The tallest and thickest tree. The largest trees in the world

The General Sherman tree is located in national park"Sequoia" in the USA, in the mountains of the Sierra Nevada (Sierra Nevada, California).
This tree is also the largest living creature on the planet.
Height giant tree General Sherman is more than 83 meters, the circumference of its trunk is more than 24 meters, the circumference of the crown is as much as 33 meters.

In the nineteenth century, the area where the famous tree grows, the explorer John Muir (John Muir), called the "Giant Forest" when he discovered giant sequoias. The name of this part of the park, "Giant Forest", remains to this day. Many tourists describe the General Sherman tree, striking in its size, as a red-orange "stone", the top of which cannot be seen.
Tourists come to the park specifically to see the General Sherman tree, named after the hero. civil war General William Sherman (William Sherman), and take pictures. Next to the sequoia, they seem so fragile and small.

For a long time it was believed that General Sherman's tree was over three thousand years old, but recent research has determined its exact age - exactly two thousand years. So it's not the oldest tree in the world.

The oldest tree in the world, a special species of California pine, was 4,484 years old when it was cut down in 1965. Sequoias were also cut down, the age of which reached about 3000 years. It is believed that 5,000 trees still exist on Earth.
In the winter of 2006, General Sherman's tree lost part of its crown, the largest branch of the tree fell off, the diameter of which was about two meters, and the length was about 30 meters.

When the branches fell to the ground, the fence around the tree and the road leading to it were destroyed. Even after this, General Sherman's tree did not lose its status as the largest tree on the planet.

A special path leads to the tree of General Sherman, and even people with disabilities can see this miracle. At the end of the path, brick tiles are laid out, which show where the roots of the tree reach.

The giant's trunk grows nearly an inch in diameter every year. The General Sherman tree is still growing and, according to the California State Park website, annually adds enough wood to make a five or six-room house.

This is a world of incredible contrasts. In this world, there are almost invisible dwarfs and real giants, it's incredible dangerous plants and vice versa, incredibly useful. The most contrasting representatives of the flora will be discussed below.

The largest tree in the world

It is also the largest and heaviest living organism on Earth. This title belongs sequoiadendron by the name "General Sherman", which has been growing for 2500 years in the United States. The dimensions of this one are simply impressive: height 84 meters, diameter 11 meters, base circumference 31.3 meters. Even more serious indicators fall on weight - 1910 tons and volume - 1490 cubic meters.

The tallest tree

This nomination should be divided into 2 categories: - currently growing trees, - champions of all time. Of the currently growing trees, the tallest is sequoiadendron(aka mammoth tree and giant sequoia), which the Americans also gave the nickname - "Hyperion". On the this moment its height is 116.2 meters.

The absolute record holder is regal eucalyptus, which was cut down in 1872 in Australia, the length of this eucalyptus exceeded 150 meters.

They also grow very tall and, among them you can find many plants whose length reaches more than 100 meters.

The longest tree

Palm rattan, which looks more like a vine, grows up to 300 meters. Interestingly, the diameter of the trunk at the very roots is only a few centimeters. In terms of growth, the rattan palm is also more like a liana, it twists around other trees and clings to them with the help of thorns located on the leaves.

The largest crown

Many types of ficus have interesting feature form aerial roots(layering) and due to this grow horizontally. This ficus life form is named banyan. The largest banyan tree today is "Great Banyan" from the Indian Botanical Gardens, its area is 1.5 hectares.

The oldest tree

spiny pine intermontane - apparently is the longest-lived tree on Earth. Pine by name "Methuselah", which grows in the highlands in North America in 19 years it will be 4863 years, and if this happens, it will beat the record of another pine of the same species "Prometheus". Today, the age of "Methuselah" is 4844 years!

The thickest tree (the thickest trunk)

Taxodium mexican(cypress) growing in the city of Santa Maria del Tule has a diameter of 11.62 meters and almost 36.5 meters in girth.

Baobabs and European chestnuts also achieve impressive results in this category.

fastest growing plant

This record belongs to plants from the bamboo family. Almost all types of bamboo grow at a rate of up to 20-30 cm per day, but the fastest growth rates are observed in edible leaf grate. This plant grows up to 40 cm per day.

The tallest grass

Fun fact, but the tallest grass in the world is banana(banana palm). This is not a joke, bananas are real herbaceous plants. The record belongs to the variety Musa itinerans- 12 meters high.

largest aquatic plant

Kelp macrocystis can grow up to 300 meters in length, however the average size ranges from 70 to 200 meters.

