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.
See main article: List of tallest trees.
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 130m (430feet), and even 150m (490feet), 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:
| Species | Height | Country | Location | References and notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meters | Feet | |||||
| Hyperion | Coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) | 116.07m (380.81feet) | United States | Redwood National Park, California | [2] [3] It reached 116.07m (380.81feet) in 2019;[4] second and third tallest when Hyperion was found, were Helios 114.7m (376.3feet) and Icarus 113.1m (371.1feet) tall (in 2006). | |
| Himalayan cypress (Cupressus torulosa) | 102.3m (335.6feet) | China | Yarlung Zangbo National Nature Reserve, Tibet | [5] [6] [7] | ||
| Centurion | Mountain ash (Eucalyptus regnans) | 100.5m (329.7feet) | Australia | Arve Valley, Tasmania | [8] [9] | |
| Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) | 100.2m (328.7feet) | United States | Redwood National Park, California | [10] [11] [12] | ||
| Doerner Fir | Coast Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii) | 327feet | United States | Brummit Creek, Oregon | [13] [14] | |
| Menara | Yellow meranti (Shorea faguetiana) | 97.58m (320.14feet) | 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[15] [16] | |
| Giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) | 314feet | United States | Sequoia National Forest, California | [17] [18] | ||
| Bhutan Cypress (Cupressus cashmeriana) | 94.6m (310.4feet) | Bhutan | Kazhi Gewog, Wangdue Phodrang District | This entry needs clarification: The photo provided of the tree in the reference shows a tree that is perhaps 50m tall – definitely not 94m[19] [20] | ||
| Neeminah Loggerale Meena, or Mother and Daughter | Southern blue gum (Eucalyptus globulus) | 90.7m (297.6feet) | Australia | Evercreech Forest Reserve, Tasmania | The crown of this tree is dying back.[21] [22] | |
| Dinizia excelsa | 88.5m (290.4feet) | Brazil | Near the boundary of Amapá and Pará | [23] [24] | ||
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 when cut down and on the ground. Some of the heights recorded in this way exceed the maximum possible height of a tree as calculated by theorists,[25] 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.
| Species | Height | Country | Location | References and notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meters | Feet | |||||
| Nooksack Giant | Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) | 142m (466feet) | United States | Alpenglow Farm, Washington | Note: Cut down in 1897. Measured using a tape[26] | |
| Ferguson tree | Mountain ash (Eucalyptus regnans) | 132m (433feet) | Australia | Near the Watts River, Victoria | Note: Fallen in 1872, and measured on the ground. Reportedly missing part of the top[27] [28] | |
| Eel River Giant | Coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) | 129.99m (426.48feet) | United States | Englewood, Redcrest California | Note: Cut down on Feb 14, 1893, and measured on the ground[29] [30] [31] | |
| Lynn Valley Tree | Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) | 126.5m (415feet) | Canada | Lynn Valley, British Columbia | Note: Cut down in 1902 and measured on the ground[32] | |
| Mineral Tree | Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) | 118.873m (390.003feet) | United States | Mineral, Washington | Note: Progressively lost height until falling in a storm. Oldest Douglas fir on record[33] [34] | |
| Klinki (Araucaria hunsteinii) | 89m (292feet) | Papua New Guinea | Note: all the references to this species are historical accounts – there is no currently known living klinki of this height.[35] [36] [37] | |||
| White Knight | Manna gum (Eucalyptus viminalis) | 88.9m (291.7feet) | Australia | Fingal, Tasmania | This tree has died, the likely cause being more frequent heatwaves and reduced rainfall.[38] [39] [40] | |
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:
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. Breast height is defined differently in different situations, with most forestry measurements taking girth at 1.3 m above ground,[41] while those who measure ornamental trees usually measure at 1.5 m above ground; 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,[42] [41] 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.[43] 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.[44] 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%[45]), reaching maximum at the end of the rainy season, and minimum at the end of the dry season.
