The world's superlative trees can be ranked by any factor. Records have been kept for trees with superlative height, trunk diameter (girth), canopy coverage, airspace volume, wood volume, estimated mass, and age.
The world's superlative trees can be ranked by any factor. Records have been kept for trees with superlative height, trunk diameter (girth), canopy coverage, airspace volume, wood volume, estimated mass, and age.
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 tree height measurement methods 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.
The following are the tallest reliably measured specimens from the top 10 species. This table shows only currently standing specimens:
| Tree name | Species | Height | Country | Location | References and notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meters | Feet | |||||
| Hyperion | Coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) | 116.07 | 380.8 [2] | United States | Redwood National Park, California | [3] [4] It reached 116.07 metres (380.8 ft) in 2019; [2] second and third tallest when Hyperion was found, were Helios114.7 metres (376 ft) and Icarus113.1 metres (371 ft) tall (in 2006). [2] |
| South Tibetan cypress (Cupressus austrotibetica) | 102.3 | 336 | China | Yarlung Zangbo National Nature Reserve, Tibet | [5] [6] [7] | |
| Centurion | Mountain ash (Eucalyptus regnans) | 100.5 | 330 | Australia | Arve Valley, Tasmania | [8] [9] |
| Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) | 100.2 | 329 | United States | Redwood National Park, California | [10] [11] [12] | |
| Coast Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii) | 99.5 | 326.4 | United States | Siuslaw National Forest, Oregon | [13] | |
| Menara | Yellow meranti (Shorea faguetiana) | 97.58 | 320.1 | Malaysia | Danum Valley Conservation Area, Sabah | The original quoted figure of 100.8m was from the top leaves to the bottom of the buttresses on the low side of ground. The correct height of the tree is 97.58m – that is the average between the distance to the lowest part of bole and the distance to the highest part of bole [14] [15] |
| Giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) | 95.7 | 314 | United States | Sequoia National Forest, California | [16] [17] | |
| Bhutan Cypress (Cupressus cashmeriana) | 94.6 | 310 | Bhutan | Kazhi Gewog, Wangdue Phodrang District | [18] [ better source needed ] | |
| Neeminah Loggerale Meena, or Mother and Daughter | Southern blue gum (Eucalyptus globulus) | 90.7 | 298 | Australia | Evercreech Forest Reserve, Tasmania | The crown of this tree is dying back. [19] [20] |
| Dinizia excelsa | 88.5 | 290 | Brazil | Near the boundary of Amapá and Pará | [21] [22] | |
Despite the tall heights attained by trees in the present, records exist of much greater heights in the past, before widespread logging took place. Some, if not most, of these records are likely greatly exaggerated, but some have been reportedly measured with semi-reliable instruments such as tape lines, tape measures or chains, when cut down and measured on the ground by forestry officials, licensed surveyors or reputable lumbermen. [23] Some of the heights recorded in this way exceed the maximum possible height of a tree as calculated by theorists, [24] lending some limited credibility to speculation that some superlative trees are able to 'reverse' transpiration streams and absorb water through needles in foggy environments. All three of the tallest tree species continue to be Coast redwoods, Douglas-fir and Giant mountain ash.
