This is a list of the tallest known species of trees, 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).

Tallest living 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
Species Height Tree name Class Location Continent References
Meters Feet
Coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) 116.07 380.8 Hyperion Conifer Redwood National Park, California, United States Western North America [1][2] It reached 116.07 metres (380.8 ft) in 2019.[3] The second and third tallest trees, both redwoods, were also found at Redwood National Park in 2006 when Hyperion was found, and were named Helios 114.7 metres (376 ft) and Icarus 113.1 metres (371 ft) tall (in 2006).[3]
Himalayan cypress (Cupressus torulosa) 102.3 336 Conifer Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon, Bomê County, Nyingchi Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region, China East Asia [4][5]
Yellow meranti (Shorea faguetiana)[note 1] 100.8 331 Menara Flowering plant Danum Valley Conservation Area, Sabah, Malaysia on Borneo island Southeast Asia [6] Believed to be tallest tree in Asia until 2023 discovery of 102.3 metres (336 ft) cypress in Tibet.[5]
Mountain ash (Eucalyptus regnans) 100.5 329.7 Centurion Flowering plant Arve Valley, Tasmania, Australia Southeastern Australia [7][8][9][10]
Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) 100.2 329 Conifer Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, California, United States Western North America [11][12][13]
Coast Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii) 99.7 327 Doerner Fir Conifer Brummit Creek, Coos County, Oregon, United States Western North America [14][15][16]
Giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) 96.3 316 Conifer Sequoia National Forest, California, United States Western North America [17][18]
Southern blue gum (Eucalyptus globulus) 90.7 298 Neeminah Loggerale Meena, or Mother and Daughter. Flowering plant Tasmania Southeastern Australia [19][20][21]
Noble Fir (Abies procera) 89.9 295 Conifer Goat Marsh Research Natural Area, Washington, United States Western North America [22][23]
Manna gum (Eucalyptus viminalis) 89.0 292.0 White Knight Flowering plant Evercreech Forest Reserve, Tasmania Southeastern Australia [24][25]
Dinizia excelsa 88.5 290 Flowering plant Near the boundary of Amapa and Para states, Brazil. Central-Northeastern South America [26][27][28]
Brown top stringbark (Eucalyptus obliqua) 88.5 290 Princess Picabella Flowering plant Tasmania Southeastern Australia [29]
Alpine ash (Eucalyptus delegatensis) 87.9 288 Flowering plant Tasmania Southeastern Australia [20]
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 [30][31]
Mountain Grey Gum (Eucalyptus cypellocarpa) 85.0 278.9 Flowering plant Victoria Southeastern Australia [32]
Karri (Eucalyptus diversicolor) 85.00 278.9 Stewart Karri Flowering Plant Western Australia South Western Australia (24)
Shorea argentifolia 84.85 278.4 Flowering plant Gaharu ridge of Tawau Hills National Park, in Sabah on the island of Borneo. Southeast Asia [30][31]
Shorea superba 84.41 276.9 Flowering plant Gergassi Ridge of Tawau Hills National Park, in Sabah on the island of Borneo. Southeast Asia [30][31]
Shining gum (Eucalyptus nitens) 84.3 277 Flowering plant O'Shannassy Catchment, Victoria Southeastern Australia [33]
Taiwania (Taiwania cryptomerioides) 84.1 276 Conifer North-central Taiwan East Asia [34]
Sugar pine (Pinus lambertiana) 83.45 273.8 Conifer near Yosemite National Park, California, United States. Western North America [35]
Abies chensiensis var. salouenensis 83.4 274 Conifer Zayü County, Nyingchi Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region, China East Asia [36]
Western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) 83.34 273.4 Tsunami Conifer Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, California, United States. Western North America [37]
Hopea nutans 82.82 271.7 Flowering plant Gaharu ridge of Tawau Hills National Park, in Sabah on the island of Borneo. Southeast Asia [30][31]
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 [30][31]
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 [30][31]
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 [38]
Entandrophragma excelsum 81.5 267 Flowering plant at Kilimanjaro, Tanzania Eastern Africa [39]
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) [40][41]
Grand fir (Abies grandis) 81.4 267 Conifer in the Glacier Peak Wilderness, Washington, United States. Western North America [42][23]
Shorea gibbosa 81.11 266.1 Flowering plant River Flats of Tawau Hills National Park, in Sabah on the island of Borneo. Southeast Asia [30][31]
Lawson cypress (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana) 81.08 266.0 Conifer In Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, California, United States. Western North America [43]
  1. ^ The tree is on a slope, and the reported 100.8 metres (331 ft) height is the longest measurement; the height from the mean ground level point is 99 metres (325 ft).

