List of tallest trees

This is a list of the tallest known tree species, as reflected by measurements of the tallest reliably-measured individual specimen. Although giant trees grow in both tropical and temperate regions, they are very restricted geographically and phylogenetically. All the known giant trees occur in mesic climates, and nearly all of them are found in three regions: western North America from California to British Columbia, Southeast Asia (especially Borneo) and southeastern Australia (especially Tasmania).

The Coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) is the tallest tree species on earth.

Tallest individuals by species

The following are the tallest reliably measured specimens from the top species. This table contains information on all species for which at least one specimen has been reliably measured at 80 meters (262 feet) or taller.

List of tallest trees by species
Rank Species Height Tree name Class Location Continent References
Meters Feet
1 Coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) 115.92 380.3 Hyperion Conifer Redwood National Park, California, United States Western North America [1][2]
2 Mountain ash (Eucalyptus regnans) 100.5 329.7 Centurion Flowering plant Arve Valley, Tasmania, Australia Southeastern Australia [3][4][5][6]
3 Coast Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii) 99.7 327 Doerner Fir Conifer Brummit Creek, Coos County, Oregon, United States Western North America [7][8][9]
4 Yellow meranti (Shorea faguetiana) 97.58 320.1 Menara Flowering plant Danum Valley Conservation Area, in Sabah on the island of Borneo Southeast Asia [10]
5 Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) 96.7 317 Raven's Tower Conifer Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, California, United States Western North America [11][12]
6 Giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) 96.3 316 Conifer Sequoia National Forest, California, United States Western North America [13][14]
7 Manna gum (Eucalyptus viminalis) 92 302 White Knight Flowering plant Evercreech Forest Reserve, Tasmania Southeastern Australia [15][16]
8 Southern blue gum (Eucalyptus globulus) 90.7 298 Neeminah Loggerale Meena, or Mother and Daughter. Flowering plant Tasmania Southeastern Australia [17][18][19]
9 Noble Fir (Abies procera) 89.9 295 Conifer Goat Marsh Research Natural Area, Washington, United States Western North America [20][21]
10 Dinizia excelsa 88.5 290 Flowering plant Near the boundary of Amapa and Para states, Brazil. Central-Northeastern South America [22][23][24]
11 Brown top stringbark (Eucalyptus obliqua) 88.5 290 Princess Picabella Flowering plant Tasmania Southeastern Australia [25]
12 Alpine ash (Eucalyptus delegatensis) 87.9 288 Flowering plant Tasmania Southeastern Australia [18]
13 Mengaris (Koompassia excelsa) 85.76 281.4 Pontiankak Putih Cantik Flowering plant Tawau Hills National Park, in Sabah on the island of Borneo Southeast Asia [26][27]
14 Karri (Eucalyptus diversicolor) 85 279 Stewart Karri Flowering plant ~20 km west from Manjimup, at Record Brook river – an eastern tributary of Donnelly River, Western Australia, Australia Southwestern Australia [28][29]
15 Shorea argentifolia 84.85 278.4 Flowering plant Gaharu ridge of Tawau Hills National Park, in Sabah on the island of Borneo. Southeast Asia [26][27]
16 Shorea superba 84.41 276.9 Flowering plant Gergassi Ridge of Tawau Hills National Park, in Sabah on the island of Borneo. Southeast Asia [26][27]
17 Shining gum (Eucalyptus nitens) 84.3 277 Flowering plant O'Shannassy Catchment, Victoria Southeastern Australia [30]
18 Sugar pine (Pinus lambertiana) 83.45 273.8 Conifer near Yosemite National Park, California, United States. Western North America [31]
19 Western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) 83.34 273.4 Tsunami Conifer Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, California, United States. Western North America [32]
20 Hopea nutans 82.82 271.7 Flowering plant Gaharu ridge of Tawau Hills National Park, in Sabah on the island of Borneo. Southeast Asia [26][27]
21 Shorea johorensis 82.39 270.3 Flowering plant Coco-Park boundary of Tawau Hills National Park, in Sabah on the island of Borneo. Southeast Asia [26][27]
22 Shorea smithiana 82.27 269.9 Flowering plant Coco-Park boundary of Tawau Hills National Park, in Sabah on the island of Borneo. Southeast Asia [26][27]
23 Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) 81.77 268.3 Phalanx Conifer in Myers Creek drainage of Rogue River – Siskiyou National Forest, Oregon, United States. Western North America [33]
24 Entandrophragma excelsum 81.5 267 Flowering plant at Kilimanjaro, Tanzania Eastern Africa [34]
25 Sydney blue gum (Eucalyptus saligna) 81.5 267 Flowering plant Woodbush State Forest, Magoebaskloof, Limpopo, South Africa. The world's tallest planted tree. Southern Africa (non native), but endemic to eastern Australia) [35][36]
26 Grand fir (Abies grandis) 81.4 267 Conifer in the Glacier Peak Wilderness, Washington, United States. Western North America [37][21]
27 Shorea gibbosa 81.11 266.1 Flowering plant River Flats of Tawau Hills National Park, in Sabah on the island of Borneo. Southeast Asia [26][27]
28 Lawson cypress (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana) 81.08 266.0 Conifer In Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, California, United States. Western North America [38]