| Tree name | Species | Height | Country | Location | References and notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meters | Feet | |||||
| Nooksack Giant | Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) | 141.732 | 465.00 | United States | Alpenglow Farm, Washington | Note: Cut down in 1897. Measured using a tape by lumbermen [25] |
| Ferguson Tree | Mountain ash (Eucalyptus regnans) | 132.588 | 435.00 | Australia | Near the Watts River, Victoria | Note: Fallen in 1872, and measured on the ground by a Government Forester with a tape line. Reportedly missing part of the top [26] [27] [28] [29] |
| Eel River Giant | Coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) | 130.15 | 427.0 | United States | Englewood, Redcrest California | Note: Cut down on Feb 14, 1893, and measured on the ground by lumbermen [30] [31] [32] |
| Nehalem Giant | Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) | 129.54 | 425.0 | United States | Nehalem River, near Jewell, Oregon | Note: Cut down in February, 1886 and reportedly measured on the ground by property owner at 405 feet in length from "butt to uppermost bough." Later vouched for in 1931 by a local witness who recalled it measured 425 feet from "roots to uppermost bough." It retained a 14 feet diameter over 100 ft high. [33] [34] |
| Lynn Valley Tree | Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) | 126.5 | 415 | Canada | Lynn Valley, British Columbia | Note: Cut down in 1902 and measured on the ground by property owner. [35] |
| Yarragon Tree | Mountain ash (Eucalyptus regnans) | 124.968 | 410.00 | Australia | South Yarragon Ranges, Victoria | Note: Felled c. 1889 and measured on the ground by a settler of the district at 410 feet in length. Reportedly part of tree was burnt off. [36] [37] |
| Mineral Tree | Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) | 119.786 | 393.00 | United States | Mineral, Washington | Note: Progressively lost height until falling in a storm in 1930. Standing portion and fallen top measured by lumbermen, a civil engineer, and at least one Govt. Forester between years 1905 and 1930. One of the oldest Douglas fir on record at 1,020 years in age [38] [25] [39] [40] |
| Eureka Tree | Coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) | 115.824 | 380.00 | United States | Eureka, California | Note: Standing height surveyed, and tree then cut down in 1914 and measured by lumbermen. [41] [42] |
| Nisqually Tree | Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) | 115.824 | 380.00 | United States | Ashford, Washington | Note: Measured as a fallen tree near the Nisqually river by a US Forest Service Ranger and his crew in the year 1900 with steel tape. A small portion of the tree's top was missing. [43] [38] [23] |
| Thorpdale Tree | Mountain ash (Eucalyptus regnans) | 114.3 | 375 | Australia | Thorpdale, Victoria | Note: Standing height measured at 112.8 metres (370 feet) by theodolite in 1880 by a surveyor. The tree was later felled in 1881, remeasured on the ground by chain at 114.3 metres (375 feet) in length by same surveyor. [44] [45] |
| Klinki (Araucaria hunsteinii) | 89.0 | 292.0 | Papua New Guinea | Note: all the references to this species are historical accounts – there is no currently known living klinki of this height. [46] [47] [48] | ||
| White Knight | Manna gum (Eucalyptus viminalis) | 88.9 | 292 | Australia | Fingal, Tasmania | This tree has died, the likely cause being more frequent heatwaves and reduced rainfall. [49] [50] [51] |
The girth of a tree is usually much easier to measure than the height, as it is a simple matter of stretching a tape round the trunk, and pulling it taut to find the circumference. Despite this, UK tree author Alan Mitchell made the following comment about measurements of yew trees:
The aberrations of past measurements of yews are beyond belief. For example, the tree at Tisbury has a well-defined, clean, if irregular bole at least 1.5 m long. It has been found to have a girth that dilated and shrunk in the following way: 11.28 m (1834 Loudon), 9.3 m (1892 Lowe), 10.67 m (1903 Elwes and Henry), 9.0 m (1924 E. Swanton), 9.45 m (1959 Mitchell) ... Earlier measurements have therefore been omitted.
— Alan Mitchell; in a handbook "Conifers in the British Isles". [52]
As a general standard, tree girth is taken at "breast height". This is converted to and cited as dbh (diameter at breast height) in tree and forestry literature. [53] [54] Breast height is defined differently in different situations, with most forestry measurements taking girth at 1.3 m above ground, [54] while those who measure ornamental trees usually measure at 1.5 m above ground; [53] in most cases this makes little difference to the measured girth. On sloping ground, the "above ground" reference point is usually taken as the highest point on the ground touching the trunk, [53] [54] but in North America a point is usually used which is the average of the highest point and the lowest point the tree trunk appears to contact the soil. [55] Some of the inflated old measurements may have been taken at ground level. Some past exaggerated measurements also result from measuring the complete next-to-bark measurement, pushing the tape in and out over every crevice and buttress. [52] The measurements could also be influenced by deviation of the tape measure from a horizontal plane (which might seem called for if the trunk does not grow straight up), and the presence of features such as branches, spikes, etc.
Modern trends are to cite the tree's diameter rather than the circumference. The diameter of the tree is calculated by finding the mean diameter of the trunk, in most cases obtained by dividing the measured circumference by π; this assumes the trunk is mostly circular in cross-section (an oval or irregular cross-section would result in a mean diameter slightly greater than the assumed circle). Accurately measuring circumference or diameter is difficult in species with the large buttresses that are characteristic of many species of rainforest trees. Simple measurement of circumference of such trees can be misleading when the circumference includes much empty space between buttresses. See also Tree girth measurement
Baobabs (genus Adansonia) store large amounts of water in the very soft wood in their trunks. This leads to marked variation in their girth over the year (though not more than about 2.5% [56] ), reaching maximum at the end of the rainy season, and minimum at the end of the dry season.