Tallest living individuals not by species

The following are the tallest reliably-measured specimens over 99 meters (325 feet) tall.

List of tallest trees by species
Tree name Height Species Class Location Continent References
Meters Feet
Hyperion 116.07 380.8 Coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) Conifer Redwood National Park, California, United States Western North America
Helios 114.91 377.0 [44][45]
Stratosphere Giant 113.61 372.7 Humboldt Redwoods State Park, California, United States [46]
Icarus 113.14 371.2 Redwood National Park, California, United States [47][48]
Daedalus 110.64 363.0 [49]
unnamed 102.3 336 Himalayan cypress (Cupressus torulosa) Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon, Bomê County, Nyingchi Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region, China East Asia [4][5]
Menara 100.8 331 Yellow meranti (Shorea faguetiana) Flowering plant Danum Valley Conservation Area, Sabah, Malaysia on Borneo island Southeast Asia [6][5]
Centurion 100.58 330.0 Mountain ash (Eucalyptus regnans) Arve Valley, Tasmania, Australia Southeastern Australia [7][8][9][10]
unnamed 100.2 329 Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) Conifer Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, California, United States Western North America [11][12][13]
Doerner Fir 99.7 327 Doerner Fir Coast Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii) Brummit Creek, Coos County, Oregon, United States [14][15][16]

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).[50] 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.[51] 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),[52] a range that includes the height of the tallest reliably-measured historical (dead) specimen, a 126-meter tree.[52][53][54]

Other claims of superlative height

There are many historical and contemporary claims of superlative height for species beyond those listed in the table above. For example, several articles published in 1878 describe an Eucalyptus amygdalina exceeding 380 feet (120 m) and others nearing 420 feet (130 m) up to 500 feet (150 m), including the Nooksack Giant which was measured using a tape at 465 feet (142 m) after being cut down.[55][56][57]

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.[58]

See also

References

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  2. ^ "Sequoia". Gymnosperm Database.
  3. ^ a b Ghose, Tia (May 23, 2022). "What is the world's tallest tree?". LiveScience. Retrieved June 24, 2023.
  4. ^ a b "Tallest tree of Asia found in Tibet". China Daily. 27 May 2023. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d Lydia Smith (June 21, 2023). "World's deepest canyon is home to Asia's tallest tree - and Chinese scientists only just found it". LiveScience. Retrieved June 24, 2023. Claim in article that it is second tallest tree in the world is consistent with sloppy reading of Wikipedia's List of tallest trees as of June 21, 2023, but is apparently false: an earlier LiveScience article in 2022 reports on heights of three taller coastal redwood trees in the United States: Hyperion, Helios, and Icarus (third tallest, at 113.1 metres (371 ft) measured in 2006).
  6. ^ a b Shenkin, Alexander; Chandler, Christopher; et al. (2019). "The World's Tallest Tropical Tree in Three Dimensions". Frontiers in Forests and Global Change. 2. doi:10.3389/ffgc.2019.00032. hdl:2164/12435. ISSN 2624-893X.((cite journal)): CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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  13. ^ a b "Picea sitchensis". Gymnosperm Database.
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