The Tallest, Fattest, Largest and Oldest Trees on the Planet
December 6, 2007 by Ali
Filed under Green Living
The forests, particularly the Amazon, are the lungs of the planet. They are ever changing with storms, fires, gaps and succession – some caused by humans and others a part of natural processes. Within the world’s diverse flora there are a few members of the tree family that stand out.
At left this image from the US Geological Survey shows a grove of non-native sequoia in Hawaii.
But even these giants aren’t in the heavyweight categories of tallest, fattest, largest or oldest trees on the planet.
Here are the big barks (from Smithsonian Magazine):
Tallest: A towering California redwood was recorded at 379.1 feet in 2006. (Photo Via Redwoods)
Fattest: Montezuma Cypress called “El Arbol del Tule” in Oaxaca, Mexico was measured at 37 feet in diameter. That definitely deserves a parade. (Photo Wikipedia)
Largest: The “General Sherman Tree”, a sequoia in California, is the largest with a volume of 52,500 cubic feet and a weight of 2.7 million pounds. (Photo Wikipedia)
Oldest: The oldest tree on the planet is more than 4,800 years old! The old timer is a bristlecone pine in California, also known as Methuselah, similar to the one pictured below. (Photo Wikipedia)
More tall treats:
- The Kauri: New Zealand’s tallest tree
- American Forests: National Register of Big Trees
- The Tree Register: UK & Ireland’s Notable Trees
- Ancient Bristlecone Pine
An ammendment to my previous reply …
The photo toward the top of this page is not Lost Monarch, but is Screaming Titans, maybe 500 feet away, in the same grove.
Screaming Titans has been posted on a bunch of websites as Lost Monarch. But Lost Monarch has foliage reaching less than 2 feet from the ground, whereas Screaming Titans foliage and limbs start higher up.