| Species | Diameter | Tree name | Location | Notes and References | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meters | Feet | ||||
| Montezuma cypress (Taxodium mucronatum) | 11.62 | 38.1 | Árbol del Tule | Santa Maria del Tule, Oaxaca, Mexico | This diameter includes buttressing. A more accurate mean diameter for this tree is 9.38 m (30.8 ft). [57] |
| Baobab (Adansonia digitata): | 10.64 | 34.9 | Sunland Baobab | Sunland Farm, Limpopo, South Africa | Renowned because a bar and wine cellar operated inside its hollow trunk, [58] until it split in 2017. |
| White or Strangler Fig (Ficus virens): | 9.77 | 32.1 | The Temple Fig | Murwillimbah, NSW, Australia | [59] [60] |
| Moreton Bay Fig (Ficus macrophylla): | 9.23 | 30.3 | The Bellingen Fig | Bellingen, NSW, Australia | [61] [60] |
| Coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) | 8.90 | 29.2 | Jupiter | Redwood National Park, California, United States | [62] [63] |
| Giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) | 8.85 | 29.0 | General Grant | General Grant Grove, California, United States | [64] A hollow, nameless Giant Sequoia along the Paradise Trail of the Atwell Mills Grove in Sequoia National Park, has a basal diameter (not girth) of 57 feet (17 meters). [65] |
| Za (Adansonia za) | 8.85 | 29.0 | The Ampanihy Baobab | North of Morombe, southwest Madagascar | [66] |
| Chinese camphor tree (Cinnamomum camphora) | 8.23 | 27.0 | Kamō no Ōkusu | Kamō, Kagoshima, Japan | [67] [68] |
| Eucalyptus jacksonii | 7.96 | 26.1 | Hollow trunk | Walpole, West Australia, Australia | [69] [70] |
Measurements become ambiguous when multiple trunks (whether from an individual tree or multiple trees) grow together. The Sacred Fig grows adventitious roots from its branches, which become new trunks when the root reaches the ground and thickens; a single sacred fig tree can have hundreds of such trunks. [71] The multi-stemmed Hundred Horse Chestnut was known to have a circumference of 57.9 m (190 ft) when it was measured in 1780.
There are known more than 50 species of trees exceeding the diameter of 4.45 m or circumference of 14 m.[ citation needed ]
The largest trees are defined as having the highest wood volume in a single stem. These trees are both tall and large in diameter and, in particular, hold a large diameter high up the trunk. Measurement is very complex, particularly if branch volume is to be included as well as the trunk volume, so measurements have only been made for a small number of trees, and generally only for the trunk. Few attempts have ever been made to include root or leaf volume.
All 12 of the world's largest trees are giant sequoias. Grogan's Fault, the largest living Coast redwood, would rank as the 13th largest living tree. Tāne Mahuta, the largest living tree outside of California, would rank within the top 100 largest living trees.
| Species | Trunk volume | Tree name | Location | Country | References and notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cubic Meters | Cubic Feet | |||||
| Giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) | 1,487 | 52,500 | General Sherman | Sequoia National Park | United States | [72] |
| Coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) | 1,084.5 | 38,300 | Grogan's Fault | Redwood National Park | United States | [73] |
| Kauri (Agathis australis) | 516 | 18,200 | Tāne Mahuta | Waipoua Forest | New Zealand | The 516 cubic meter figure includes 255m³ for the main trunk and 261m³ for branches [74] |
| Western red cedar (Thuja plicata) | 449 | 15,900 | Cheewhat Giant | Pacific Rim National Park Reserve | Canada | [75] [76] : 34 |
| Eucalyptus regnans | 390 | 14,000 | Two Towers | Tasmania | Australia | The 390m³ figure includes 358m³ for trunks and 32m³ for branches.[ citation needed ] |
| Tasmanian blue gum (Eucalyptus globulus) | 368 | 13,000 | Rullah Longatyle | Tasmania | Australia | [50] Rullah Longatyle was killed during Tasmanian bushfires in February 2019. [77] |
| Coast Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) | 349 | 12,300 | Red Creek Fir | San Juan Valley | Canada | [78] |
| Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) | 337 | 11,900 | Queets Spruce | Olympic National Park | United States | [76] : 58 |
| Eucalyptus obliqua | 337 | 11,900 | Gothmog | Styx Valley | Australia | The 337m³ figure includes 296m³ for trunks and 41m³ for branches. [50] |
| Eucalyptus delegatensis | 286 | 10,100 | Styx Valley | Australia | This tree was destroyed in the 2019 bushfires. [50] | |
The trees with the broadest crowns have the widest spread of limbs from a single trunk.