| Diameter | Tree name | Location | Notes and References | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meters | Feet | ||||
| Montezuma cypress (Taxodium mucronatum) | 11.62m (38.12feet) | Árbol del Tule | Santa Maria del Tule, Oaxaca, Mexico | This diameter includes buttressing. A more accurate mean diameter for this tree is 9.38m (30.77feet).[46] | |
| Baobab (Adansonia digitata): | 10.64m (34.91feet) | Sunland Baobab | Sunland Farm, Limpopo, South Africa | Renowned because a bar and wine cellar operated inside its hollow trunk,[47] until it split in 2017. | |
| White or Strangler Fig (Ficus virens): | 9.77m (32.05feet) | The Temple Fig | Murwillimbah, NSW, Australia | [48] [49] | |
| Moreton Bay Fig (Ficus macrophylla): | 9.23m (30.28feet) | The Bellingen Fig | Bellingen, NSW, Australia | [50] | |
| Coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) | 8.9m (29.2feet) | Jupiter | Redwood National Park, California, United States | [51] [52] | |
| Giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) | 8.85m (29.04feet) | General Grant | General Grant Grove, California, United States | [53] 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).[54] | |
| Za (Adansonia za) | 8.85m (29.04feet) | The Ampanihy Baobab | North of Morombe, southwest Madagascar | ||
| Chinese camphor tree (Cinnamomum camphora) | 8.23m (27feet) | Kamō no Ōkusu | Kamō, Kagoshima, Japan | [55] [56] | |
| Eucalyptus jacksonii | 7.96m (26.12feet) | Hollow trunk | Walpole, West Australia, Australia | [57] [58] |
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.[59] The multi-stemmed Hundred Horse Chestnut was known to have a circumference of 57.9m (190feet) 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.
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.
| Trunk volume | Tree name | Location | Country | References and notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cubic Meters | Cubic Feet | |||||
| Giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) | 1487m2 | General Sherman | Sequoia National Park | United States | [60] | |
| Coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) | 1084.5m2 | Grogan's Fault | Redwood National Park | United States | [61] | |
| Kauri (Agathis australis) | 516m2 | Tāne Mahuta | Waipoua Forest | New Zealand | The 516 cubic meter figure includes 255m³ for the main trunk and 261m³ for branches[62] | |
| Western red cedar (Thuja plicata) | 449m2 | Cheewhat Giant | Pacific Rim National Park Reserve | Canada | [63] | |
| Eucalyptus regnans | 390m2 | Two Towers | Tasmania | Australia | The 390m³ figure includes 358m³ for trunks and 32m³ for branches. | |
| Tasmanian blue gum (Eucalyptus globulus) | 368m2 | Rullah Longatyle | Tasmania | Australia | Rullah Longatyle was killed during Tasmanian bushfires in February 2019.[64] | |
| Coast Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) | 349m2 | Red Creek Fir | San Juan Valley | Canada | [65] | |
| Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) | 337m2 | Queets Spruce | Olympic National Park | United States | ||
| Eucalyptus obliqua | 337m2 | Gothmog | Styx Valley | Australia | The 337m³ figure includes 296m³ for trunks and 41m³ for branches. | |
| Eucalyptus delegatensis | 286m2 | Styx Valley | Australia | This tree was destroyed in the 2019 bushfires. |
The trees with the broadest crowns have the widest spread of limbs from a single trunk.
| Diameter | Tree name | Location | Notes and References | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meters | Feet | |||||
| Banyan (Ficus benghalensis) | 1800NaN0 | Thimmamma Marrimanu | Anantapur, Kadiri, Andhra Pradesh, India | [66] [67] [68] This crown is not from a single trunk. It has hundreds of trunks. | ||
| Coolibah (Eucalyptus microtheca. synonym Eucalyptus coolibah) | 239feet | Monkira Monster | Neuragully Waterhole, southwestern Queensland, Australia | [69] [70] 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).[71] | ||
| Oriental plane (Platanus orientalis) | 210feet | Oriental Plane Tree at Corsham Court | Wiltshire, England. | [72] | ||
| Raintree or monkeypod tree (Samanea saman) | 207feet | Saman de Guere | San Mateo, Aragua State, Venezuela. Living, but "vetusto" (superannuated, or decrepit). | [73] The widest Monkeypod Tree at present is "Chamchuri" on a military post near Kanchanburi, Thailand, which is 198' 1" (60.4 meters) in spread while only 57' 8" (17.6 meters) in height.[74] Broadest cantilevered crown (no limbs resting on the ground). | ||