Maximum limits of tree height

Two main opposing forces affect a tree's height; one pushes it upward while the other holds it down. By analyzing the interplay between these forces in coast redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens), a team of biologists led by George Koch of Northern Arizona University calculated the theoretical maximum tree height or the point at which opposing forces balance out and a tree stops growing. This point lies somewhere between 122 and 130 m (400 and 426 feet).[39] On the one hand, the researchers found, trees in forests "desire" to grow as tall as possible to overtake neighboring trees and reach stronger sunlight. On the other hand, gravity makes it more and more difficult to haul water upwards from the roots to the canopy as the tree grows, and leaves thus become smaller near the top. They discovered that despite the moistness of the ground far below, the leaves at the treetops struggle to get enough water, so they are effectively living in a constant drought. The difficulty of getting water so far up into the sky is what ultimately constrains growth.[40] Other researchers have developed models of maximum height for Coast Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii) trees that yield similar estimates of 109–138 meters (357–452 feet),[41] a range that includes the height of the tallest reliably-measured historical specimen, a 126-meter tree.[42][43][41]

Other claims of superlative height

There are many historical and contemporary claims of superlative height for species beyond those listed in the table above. In most cases, these claims are not supported by detailed methodological documentation or drawn from scientific sources or official "big tree" registries.

The heights of the tallest trees in the world have been the subject of considerable dispute and much exaggeration. Modern verified measurements with laser rangefinders or with tape drop measurements made by tree climbers (such as those carried out by canopy researchers), have shown that some older tree height measurement methods are often unreliable, sometimes producing exaggerations of 5% to 15% or more above the real height.[44] Historical claims of trees growing beyond 130 m (430 ft), and even 150 m (490 ft), are now largely disregarded as unreliable, and attributed to human error.

