What is the largest tree on earth. The largest tree in the world, or a rating of unique plants

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 pyramid dark green. 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 by the growth rings of a cut sequoia 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 back in 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 she's captivating large area. The special sequoia bark plays a significant role; it is very thick and contains chemical elements, repelling various insects and other pests.

National Park"Sequoia"

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.

Interesting facts

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 out the forest from other plants, providing access to sunlight 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. The 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 - this is an 18-meter Siberian cedar, its trunk girth is 3 m, age 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.

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 in size and shape from an adult specimen. 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

Many representatives have claimed the title of the largest tree on the planet. flora V different times. One of the most famous was the 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 Redwood National Park in two thousand and six. 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 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 won’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 large tree on the planet and received this 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 the inhabitants of the African continent have long learned to use for their own purposes. 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 fact, it is not the thickest 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. At its highest point 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 2831 BC, that is, its 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 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 " World Center Walt Disney Holidays. It is there that the famous Tree of Life is located, which many consider to be 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.

Trees appeared on planet Earth long before the emergence of mankind; later people began to widely use wood in everyday life for construction and other economic purposes. These representatives of the flora differ from each other in height, shape, habitat, and for many centuries they have not ceased to amaze with their diversity. It is possible that many have thought about what the highest or most big tree in the world, then the information below will be interesting to the reader.

General characteristics of giant plants

Among examples of gigantic sizes, eucalyptus, sequoia and fir trees predominate; individual specimens can reach a height of several tens of meters. Growth is influenced by many factors, the main ones being: average temperature per year and its fluctuations, distance to the ocean and elevation of growth above sea level.

High record holder

The overall winner in this category is the Hyperion tree, which grows in Redwood State Park in California.

In 2015, the height of the tallest tree in the world was recorded at 115.61 m, after which it received the title of the tallest tree on Earth that is currently growing. Belongs to the genus of evergreen sequoia (Sequoia sempervirens) of the Cypress family, the maximum age of which is up to 2000 years.

The record holder was discovered in August 2006, when 2 botanist naturalists, Michael Taylor and Chris Atkins, decided to take measurements from this sample. It turned out that its height was then 115.55 m, and in 2015 the diameter of the trunk at the level of 1.4 m from the surface of the earth was 4.84 m. Experts estimate the volume of wood at 502 cubic meters; relative to age, they give figures in the range of 700- 800 years.

Outwardly it looks strict and laconic - a conical crown and a slender trunk. The bark is thick, has a red-brown tint, and its width can vary up to 30 cm.

Management national park decided not to publicize the exact location of this greatest landmark, out of fear that the busy flow of tourists from around the world could cause irreparable damage to the natural ecosystem surrounding Hyperion.

During a recent examination of the upper part of the trunk, specialists noticed damage caused by woodpeckers. Unfortunately, they do not allow Hyperion to grow further; growth can only continue in width, so other participants in the top ten tallest trees have every chance of soon overtaking the current winner of this category.

According to Wikipedia, there are now 15 modern trees over 110 m tall.

Huge giant

“General Sherman” is the name of the largest tree in the world, which is rightfully considered a representative of the giant sequoiadendron.

It grows in the American Sequoia grove in California and has the nomination “The largest in volume and mass that grows on Earth today.”

This is the hardest living form life, which has truly colossal parameters, and the annual growth in width, according to experts, is 1.5 cm:

height – 83.8 m;
trunk circumference at ground level – 31.3 m;
diameter at the base – 11.1 m;
crown span (average value) – 32.5 m;
total weight – 1910 tons;
barrel weight – 1121 t;
barrel volume – 1487 cubic meters;
age - within 2300-2700 years (according to Wikipedia). However, there are a number of versions that prove that it is no more than 2000 years old.

Botanist James Wolverton in 1879 named this giant tree after William Tecumseh Sherman, the famous US general under whose leadership he served for several years. Later, in 1931, experts found that this particular specimen was considered the most powerful in the world.

