Some seaweeds are the tallest plants to be found anywhere in the world. Seaweeds more than 180 meters tall have been found in the ocean at the southern tip of South America. This height is greater than that of the tallest trees in the world – the giant sequoia trees of California (see, the photo below) and the eucalyptus trees of Australia.
Measuring about 115.7m (379.7 feet), the redwood trees in California hold the place for being the tallest trees in the world. Their average height is about 300 feet. However, Hyperion, the tallest of them all measures about 379.7 feet. These trees are so tall that their top cannot be seen from the ground.
Other trees that fall just a little short in height than the great Hyperion include Helios, which is about 274.3 feet, Laurus, which reaches up to 371.2 feet and Daedalus that measures about 363.4 feet. Typically, a redwood tree has a life of about 500 to 700 years. However, some of the trees date back to a whopping 2,000 years.
Such is the rarity of the Hyperion that its actual place in the Redwood National Park, California, is kept a close secret. It was discovered in 2006 by two naturalists, Chris Atkins and Michael Taylor. Stephen Sillett attempted to measure its true height by climbing to the top and dropping a measuring tape below.
Another species of trees that are documented as one of the tallest trees in the world are found in Tasmania, Australia. In the Arve Valley, the Eucalyptus regnans is known as the world’s second tallest tree after the ones in Redwood National Park, California. This tree is known as Centurion and is about 327.5 feet tall.
Centurion holds the crown for being the tallest hardwood tree outside of America. It has survived numerous wildfires and endured several seasons. Its blackened base and some broken branches indicate the amount of pain and hardships this tree has survived while being the only one standing and others burned away or chopped off.
Doerner Fir, a non-redwood tree found on the east of the Coos County, Oregon, measures about 327 feet. It gives a close competition to the Eucalyptus regnans in Australia. Another giant sequoia tree in the Sequoia National Park is named after a civil war commander, General Sherman. It is notable with its gigantic trunk of about 7.7m in diameter. Though there is no comparison between General Sherman and the Centurion or Hyperion, if we add up all the measurements of this tree, then it does dwarf them.
The volume of the trunk of this tree is about 1,487-meter cube, while its weight estimates to about 2,000 tons. In January 2006, this tree had lost one of its largest branches, which further shortened its height. The fallen branch was about 30m long and 2m in width.