the record holder is determined approximately: according to botanists, he can be from 600 to 800 years old. Considering that the total lifespan of these relict trees exceeds 2,500 years, Hyperion can be considered a young sequoia.

It turned out that the height of the tallest tree continues to increase by 2.5 cm annually. For sequoia this is extremely little; usually these rocks rise at least 2 m per year. But Hyperion was out of luck. Having overtaken all the neighboring trees in height, he encountered a problem - woodpeckers began to beat the soft bark and wood of the upper part.

Location

The territory of the national park and the adjacent nature reserve, the Muir Forest, is one of the few remaining habitats of relict conifers. Evergreen sequoia and its sister species, the giant sequoiadendron, are endangered tree species. They were widespread throughout the pre-glacial period. Northern Hemisphere. Currently, plants have survived only in a few small areas of land: in California, in limited areas of Texas and Maryland, in a narrow strip along the eastern Canadian coast.

Unlike giants similar in size, Hyperion is located not in the central flat part of the forest, where the soil is saturated with moisture, but on the slope of a mountain. Apparently, for this reason, little attention was paid to him before.

Where exactly is it located in the protected park? national treasure, the general public is not informed. The reason for this is the fear of increased attention from numerous tourists. It’s rare that any of them wouldn’t want to be photographed hugging the giant. There would definitely be people who wanted to climb up, break off a piece of bark as a souvenir, or leave traces of their visit with a knife right on the trunk. Constant crowds of hunters to admire the curiosity would certainly upset the fragile ecological balance of the reserve. To protect the unique specimen and its surrounding nature, the location is kept secret.

Other natural giants

The Hyperion tree is the most tall plant, known in the world today. However, there were more powerful giants in nature. For example, in 1900, Pseudohemlock thyssolifolia or Menzies, a coniferous tree resembling a fir, was discovered in Canada. Her height was almost 126 m.

In 1872, a eucalyptus tree was recorded in Australia, reaching a height of almost 132 m. It was possible to measure it after the barrel fell. There is information - government documents records of forest inspectors, who indicate the presence of even larger specimens of eucalyptus - up to 140 m. Unfortunately, these trees have not survived to this day, and it is impossible to verify the information.

In 2008, another natural monument was registered in Tasmania - the world's tallest eucalyptus. Its height was measured from an airplane with a laser and was almost 100 m. There is no other deciduous tree in the world that is as tall.

Many biologists and geographers believe that known to mankind record-breaking trees approach the absolute maximum in growth, which is determined by the laws of nature. The existence of specimens above 130 m is questioned, since the trunks of such giants would not have the ability to transport moisture and nutrients so high.

The flora of our planet never ceases to amaze with its diversity. A special place allocated 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.

The beginning of the destruction of the unique forest is considered to be the “gold rush” that came 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 with age. 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 large 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 “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 scarcity (only 500 specimens remain in the world), the tallest trees in the world are very viable. 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 value 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 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 is the absolute record holder among all 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 for up to 500 years.