| Species | Diameter | Tree name | Location | Notes and References | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meters | Feet | ||||
| Banyan (Ficus benghalensis) | 180 | 591 | Thimmamma Marrimanu | Anantapur, Kadiri, Andhra Pradesh, India | [79] [80] [81] This crown is not from a single trunk. It has hundreds of trunks. |
| Coolibah (Eucalyptus microtheca. synonym Eucalyptus coolibah) | 72.8 | 239 | Monkira Monster | Neuragully Waterhole, southwestern Queensland, Australia | [82] [83] Groom's measurement may represent the tree at its prime. It was remeasured in 2008 and found to be "more than 200 meters" (more than 656 feet) in circumference; equivalent to an average limb spread of more than 209 feet (more than 64 meters). The trunk is about ten feet thick (ten meters girth). [84] |
| Oriental plane (Platanus orientalis) | 64.0 | 210 | Oriental Plane Tree at Corsham Court | Wiltshire, England. | [85] |
| Raintree or monkeypod tree (Samanea saman) | 63.1 | 207 | Saman de Guere | San Mateo, Aragua State, Venezuela. Living, but "vetusto" (superannuated, or decrepit). | [86] The widest Monkeypod Tree at present is "Chamchuri" on a military post near Kanchanburi, Thailand, which is 198 ft 1 in (60.38 m) in spread while only 57 ft 8 in (17.58 m) in height. [87] Broadest cantilevered crown (no limbs resting on the ground). |
| Silk-cotton tree (Ceiba pentandra) | 61.3 | 201 | The Big Tree | Barro Colorado Island, Panama | [88] |
| European yew (Taxus baccata) | 55.5 | 182 | Shugborough Yew | Shugborough Hall, Staffordshire, England | [89] [90] Broadest gymnosperm. |
| Sand post oak (Quercus stellata margarettae) | 55.2 | 181 | Gilchrist County, Florida | [91] | |
| Turkey oak (Quercus cerris) | 53.9 | 177 | Devon, England. | [85] | |
| Moreton Bay fig (Ficus macrophylla) | 53.6 | 176 | Moreton Bay Fig Tree | Chapala Street in Santa Barbara, California. | [92] |
| Scarlet Oak (Quercus coccinea) | 53.6 | 176 | Middlesboro, Kentucky | [93] | |
| Coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia) | 53.6 | 176 | The Pechanga Great Oak | Pechanga Native American Reservation east of Temecula, California. | [94] [95] Also 29 m (95 ft) tall. |
| Montezuma cypress (Taxodium mucronatum) | 53.3 | 175 | El Gigante | Santa Maria del Tule, Oaxaca, Mexico | [96] Broadest cantilevered Gymnosperm. |
| Blackbutt (Eucalyptus pilularis) | 51.8 | 170 | Benaroon | John's River in Middle Brother National Park, New South Wales, Australia. | [97] |
| Live oak (Quercus virginiana) | 51.8 | 170 | The E. O. Hunt Oak | Long Beach, Mississippi | [98] |
| American sycamore (Platanus occidentalis) | 51.5 | 169 | The Lansdowne Sycamore | Lansdowne, Pennsylvania | [99] |
| African Baobab ( Adansonia digitata ) | 51.2 | 168 | The Glencoe Tree | Huidespruit, Limpopo Province, South Africa. | Now severely damaged [100] |
| Batai (Albizzia falcata) | 50.9 | 167 | Hawai'i | [101] [102] | |
| Green Fig (Ficus virens) | Over fifty meters | over 165 feet. | (no individual name) | Boar's Pocket, northern Queensland | crown shades "over 2,000 sq. meters" [103] |
The oldest trees are determined by growth rings, which can be seen if the tree is cut down, or in cores taken from the bark to the center of the tree. Accurate determination is only possible for trees that produce growth rings, generally those in seasonal climates. Trees in uniform non-seasonal tropical climates grow continuously and do not have distinct growth rings. It is also only possible for trees that are solid to the center. Many very old trees become hollow as the dead heartwood decays. For some of these species, age estimates have been made on the basis of extrapolating current growth rates, but the results are usually largely speculation. White (1998) [104] proposes a method of estimating the age of large and veteran trees in the United Kingdom through the correlation of a tree's age with its diameter and growth character.
The verified oldest measured ages are:
| Species | Age (years) | Tree name | Location | Notes and References |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great Basin bristlecone pine (Pinus longaeva) | 4,856 | Methuselah | Inyo County, California, United States | [105] |
| Alerce (Fitzroya cupressoides) | 3,653 | Gran Abuelo | Cordillera Pelada, Chile | [106] |
| Giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) | 3,266 | Sierra Nevada, California, USA | Dead [105] | |
| Western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis) | 2,675 | Sierra Nevada, California, USA | Dead [105] | |
| Bald Cypress (Taxodium distichum) | 2,649 | North Carolina, USA | [105] [107] | |
| Rocky Mountain Bristlecone Pine (Pinus aristata) | 2,467 | central Colorado, USA | [105] [108] | |
| African Baobab (Adansonia digitata) | 2,419 | Matabeleland, Zimbabwe | [109] | |
| Sacred fig (Ficus religiosa) | 2,302 | Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka | [105] | |
| Przewalski's juniper (Juniperus przewalskii) | 2,230 | Delingha, Qinghai Province, China | [105] | |
| Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) | 2,200 | northern California, USA | Dead [105] | |
| Saharan Cypress (Cupressus dupreziana) | 2,200 | Wadi Tichouinet, southern Algeria. | [110] | |
| Foxtail pine (Pinus balfouriana) | 2,110 | Sierra Nevada, California, USA | [105] |
Other species suspected of reaching exceptional age include European Yew (Taxus baccata) (probably over 5,000 years [111] [112] ), Sugi (Cryptomeria japonica) (3,000 years or more [113] ), and Western Redcedar (Thuja plicata). The oldest known European Yew may be the Llangernyw Yew in the Churchyard of Llangernyw village in North Wales, or the Fortingall Yew in Perthshire, Scotland. The Llangernyw Yew has been estimated as between 4000 and 5000 years in age by David Bellamy, [114] who also used radiocarbon dating to estimate an age of around 4000 years for the Tisbury Yew in Wiltshire, [115] while the Fortingall Yew with its former 16 to 17-meter girth is estimated at 5,000 years of age. [116] [117] However, ageing yews is very difficult due to the loss of heartwood in very ancient trees, and one or two sources believe the trees to be far younger at around 1500–3000 years.
Lagarostrobos franklinii, known as Huon pine, is native to the wet southwestern corner of Tasmania, Australia. A stand of trees in excess of 10,500 years old was found in 1955 in western Tasmania on Mount Read. [118] Each of the trees in this stand is a genetically identical male that has reproduced vegetatively. Although no single tree in this stand is of that age, the stand itself as a single organism has existed that long. [119] Individual trees in the clonal patch have been listed as having ages of 2000 [120] [121] or even to 3000 years old. [122] [123]
The olive tree also can live for centuries. Previously the oldest age verified by carbon dating was 900 years for a tree in the Gethsemane garden in Jerusalem. [124] In 2024 research was published showing that one of the trees in the Sisters Olive Trees of Noah to be 1,162 years old, plus or minus 131 years, by carbon dating. [125] Previously they had been reputed to be around 6,000 years old. [126]
The pond cypress, Taxodium ascendens , has been known to live more than 1,000 years. One specimen in particular, named "The Senator", was estimated to be more than 3,400 years old at the time of its demise in early 2012.