The largest water lily

Water lily victoria regal(Victoria Regia) is the largest in the world, its diameter is more than 2 meters. It grows in the Amazon basin.

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Long-term studies, observations and statistics show that today the thickest tree in the world is African baobab. The largest of its described representatives had a trunk diameter of about nine meters. And among the champions, a baobab was recorded, in which the trunk had a girth of 54.5 meters. This is extremely unusual tree. Not only its size is striking, but also its proportions. With a trunk size of ten meters, it grows to a height of only 20 meters. These trees are extremely tenacious, recover quickly when the bark is damaged, and can grow for hundreds of years with a completely decayed core.

In the photo: Baobab prison in Australia. The tree was used as a temporary prison at the end of the 19th century.

The trunk of the baobab at the top is divided into smooth, thick branches that form a crown with a diameter of up to 40 meters. Its core is very loose, undergoes rapid destruction under the influence of fungi. The result is large hollow trunks, any of which could easily accommodate up to 30 people. Local natives use them as pantries for storing grain, reservoirs of water and for other purposes. In Kenya, one of the baobabs is equipped as a haven for travelers, in Zimbabwe - as a bus station with a waiting room for 40 people, in Botswana - as a prison. In the center of Africa, in a tree that is 6,000 years old, there is a bar that is very popular with tourists.

In the photo: A toilet built in a baobab tree. Zambia.

There are also unique "mammoth trees" - sequoiadendrons. The most famous of them is "General Sherman", 84 meters in height, with a base diameter of 11 meters and a crown circumference of 31.3 meters. The estimated volume of its wood is 1487 m3, weight - 6 tons. Sequoia grows in Mexico, not as massive as sequoiadendrons, but exceeding them in diameter - more than 35 meters. Outwardly, it looks like it consists of several trunks, but the analysis showed that the tree is one.

In general, redwoods are considered one of the largest trees in nature, growing to a height of 50-80 meters, with a trunk diameter of up to 8-10 meters. There is a description that on the American continent there was a giant tree with a trunk diameter of 36 meters. A case is known when such a tree fell, blocking the highway. They had to build a tunnel through it, and it still functions today. Thanks to such a colossal cross-section of the trunks, small cafes and even dance floors are arranged on the stumps of cut down trees. Another record of this type of tree is that they have an unusually thick bark - 60-70 centimeters. They live for several thousand years, but gradually die out, only no more than 500 copies have survived.

In the photo: mammoth tree, sequoiadendron "General Sherman"

There are giant "fat men" among other types of trees. For example, in Mexico, the giant Mexican taxodium grows, known as "Thule Tree". Its trunk diameter is 11.62 meters. It was believed that such a giant was formed from several tree trunks. But DNA analysis confirmed that its trunks have one genetic code, which means they are a single organism. The age of the giant is more than one and a half thousand years. His vernacular name- "tree of life", as looking at its bark, you can distinguish figures of various animals.

In the photo: Mexican taxodium, "Tule Tree" in the Mexican city of Santa Maria del Tule in the state of Oaxaca.

A common chestnut growing near Mount Etna in Sicily has a trunk with a diameter of 20.4 meters and a crown area of ​​64 meters. All this was accumulated by him for 4000 years. The giant bears the name "Chestnut of a hundred horsemen", according to legend, he sheltered a hundred knights on horseback from bad weather. The trunk of the giant consists of five fused trees. For the giant crown area, the chestnut is listed in the Guinness Book of Records. In the photo: Chestnut of a hundred horsemen in Sicily.

Dear readers of the site "Me and the World", hello! Have you ever looked at the tallest tree in the world? And standing under it. 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.

On the 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. Kind people they decided to help with difficulty, but they sawed off the burnt crown, and inserted and fixed a lightning rod into the trunk so that such situations would not happen again.

4th place we gave to Sequoia "General Sherman" - 83 m

This sequoia lives for 2700 years, and the diameter of the trunk has reached 7.7 m. This coniferous tree is much heavier in weight than the largest aquatic animal - the blue whale, which weighs 190 tons. The weight of the tree General is about 2000 tons. Sequoia branches are unusually arranged: they grow horizontally and lean slightly 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 Hyperion is less than that of Sherman (only 4 m), but what a height! And the giant would have grown even higher if the woodpecker had not damaged the crown, gouging 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 high". 43 floors up and you will reach the crown.

