The flora of the Earth is very diverse. Among the trees of the planet, there are real champions, striking in their size. Scientists have determined which of the trees is the tallest. The sequoia is recognized as a true giant. The tallest specimen of this tree is found in North America.
Tallest tree on the planet
Sequoia is a woody plant belonging to the cypress family and the class of conifers. Experts consider this tree to be the tallest and oldest on Earth. Unique plants are often about seventy meters in height or even more, which corresponds to the size of a building of twenty-five floors.
Individual trees reach a height of 110 m, and their age is presumably equal to two to three thousand years.
Sequoias are often called "mammoth trees". They grow in not too large groves on one of the slopes of the Californian Sierra Nevada Upland. Plants are accustomed to a height of more than one and a half kilometers, where they feel very comfortable.
Researchers agree that giant trees may have existed a couple of hundred million years ago. In those distant times, dating back to the Jurassic period, the ancestors of the modern sequoia occupied vast areas of land in the northern regions of the planet. Today, the area of the territory where these trees grow has greatly decreased. This is not least due to the active economic activity of man.
Record holders among plants
The Sequoia National Park in California has a convenient observation deck from which to admire the majestic trees. The platform is located on a rock, to the top of which there are steps.
The fascinating views of the park do not leave indifferent many tourists.
The true giant and record holder among the trees of the park bears its own name - "General Sherman". So the Americans decided to glorify the name of the general of the civil war between North and South. This specimen is considered the largest tree on the planet, considering its volume and size across. The height of the sequoia is 83 m, the trunk circumference is 22 m.
In the summer of 2006, in the Redwood National Park, located north of San Francisco, researchers came across an even more impressive in height specimen. It turned out that this sequoia, named "Hyperion", is inferior to "General Sherman" in diameter, but has a height of more than 115 m. Having examined the trunk, scientists found that the further growth of the giant was prevented by damage caused to the tree by a woodpecker.
Now it is known that about fifty trees of this species have a height of more than one hundred and five meters. Dendrologists believe that theoretically the height of the sequoia depends on gravity and can hardly be more than one hundred and thirty meters. The growth of powerful trees is also influenced by the forces of friction between the pores of the wood structure and the particles of moisture.
