In protected groves in the western United States, not far from the Pacific Ocean, are found what are ostensibly the tallest
trees on the planet--the coastal redwoods.Or are they?
An individual redwood known as the Mendocino Tree is currently (as of this writing) the world's tallest known tree. It has been measured at over 367 feet in height. Perhaps a dozen other redwoods also exceed 360 feet in height.
While it is true that the Mendocino Tree is probably the world’s tallest tree, that isn’t the whole story. Saying that the Mendocino Tree is the tallest tree is somewhat akin to shooting all basketball players over six foot two inches in height, and then proclaiming that a volleyball player is the world's tallest athlete. All trees that were taller than the tallest redwoods have since been cut down, leaving the coastal redwoods as the tallest remaining trees simply by default.
Coastal redwoods are the tallest trees when examining not only the tallest standing trees, but also average height. Some species, however, are more prone to individual gigantism than others. Three species (including the coastal redwood), have recorded examples in the past of individual giants that exceeded the tallest existing redwoods in height.
Taller historical examples of coastal redwoods include one measured in 1914 and determined to be 380 feet in height. At least one nineteenth century report exists of a tree exceeding 400 feet.
The coastal redwoods are challenged for title of ''tallest tree'' by two other species--Douglas Fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) and Australia mountain ash (Eucalyptus regnans). Although the records are problematic and sometimes confusing, it appears that several examples of Douglas fir have been logged that exceeded the height of the tallest redwoods. The tallest known Douglas fir was cut in 1895 in British Columbia and measured 417 feet in height. Another example from British Columbia measuring 415 feet was logged in 1905. Some records seem to indicate that there may have been other Douglas firs harvested in British Columbia during this time frame that also exceeded 400 feet in height. Outisde of British Columbia a Douglas fir measuring 393 feet was cut down in Washington state near the town of Mineral in 1905. Yet another Douglas fir measuring 380 feet was cut down along the Nisqually River in Washington state in 1899.
The best claimant, however, to the title of ''World's Tallest Tree'' can perhaps be made by the Australian Mountain Ash (or Swamp Gum)--Eucalyptus regnans.
If sources are reliable, the tallest tree ever measured was a mountain ash at Mt. Baw Baw, Australia. The tree was measured around 1889 by G.W. Robinson, and found to be 470 feet in height. Even this tree may have been dwarfed, however, by the “Ferguson Tree” at Watts River, Australia. The tree had already fallen when it was measured with a tape by William Ferguson, a government surveyor, on February 21, 1872 and found to be 436 feet long. However, its top had been broken off, and the trunk was still one meter in diameter at that point. Some have suggested that, when standing, the tree may have approached or exceeded 500 feet in height.
All of the tallest records of Eucalyptus come from the Australian mainland. There are no records of any Eucalyptus in Tasmania, either current or historical, rivaling the sizes previously documented from the Australian mainland. However, with the logging of the mainland forests in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the tallest remaining trees are now found on the island of Tasmania. The tallest known individual tree is found in the Andromeda Stand in the Styx River Valley (also known as the Valley of the Giants) in Tasmania. It is 315 feet in height. The largest, but not the tallest, Eucalyptus (a tree known as El Grande), and the largest flowering plant on Earth, was accidently killed in 2003 by Forestry Tasmania officials who were conducting a controlled burn for a timber harvest operation.
Some of the tallest Eucalyptus ever reported are given in the list below:
