Height of the Tallest Tree
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| Bibliographic Entry | Result (w/surrounding text) |
Standardized Result |
|---|---|---|
| Martin, Alexander and Zim, Herbert. "Redwood and Giant Sequoia." Trees. New York: Golden Press, 1987: 34. | "Redwood, with leaves suggesting Hemlock, is the tallest tree (record: 364 ft)." | 110.9 m |
| "Redwoods in the National Mist." National Wildlife. Vol. 37, No. 3, Apr/May 99: 10. | "The finding may explain why redwoods are the tallest trees on Earth. The biggest living redwood is 370 feet tall." | 112.8 m |
| Tallest Living Tree. Guinness World Records. | "The tallest living tree today is the Mendocino Tree, a coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) found at Montgomery State Reserve near Ukiah, California, USA. In September 1998, it was 112 m (367.5 ft) tall, with a diameter of 3.14 m (10 ft)." | 112 m |
| "A Eucalyptus regnans at Mt. Baw Baw, Victoria, Australian, is believed to have measured 143 m (470 ft.)1885. Formerly, another Australian eucalyptus, at Watts River, Victoria. almost certainly had been over 150 m (492 ft.) tall." | 150 m | |
| Foster, David. California: A Complex Trek to the World's Tallest Tree. 25 January 2000. | "It stands 367 ft, 6 inches, or 5 stories higher than the statue of Liberty." | 112 m |
The tallest living tree stands at 112 meters (367 feet, 6 in.), or five stories higher than the Statue of Liberty. It is a Mendocino Tree, a coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) found at Montgomery State Reserve near Ukiah, California, USA. It is estimated to be over 1000 years old. The tree was last measured in September 1998, and was also found to have a diameter of 3.14 M. (10 ft. 4 in.). It was declared the tallest tree in 1996.
Standing under this redwood, like others, would probably cause one to get extremely wet. So much "fog drip"condenses on a redwood's needles, branches and trunk that it waters the tree as well as the surrounding vegetation, playing a large role in creating and maintaining the ecosystem. Redwoods can gather as much as half of a forest's annual supply of water. Just one tree can effectively drop 4 inches of rainfall in one night. Plants normally move water up from the ground to their foliage where it evaporates. That action then pulls more water up the plant. But the taller the plant, the more likely the system is to break down. However, the fog that surrounds the redwoods may slow the evaporation rate so much that the plants don't need to send much water skyward or can even get water directly from the mist. This helps explain why the redwoods are the tallest trees on earth.
Although this redwood is currently the tallest tree, it is not the tallest tree in history. A Eucalyptus regnans at Mt. Baw Baw, Victoria, Australia, is believed to have measured 143 M. (470 ft.) in 1885. Formerly, another Australian eucalyptus, at Watts River, Victoria, almost certainly had been over 150 M. (492 ft.) tall.
Olga Vapnyar -- 2001
External links to this page:
- Waldspaziergang, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research