In second place - Royal Eucalyptus - 150 m

In the middle of the 19th century, an Australian forest inspector came across a huge fallen giant, 150 meters long. And even though this eucalyptus is no longer growing, it can be considered the second tallest giant on earth. The evergreen tree was almost 20 m in circumference, but history has preserved information about eucalyptus trees with a circumference of 25 m.

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

Sequoias grow not only on the Australian continent, but also in South America. An interesting fact: all sequoias got their name in honor of the Indian leader of the Sequa 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. It used to be considered the longest sequoias and eucalyptus, but this baobab is considered the highest. Its age reaches 5000 years. The thick tree has a diameter of about 9 meters, perfectly adapted to life in a very hot climate. His powerful and long roots go deep into the ground for miles.

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

We especially want to 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 what is the tallest tree in the world and what is the name. We tried to highlight Interesting Facts some giants. And if you liked everything, offer to read the article to friends and acquaintances. See you on the pages of our site!

The flora of our planet is very diverse and rich. It has hundreds of thousands of species of living organisms. The most common plants in our world are gymnosperms and angiosperms.

Some of the plants are truly amazing in size, both in height and in thickness. Their lifespan is hundreds of years and one can only imagine what they have seen in their lifetime. We have prepared for you a list that includes the largest and tallest trees in the world.

All ten of the largest and tallest trees grow in the United States, and they all belong to a single species - the evergreen sequoia.

These trees belong to coniferous trees and are relatives of the common cypress. They grow in one place on the planet - on the Pacific coast of the United States. Sequoias are so amazing and huge that each of the record trees has its own name.

1: Hyperion

The height of this tree is 115.61 meters. It was discovered and measured in 2006, it turned out that this is the most tall plant on the planet. This sequoia also grows in Redwood Park, where exactly it grows is hidden from tourists. It is believed that the age of this giant is 700-800 years.

2: Helios

In second place is another giant, which belongs to the same species. The height of this sequoia is 114.58 meters, and the trunk has a diameter of 4.96 meters. Until 2006, Helios was considered the highest on the planet, but then a tree was found that is higher than it and it is it that is at the first number on our list. Helios is located in Redwood Park, California.

3: Icarus

This is another American sequoia that grows in the same area. The height of this tree is 113.14 meters, and the diameter of the trunk is 3.78 meters. This tree was discovered only in 2006. Its location is hidden from tourists.

4: Stratosphere Giant

Fourth place is occupied by the sequoia, which has a very appropriate name - the Giant of the Stratosphere. The height of this tree is 113.11 meters, and the diameter of the trunk is 5.18 meters. This plant is located in Humboldt Park.

5: National Geographic Society

In fifth place is the sequoia, which has a rather long name: the National Geographic Society. It is native to Redwood Creek. Until 1995, this sequoia was considered the tallest tree in the world. But at the moment, even larger giants have been found.

The height of this tree is 112.71 meters, and the diameter of the trunk is 4.39 meters.

6: Orion

This is an evergreen Sequoia (Sequoia sempervirene), which grows in Redwood Park, all in the same California. The height of the tree is 112.63 meters and the diameter of the trunk is 4.33 meters.

7: Lauralyn

8: Rockefeller

This is also a sequoia, which is located in the Humboldt National Park in the USA. Its height is 112.6 meters, and the exact diameter of the trunk, unfortunately, is unknown.

9: Paradox

Sequoia evergreen (Sequoia sempervirene). This plant is also located on west coast USA, California. The height of this tree is 112.56 meters and the diameter is 3.9 meters.

10: Mendocino Tree

Sequoia evergreen (Sequoia sempervirene). This tree is located in California, USA.

The height of this giant is 112.20 meters, and the diameter is 4.19 meters. The exact location of this tree is hidden so that tourists do not harm it.

11: Baobab

We have described to you the tallest trees in the world, in this regard, the sequoia has no competitors. But, if we talk about plant giants, it is worth mentioning the baobab. This is the thickest and most massive tree in the world. Baobabs grow in Africa, their height is small - about 18-25 meters, but the diameter of the trunk can reach 10 meters. It is very simple to explain such a strange appearance of this tree. The baobab has very porous wood and accumulates water in it during the rainy season. Then uses this stock during a drought. This tree has a huge crown, its diameter can reach forty meters. The wood of the tree is very loose and easily destroyed by fungal diseases. Huge hollows are obtained, which Africans use for their own purposes.