Tallest
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 measuring methods and measurements are often unreliable, sometimes producing exaggerations of 5% to 15% or more above the real height.[1] Historical claims of trees growing to 130 m (430 ft), and even 150 m (490 ft), are now largely disregarded as unreliable, and attributed to human error. Historical records of fallen trees measured prostrate on the ground are considered to be somewhat more reliable. The following are now accepted as the top nine tallest reliably measured species (taking only currently standing specimens): Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens): 115.66 m (379.46 ft), Hyperion, Redwood National Park, California, United States[2] Australian Mountain Ash (Eucalyptus regnans): 100 m (330 ft), south of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia[3] Coast Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii): 99.4 m (326 ft), Brummit Creek, Coos County, Oregon, United States[4][5] Sitka Spruce (Picea sitchensis): 96.7 m (317 ft), Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, California, United States[6] Giant Sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum): 95.8 m (314 ft), Sequoia National Forest, California, United States[7] Tasmanian Blue Gum (Eucalyptus globulus): 90.7 m (298 ft), Tasmania, Australia[8] Manna Gum (Eucalyptus viminalis):
89 m (292 ft), Evercreech Forest Reserve, Tasmania, Australia[8] Yellow Meranti: 88.3 m (290 ft) Tawau Hills National Park, in Sabah on the island of Borneo[9] Alpine Ash (Eucalyptus delegatensis): 87.9 m (288 ft), Tasmania, Australia Sequoia sempervirens (pronounced /sk.? s?mp?r?va?r?nz/)[1] is the sole living species of the genus Sequoia in the cypress family Cupressaceae (formerly treated in Taxodiaceae). Common names include coast redwood, California redwood, and giant redwood. It is an evergreen, long-lived, monoecious tree living 1200–1800 years or more.[2] This species includes the tallest trees on Earth, reaching up to 379 feet (115.5 m) in height (without the roots) and up to 26 feet (7.9 m) in diameter at breast height. Before commercial logging and clearing began by the 1850s, this massive tree occurred naturally in an estimated 2,100,000 acres (8,500 km2) along much of coastal California (excluding southern California where rainfall is not sufficient) and the southwestern corner of coastal Oregon within the United States. An estimated 95% or more of the original old-growth redwood forest has been cut down,[3] due to its excellent properties for use as lumber in construction. The name sequoia sometimes refers to the subfamily Sequoioideae, which includes S. sempervirens along with Sequoiadendron (giant sequoia) and Metasequoia (dawn redwood). On its own, the term redwood usually refers to the coast redwood, which is covered in this article, and not to the other two species.