The “Giant Forest”, where this award-winning winner has grown for thousands of years, is today a popular tourist destination where you can take great photos as a souvenir with the huge sequoia in the background.

Researchers have found interesting facts, which say that a house with 6 rooms can be built from General Sherman wood, and the volume of oxygen it produces is almost 120 kg per year, which is enough for 3-4 people.

January 2006 for the huge trunk was marked by the loss of a large branch, the diameter of which was 2 m and the length was almost 30 m. When it fell, it damaged the enclosing fence and the road. None of the park employees saw the incident; it is believed that this is protection from unfavorable weather conditions. But even having lost this part, the tree still retains its title.

Giants in Russia

It is difficult to answer exactly which tree is the tallest in Russia, because the country does not have an official register of botanical winners. However, on the territory of the federation, forests occupy a significant part of the land, so almost every region or region has something to surprise in terms of flora record holders.

The highest representatives of the country

Fir is an evergreen coniferous tree of the Pine family, widely found in the taiga of Siberia, can reach a height of 60-100 m and a diameter of 1.5-2 m. It has a straight trunk and many branches, starting from the very base. Also included in the tall category are Siberian cedars, which can be slightly less than 40 m tall.

The Krasnodar region is famous for the Nordmann fir found here; individual representatives of this species can grow up to 80 m under favorable environmental conditions.

In other areas, common spruces grow; some specimens are known with a height of about 60 m.

The pride of the Nikitsky Botanical Garden, located in the city of Yalta, is considered to be the sequoia, which today has already grown to 38 m, but is much delayed in growth in comparison with its representatives of the same name in California.

Many gardeners and botanists consider the magnolia kobus, which is located on the territory of Moscow, to be the tallest tree in Moscow Botanical Garden First Moscow State Medical University named after I.M. Sechenov. This is the only such representative of the species in the capital, which annually delights garden visitors with its flowering. Today his height is 6 m.

Maximum circumference

Not far from Lake Baikal in the foothills of the Sayan Mountains there is a unique area where poplars with a trunk diameter of about 6 m are found. Since there is no official information about what the thickest tree is in Russia, we can safely assume that the cedar growing here can lay claim to this title . It is more than 250 years old; measurements of its diameter showed 7.4 m.

What is the tallest tree in the world

It is difficult to surprise a person with tall buildings or towers; huge structures are growing all over the world. Concrete slabs and reinforcement make up the bulk of these giants. But what nature gives us always arouses curiosity and admiration. Gigantic, hundred-meter trees fascinate at first sight. Standing in front of such a “living being,” we feel dwarfed, but at the same time we feel proud of the grandeur and beauty of our environment.

All leading places among the tallest trees are occupied by coniferous trees redwoods. They grow mainly in the southern United States. The redwood or evergreen sequoia is the state symbol of California. In addition to the title of the tallest tree, it is one of the most ancient plants; their appearance on earth dates back to more than 200 million years ago. The tree received its name in honor of the leader of the Indian tribe Sequoia. Perhaps they became the prototype for the huge trees from another planet from the movie Avatar.

Over the past 15 years, the first place has constantly passed from one tree to another. As a result, today the undisputed winner is a tree called. The height of the giant is 115.5 m, its age reaches about 750–800 years. There is an opinion that the growth of sequoia per year increases by an average of 25 cm. Considering that the lifespan of such a giant reaches 4 thousand years, Hypereon can safely be called a young tree that still has time to grow.

The next champion in height stands next to the previous one. Sequoia called Helios. The height of the trunk is 114.6 m. Before the discovery of Hypereon, it was Helios who held the title of the tallest tree. These trees take first place not only in growth, they are better than other plants in purifying the air from carbon dioxide.

In third place he confidently settled down, or rather, stood tall Icarus. This is also a sequoia growing next to Hyperon and Helios. The location of almost all giant trees in California is classified. Preserving the infrastructure and not disturbing the ecology around protected natural monuments is the main goal of the parks. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the number of these trees declined sharply, the main reason being human factor. Building materials made from sequoia were extremely popular; products made from it are durable, lightweight and completely resistant to rot. Scroll chemicals in wood is so large that it repels all pests, including termites. Nowadays, there are about 500 giant trees left.