See also

References
  1. Martin, Glen (September 29, 2006). "World's tallest tree, a redwood, confirmed". SFGate. Retrieved 2009-08-09.
  2. "Sequoia". Gymnosperm Database.
  3. McIntosh, Derek. "Mountain Ash "Centurion" – tallest tree in Australia". National Register of Big Trees. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  4. "Tall trees". Tasmania's Giant Trees.
  5. "The Arve and Huon Valleys". Tasmania's Giant Trees.
  6. "100 metres and growing: Australia's tallest tree leaves all others in the shade". www.abc.net.au. 2018-12-11. Retrieved 2020-09-13.
  7. "Doerner Fir – Tallest Douglas Fir". Retrieved 2013-02-25.
  8. "Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii". Gymnosperm Database.
  9. Richard, Terry (March 27, 2010). "Doerner Fir rises 327 feet into the Coos County heavens". OregonLive. The Oregonian.
  10. Shenkin, Alexander; Chandler, Christopher; Boyd, Doreen; Jackson, Tobias; bin Jami, Jamiluddin; Disney, Mathias; Majalap, Noreen; Nilus, Reuben; Foody, Giles; Reynolds, Glen; Wilkes, Phil; Cutler, Mark; M. Van Der Heijden, Geertje; Burslem1, David; Coomes, David; Patrick Bentley, Lisa; Malhi, Yadvinder (2019). "The World's Tallest Tropical Tree in Three Dimensions". Frontiers in Forests and Global Change. 2. doi:10.3389/ffgc.2019.00032. ISSN 2624-893X.
  11. "Picea sitchensis". Gymnosperm Database. Retrieved 2007-06-10. This tree also has a sign nearby proclaiming it to be 'the world's largest spruce'. The two tallest on record, 96.7 m and 96.4 m, are in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, California
  12. "Picea sitchensis". Gymnosperm Database.
  13. "A New Tallest Giant Sequoia". Sequoia Parks Foundation. 2011. Archived from the original on 2016-09-24. Retrieved 2016-09-03.
  14. "Sequoiadendron". Gymnosperm Database.
  15. "Tree Data". Australia National Register of Big Trees.
  16. "The White Knight | Giant Tree Expeditions: Tasmania". giant-trees.com. 2018-06-10. Retrieved 2020-09-13.
  17. "Tallest Blue Gum in the world Eucalyptus globulus preview". Retrieved 15 Apr 2018.
  18. "Tasmanian Giant Trees Register" (PDF). Forestry Tasmania. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-19.
  19. "Ancient Indigenous Forest Trees". Retrieved 13 August 2003.
  20. Van Pelt, Robert (2001). Forest giants of the Pacific Coast. Vancouver; San Francisco: Global Forest Society in association with University of Washington Press, Seattle. ISBN 978-0-295-98140-6. OCLC 45300299.
  21. Van Pelt, Robert. (2015). Champion trees of washington state. [Place of publication not identified]: Univ Of Washington Press. ISBN 978-0-295-99745-2. OCLC 921868759.
  22. "LIDAR technology leads Brazilian team to 30 story tall Amazon tree". Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  23. Odilla, Fernanda (September 1, 2019). "Pesquisadores encontram arvore mais alta da Amazonia...etc". Retrieved October 22, 2019.
  24. "el arbol mas grande...etc". September 4, 2019. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
  25. "Tall and Big Tree news". Victoria's Giant Trees. Retrieved 2021-01-19.
  26. "Borneo II". Native Tree Society. Archived from the original on 2018-08-09.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  27. James V. LaFrankie Jr. (2010). Trees of Tropical Asia. Black Tree Publications, Inc. p. 47. ISBN 978-971-94794-0-6.
  28. "Victoria's tallest trees" (PDF). Retrieved 25 November 2002.
  29. "Stewart's Tree". Retrieved September 21, 2019.
  30. "Victoria's tallest regrowth trees". Victoria's Giant Trees.
  31. "Pinus lambertiana". Gymnosperm Database.
  32. "Tsuga heterophylla". Gymnosperm Database.
  33. "Pinus ponderosa subsp. benthamiana". Gymnosperm Database.
  34. Hemp, Andreas (2016). "Africa's highest mountain harbours Africa's tallest trees". Biodiversity and Conservation. 26: 103–113. doi:10.1007/s10531-016-1226-3.
  35. "Champion Trees of South Africa" (PDF). Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Republic of South Africa.
  36. Teo Kermeliotis; Jenny Soffel (November 7, 2013). "Ain't no tree high enough: Climbing South Africa's leafy summits". CNN.
  37. "Abies grandis". Gymnosperm Database.
  38. "Chamaecyparis lawsoniana". Gymnosperm Database.
  39. "How Tall Can Trees Grow?". Retrieved June 17, 2011.
  40. "Height limit predicted for tallest trees". Retrieved 19 April 2004.
  41. Domec, J.-C.; Lachenbruch, B.; Meinzer, F. C.; Woodruff, D. R.; Warren, J. M.; McCulloh, K. A. (2008-08-19). "Maximum height in a conifer is associated with conflicting requirements for xylem design". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 105 (33): 12069–12074. doi:10.1073/pnas.0710418105. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 2575339. PMID 18695232.
  42. Carder, A. C., 1910- (1995). Forest giants of the world, past and present. Markham, Ont.: Fitzhenry & Whiteside. ISBN 1-55041-090-3. OCLC 30973773.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  43. Koch, George W.; Sillett, Stephen C.; Jennings, Gregory M.; Davis, Stephen D. (2004-04-22). "The limits to tree height". Nature. 428 (6985): 851–854. doi:10.1038/nature02417. ISSN 0028-0836.
  44. "Native Tree Society". Native Tree Society. Archived from the original on 2018-08-17. Retrieved 2012-08-01.
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