| Silk-cotton tree (Ceiba pentandra) | 201feet | The Big Tree | Barro Colorado Island, Panama | |||
| European yew (Taxus baccata) | 182feet | Shugborough Yew | Shugborough Hall, Staffordshire, England | [75] [76] Broadest gymnosperm. | ||
| Sand post oak (Quercus stellata margarettae) | 181feet | Gilchrist County, Florida | [77] | |||
| Turkey oak (Quercus cerris): | 177feet | Devon, England. | ||||
| Moreton Bay fig (Ficus macrophylla) | 176feet | Moreton Bay Fig Tree | Chapala Street in Santa Barbara, California. | [78] | ||
| Scarlet Oak (Quercus coccinea) | 176feet | Middlesboro, Kentucky | [79] | |||
| Coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia) | 176feet | The Pechanga Great Oak | Pechanga Native American Reservation east of Temecula, California. | [80] [81] Also tall. | ||
| Montezuma cypress (Taxodium mucronatum) | 175feet | El Gigante | Santa Maria del Tule, Oaxaca, Mexico | [82] Broadest cantilevered Gymnosperm. | ||
| Blackbutt (Eucalyptus pilularis) | 170feet | Benaroon | John's River in Middle Brother National Park, New South Wales, Australia. | [83] | ||
| Live oak (Quercus virginiana) | 170feet | The E. O. Hunt Oak | Long Beach, Mississippi | [84] | ||
| American sycamore (Platanus occidentalis) | 169feet | The Lansdowne Sycamore | Lansdowne, Pennsylvania | [85] | ||
| African Baobab (Adansonia digitata) | 168feet | The Glencoe Tree | Huidespruit, Limpopo Province, South Africa. | Now severely damaged[86] | ||
| Batai (Albizzia falcata) | 167feet | Hawai'i | [87] [88] | |||
| 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"[89] |
See main article: List of oldest trees. 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)[90] 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:
| Great Basin bristlecone pine (Pinus longaeva) | Methuselah | Inyo County, California, United States | [91] | ||
| Alerce (Fitzroya cupressoides) | Gran Abuelo | Cordillera Pelada, Chile | [92] | ||
| Giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) | 3,266 | Sierra Nevada, California, USA | Dead | ||
| Western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis) | 2,675 | Sierra Nevada, California, USA | Dead | ||
| Bald Cypress (Taxodium distichum) | North Carolina, USA | [93] | |||
| Rocky Mountain Bristlecone Pine (Pinus aristata) | central Colorado, USA | [94] | |||
| African Baobab (Adansonia digitata) | 2,419 | Matabeleland, Zimbabwe | [95] | ||
| Sacred fig (Ficus religiosa) | 2,302 | Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka | |||
| Przewalski's juniper (Juniperus przewalskii) | 2,230 | Delingha, Qinghai Province, China | |||
| Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) | 2,200 | northern California, USA | Dead | ||
| Saharan Cypress (Cupressus dupreziana) | 2,200 | Wadi Tichouinet, southern Algeria. | [96] | ||
| Foxtail pine (Pinus balfouriana) | 2,110 | Sierra Nevada, California, USA |
Other species suspected of reaching exceptional age include European Yew (Taxus baccata) (probably over 5,000 years[97] [98]), Sugi (Cryptomeria japonica) (3,000 years or more[99]), 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,[100] who also used radiocarbon dating to estimate an age of around 4000 years for the Tisbury Yew in Wiltshire,[101] while the Fortingall Yew with its former 16 to 17-meter girth is estimated at 5,000 years of age.[102] [103] 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.[104] 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.[105] Individual trees in the clonal patch have been listed as having ages of 2000[106] [107] or even to 3000 years old.[108] [109]
The olive tree also can live for centuries. The oldest verified age is 900 years[110] at Gethsemane (Mount of Olives, as mentioned in the Bible), while several other olive trees are suspected of being 2,000 to 3,000 years old.[111] It is also believed that a group of sixteen olive trees in Lebanon, the Sisters Olive Trees of Noah, are around 6,000 years old.[112] If true, it would make these trees far older than Methuselah.
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 400abbr=onNaNabbr=on deep, giving it the deepest roots known of any tree.[113] El Drago Milenario, a tree of species Dracaena draco on Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, is reported to have 200m (700feet) aerial roots.[114]
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".