A wild fig tree growing in Echo Caves near Ohrigstad, South Africa has roots going 120 m (400 ft) deep, giving it the deepest roots known of any tree. [127] El Drago Milenario, a tree of species Dracaena draco on Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, is reported to have 200-meter-long (660 ft) superficial roots. [128]
This list is limited to horizontal or nearly horizontal limbs, in which the governing growth factor is phototropism. Vertical or near vertical limbs, in which the governing growth factor is negative geotropism, are called "reiterations" and are really divisions of the trunk, which by definition must be less than the trunk as a whole and therefore less remarkable. The thickest trunks have already been dealt with under "stoutest".[ clarification needed ]
| Species | Diameter | Tree name | Location | Notes and References | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meters | Feet | ||||
| Giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) | 3.8 | 12.6 | The Big Limb Tree | Atwell Mill Grove, Sequoia National Park, California | [129] |
| Za (Adansonia za) | 2.7 | 9 | The Ampanihy Baobab | north of Morombe, Madagascar | [66] Thickest limb on a dicot |
| African baobab (Adansonia digitata) | 2.4 | 8 | The Big Tree | Messina Nature Reserve, Limpopo Province, South Africa | [130] [131] |
| Coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) | 2.1 | 7 | Kronos | Atlas Grove, Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park | [132] |
| Kauri (Agathis australis) | 2.1 | 7 | Nga Mahangahua | Tutamoe State Forest, North Island, New Zealand | [133] |
| White oak (Quercus alba) | 1.8 | 6 | The Wye Oak | Wye Mills, Maryland | Died June 6, 2002 [134] |
| Kapok or Silk Cotton Tree (Ceiba pentandra) | 1.8 | 6 | General statement; no individual cited | [135] | |
| Canary Island Dragon Tree ( Dracaena draco ) | 1.75 | 5.75 | The Orotava Tree | Orotava, Tenerife, Canary Islands | Died October 1869; [136] thickest limb on a monocot |
| Moreton Bay Fig (Ficus macrophylla) | 1.7 | 5.5 or more | The Children's Fig | Sydney Royal Botanical Gardens, Sydney, Australia | [137] [138] |
| Silver Fir ( Abies alba ) | 1.7 | 5.5 | Sabin Candelabre | Jura Alps of France, near the Swiss border | [139] [140] |
| Rain Tree ( Samanea saman ) | 1.5 | 4.9 | Caribbean region – this one near Nagarote, Nicaragua | [141] Measured by Dr. Berthold Seemann. | |
| California Live Oak ( Quercus agrifolia ) | 1.5 | 4.9 | Six kilometers (four miles) west of Gilroy, California | [142] | |
 | This section possibly contains original research .(January 2025) |
| Species | Native range | Greatest thickness or depth | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Giant Sequoia ( Sequoiadendron giganteum ) | Sierra Nevada Mountains of California. | The greatest thickness which has been reliably measured is 75 cm (2+1⁄2 ft) for one in Redwood Canyon, Kings Canyon National Park. [143] | However it is asserted that the basal bark of the "General Sherman" Big Tree is in places up to 1.2 m (4 ft) in thickness. [144] This could be determined non-invasively with sonograph equipment. |
| Coast Redwood ( Sequoia sempervirens ) | Coastal Northern and Central California and extreme southern Oregon. | The "Mill Creek Giant" near the Mill Creek bridge in Redwood National Park, Crescent City, California has bark 46 cm (18 in) thick. [145] | Coast Redwood bark is often deeply fissured, making it easy to measure most of the depth of the bark even on live trees. |
| Douglas Fir ( Pseudotsuga menziesii ) | Northwestern North America. | A tree felled in North Vancouver, British Columbia in 1902 had bark 34 cm (13+1⁄2 in) in thickness. [146] | |
| Cork Oak ( Quercus suber ) | circum-Mediterranean distribution. | One Cork Oak at the chapel of São Gonçalo 16 km (10 mi) south of Lisbon, Portugal had cork measuring 20 cm (8 in) deep. [147] | This is the thickest bark among Dicots. |
| Monkey Puzzle Tree ( Araucaria araucana ) | The Patagonian Andes of Chile and Argentina. | Bark up to seven inches (18 centimeters) in thickness. [148] [149] | |
| Parana Pine ( Araucaria angustifolia ) | Mostly in southernmost Brazil. | Bark can be over 15 cm (6 in) thick. [150] | |
| Renala ( Adansonia grandidieri ) | Madagascar. | Bark is up to 15 cm (6 in) thick. [151] | This is the species with the colossal columnar trunks. |
| Valley Oak ( Quercus lobata ) | Central Valley of California southward to the San Gabriel Valley. | This bark also up to 15 cm (6 in) in thickness. [152] | |
| Plains Cottonwood (Populus deltoides ssp. monilifera) | North American Plains. | "Almost six inches (15 centimeters) thick" [153] |
This tree also has a sign nearby proclaiming it to be 'the world's largest spruce'. The two tallest on record, 96.7 m and 96.4 m, are in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, California
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)the General Grant tree in Kings Canyon National Park, CA, which is 885 cm dbh and 81.1 m tall
the oldest in Australia could be a Huon pine (Lagarostrobos franklinii) in Tasmania, the oldest stem of which is up to 2,000 years old
Individuals have been known to reach an age of 3,000 years
Living trees sampled by increment borer have yielded ring counted ages of up to 2500 years, and since these were not pith dates, it seems likely that there are living trees with ages in excess of 3000 years (Balmer 1999).