Stratosphere Giant- until 2010, it had the title of the tallest tree in the world. Located in California. The latest measurements recorded a height of 113.11 meters. It is worth noting that all types of sequoia do not suffer from fire; the tree bark is fire-resistant. Due to the burnt area around the sequoia, sun rays provide rapid growth young shoots.

Fifth place is taken by sequoia with long name National Geographic Society. The height of the tree is 112.71 m. Diameter – 4.39. By the way, the largest, heaviest and most voluminous tree in the sequoia family is General Sherman. At 2,500 years old and weighing about 1,900 tons, the circumference of the trunk measures more than 30 meters.

Orion. Sixth place. A huge sequoia grows close to several other giants, but is twice as tall. For 2012, the height is 112.63 m. Age about 1500 years. All representatives of the sequoia species can rightfully be called long-livers; the record holder is a tree with an age of 4484 years. The sequoia, cut down in 1965, today attracts thousands of tourists, shocked by the thickness of the trunk and the abundance of growth rings.

Lauralin, the seventh tallest tree. Location - California. The height reaches 112.62 meters. Among its representatives it is one of the youngest. Although it is fundamentally incorrect to call a sequoia that has reached more than 100 meters young. "Living Fossil" or " mammoth tree“, these are two words that characterize these trees. It has been proven that giants grew back in the Jurassic period and perhaps dinosaurs rested under them. Each growing tree has its own ecosystem - birds nest, lichen and other vegetation grow, animals and insects live.

In ninth place is another representative of this genus Paradox. It grows in the same park as Rockefeller and is no less popular. The height of the tree is 112.56 m. It was one of the first to be discovered; it got its name because of the contrast: mature coniferous trees growing nearby look dwarf compared to Paradox.

Sequoia closes the top ten list. Mendocino- the most damaged tree due to the influx of curious tourists. Now it is under protection; it is impossible to see the tree up close.

We are convinced that all honorable places belong to the redwoods, but if we exclude them from the list as the absolute champions, where do our eyes turn? In difficult conditions, in places where they raged forest fires, on the island of Tasmania, grows the largest deciduous tree- regal eucalyptus, with a sonorous name Centurion. The age of this giant is more than 400 years, and its height is 101 m. The island is the owner of several eucalyptus trees of similar height, next after Centurion is the giant Icarus's Dream, reaching 97m. Eucalyptus trees, for their ability to absorb and evaporate more than a hundred liters of water per day, are called “pump trees.” The tallest flowering tree can be seen without bark, since the rapid growth of the tree in breadth leads to its shedding.

Some sources indicate several more species of equally huge trees, but descriptions of them are extremely scant. Thus, in the Columbia National Forest in Washington, the Noble Fir grows, reaching 85 m. And in the state of Idaho, mountain pine grows with a height of 70 m.

Our country has a wide variety of forests with different climatic zone. Can Russia boast of tall trees? The same famous sequoias grow on the territory of the Yalta Botanical Garden and in the Krasnodar Territory, but the longest of them is 38 m.

In the woods Krasnodar region, on the southeastern part Black Sea coast, growing Nordmann fir, tall trees with a straight trunk, sometimes reaching 70–80m. Thanks to the long lower branches, they resemble a dark green pyramid. The age reaches no more than 600 years, they mainly die from insect pests.

Slightly taller, normal height is 60 to 100m. An evergreen, frost-resistant tree, grows very slowly, lives up to 600–700 years.

Common spruce, reaching sizes up to 50–60 m. The most widespread distribution is the entire northern part of our country. It lives a little less than its evergreen representatives, on average about 250–300 years. In the list of our tall trees we should also note Siberian cedar(slightly smaller than the others, but an unusually beautiful and spreading tree), beech, ash, birch (the height of some specimens reaches 30–35 m). Each of the listed trees evokes pride and calls for responsibility, careful attitude to our nature.

2016.02.12 by