| Diameter | Tree name | Location | Notes and References | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meters | Feet | ||||
| Giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) | 12.6disp=tableNaNdisp=table | The Big Limb Tree | Atwell Mill Grove, Sequoia National Park, California. | [115] | |
| Za (Adansonia za) | 9disp=tableNaNdisp=table | The Ampanihy Baobab | north of Morombe, Madagascar. | Thickest Dicot limb. | |
| African baobab (Adansonia digitata) | 8disp=tableNaNdisp=table | The Big Tree | Messina Nature Reserve, Limpopo Province, South Africa. | [116] [117] | |
| Coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) | 7disp=tableNaNdisp=table | Kronos | Atlas Grove, Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. | [118] | |
| Kauri (Agathis australis) | 7disp=tableNaNdisp=table | Nga Mahangahua | Tutamoe State Forest, North Island, New Zealand | [119] | |
| White oak (Quercus alba) | 6disp=tableNaNdisp=table | The Wye Oak | Wye Mills, Maryland | Died June 6, 2002[120] | |
| Kapok or Silk Cotton Tree (Ceiba pentandra) | 6disp=tableNaNdisp=table | General statement. No individual cited. | [121] | ||
| Canary Island Dragon Tree (Dracaena draco) | 5.75disp=tableNaNdisp=table | The Orotava Tree | Orotava, Tenerife, Canary Islands | Died October 1869[122] Thickest Monocot limb. | |
| Moreton Bay Fig (Ficus macrophylla) | 5.5disp=tableNaNdisp=table or more. | The Children's Fig | Sydney Royal Botanical Gardens, Sydney, Australia | [123] [124] | |
| Silver Fir (Abies alba) | 5.5disp=tableNaNdisp=table | Sabin Candelabre | Jura Alps of France, near the Swiss border. | [125] [126] | |
| Rain Tree (Samanea saman) | 1.5m (04.9feet) | The Caribbean region. This one near Nagarote, Nicaragua. | [127] Measured by Dr. Berthold Seemann. | ||
| California Live Oak (Quercus agrifolia) | 1.5m (04.9feet) | 4miles west of Gilroy, California. | [128] |
| Giant Sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) | Sierra Nevada Mountains of California. | The greatest thickness which has been reliably measured is for one in Redwood Canyon, Kings Canyon National Park.[129] | However it is asserted that the basal bark of the "General Sherman" Big Tree is in places up to in thickness.[130] 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 18order=flipNaNorder=flip thick.[131] | 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 NaNinches in thickness. | ||
| Cork Oak (Quercus suber) | circum-Mediterranean distribution. | One Cork Oak at the chapel of São Gonçalo 160NaN0 south of Lisbon, Portugal had cork measuring 200NaN0 deep.[132] | This is the thickest bark among Dicots. One Cork Oak at the Mission-Basilica San Carlos de Borromeo del Rio Carmelo, Carmel-by-the-Sea, California had bark in 1971 with fissures 7order=flipNaNorder=flip in depth plus an unknown depth of unfissured bark beneath. In 1996 the bark had grown about an additional 1inches. | |
| Monkey Puzzle Tree (Araucaria araucana) | The Patagonian Andes of Chile and Argentina. | Bark up to seven inches (18 centimeters) in thickness.[133] [134] | ||
| Bangalay (Eucalyptus botryoides) | Victoria and New South Wales, Australia. | In 1973, one Bangalay in Alameda Park, Santa Barbara, California had bark fissured to a depth of 7inches with again an unknown depth of unfissured bark below that. | ||
| Parana Pine (Araucaria angustifolia) | Mostly in southernmost Brazil. | Bark can be over 6inches thick.[135] | ||
| Renala (Adansonia grandidieri) | Madagascar. | Bark is up to 150NaN0 thick.[136] | 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 150NaN0 in thickness. | ||
| Plains Cottonwood (Populus deltoides monilifera) | North American Plains. | "Almost six inches (15 centimeters) thick"[137] | ||
| Nolina longifolia | Mexico | One plant at the Huntington Library, Galleries and Botanical Gardens, San Marino, California in 1996 had bark with fissures up to NaN-1NaN-1 deep. | This is the thickest bark among Monocots. |
| Guyana Chestnut, or Provision Tree (Pachira aquatica) | Central America, northern South America and the West Indies. | Up to 26order=flipNaNorder=flip if the 13order=flipNaNorder=flip pale yellow petals are held outright.[138] The petals can be up to two inches (five centimeters) wide.[139] | The stamens are united into a column in the lower third, divided into five sub-groups in the middle third, and into as many as 250 individual stamens in the upper third. According to Perry and Greenwood, P. aquatica petals can reach 14 inches (35 centimeters) in length.[140] [141] | |
| Cacao Sauvage (Pachira insigna) | Along brackish estuaries of South America and the Lesser Antilles. | Its NaNabbr=onNaNabbr=on pink petals are NaNinches wide if held horizontally.[142] [143] | The stamens of P. insigna, arranged in the same manner as P. aquatica, can number as many as one thousand.[144] This is a much taller tree than P. aquatica, up to 30-1NaN-1 in height. | |
| Big Leaf Magnolia, or Big Bloom (Magnolia macrophylla) | The deep southern United States, especially Alabama and Mississippi, but excluding Florida. | The largest on record was NaNinches in width,[145] while another found and photographed by Adele Sayle was 20inches wide.[146] | Magnolia macrophylla has the largest flowers of any temperate (non-tropical) plant. This, like all Magnolias, is pollinated by flower beetles. | |
| Giant White Angel's Trumpet (Brugmansia versicolor) | Northern Guayaquil River Basin of Ecuador. | Pendant white or cream trumpet-like flowers up to 20inches long and up to 8inches wide at the mouth.[147] | At 50NaN0 height, this is the smallest tree in this table. The pollinator is unknown, but would seem to require a very long tongue or beak. The horticultural variety "Supernova" can be up to 24 in (61 cm) in length. B. versicolor is now believed to be extinct in the wild, but fortunately is widely cultivated. | |
| Magnolia dealbata | The humid regions of Mexico. | Up to 16inches in diameter.[148] | Considered by some taxonomists to be a subspecies of M. macrophylla. One credible source states that M. dealbata can have flowers up to NaNinches in width.[149] | |
| (Goniothalamus grandiflorus) [Anonaceae] | Solomon Islands | Each of the three red petals up to seven inches (17 centimeters) in length,[150] for a potential width of fourteen inches (34 cm) | Tree is cauliflorous (flowers borne directly on trunk, or major limbs). Each flower produces a multiple fruit, where each carpel developes as a separate berry and together forming a cluster resembling a cluster of large grapes. | |
| Mandacaru (Cereus jamacaru) | The Caatinga region of N.E.ern Brazil. Also naturalized to South Africa. | Up to 12inches long by up to 8inches wide.[151] [152] | One of the largest tree-cacti at up to 59order=flipNaNorder=flip in height, 33feet crown spread and up to 40inches trunk thickness. It can bear spines up to NaNinches long. By reason of its succulence, these may be the most massive (heaviest) of all tree flowers. | |
| The Paloeloe (Phenakospermum guianense) [Strelitziaceae] | Amazon Rainforest. | Each cicinnus contains up to 25 individual flowers, each up to eleven inches (28 centimeters) in length.[153] | ||
| Calabash Nutmeg (Monodora myristica) [Anonaceae] | Native to tropical Africa. | Ornate, pendant, multicolor flower up to 10inches in width.[154] | The name comes from the 6inches calabash-like fruit filled with fragrant seeds. | |
| Ceiba schottii (Bombacaceae) | Southern Mexico and Guatemala | Up to 10.5 in (26 cm) wide by 7.5 in (19 cm) long. | ||
| Gigasiphon humboldtianum (Caesalpinaceae) | Madagascar, with very similar G. macrosiphon in coastal Kenya and Tanzania. | Up to ten inches (25 centimeters) in length the hypantheum or floral tube surrounding the pistel-stipe or gynophore; both being the longest known for any plant.[155] The five petals(upper, central one yellow, the side ones white) are each five inches (13 centimeters) long and 2.5 inches (6.5 centimeters) wide.[156] for a total width of ten inches (25 centimeters | Many botanists consider G. humboldtianum and G. macrosiphon to be conspecific. | |
| The Za or Boji (Adansonia za) [Bombacaceae] | Widespread in Madagascar. | Five mostly yellow petals, each up to 9.5 inches (24 centimeters) long by 0.6-inch (1.5 cm) wide, and reflexed.[157] Flower 9 to 10 inches (23 to 25 cm) wide with long stamens bringing the length to nine inches (23 centimeters). | Largest of the Baobab flowers. | |
| Hibiscus waimeae [Malvaceae] | Endemic to the island of Kawai, in Hawai'i. | Each of the five white petals is up to 5.5 inches (thirteen cm) in length for a potential diameter of eleven inches (26 centimeters) The central staminal column is up to six inches (fifteen cm) in length. | ||
| Spotted Randia (Rothmannia longiflora) (Rubiaceae). | Native to tropical Africa. | Has trumpet-shaped Purple and white flowers up to ten inches (25 cm) long[158] by about five inches (12 cm) across the mouth. | ||
| The Elephant Apple (Dillenia indica) [Dilleniaceae] | Native to India, Burma, Southeast Asia and the East Indies. | The 8inches wide flower consists of five large 2- roundish, fleshy white petals, two concentric circles of several hundred stamens surrounding a circle of up to twenty stigmas. | Forms a fruit up to 7inches in diameter. A second species, D. megalantha of the Philippines, also produces 8-inch (20 centimeter) wide flowers.[159] |
| Type | Species | Native range | Length | Width | Comments | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Largest overall leaf; Largest Monocot leaf; Largest pinnate leaf. | Raphia regalis | West Africa from Nigeria to Angola. This individual in Congo (Brazzaville). | 85abbr=onNaNabbr=on overall. The lamina, or blade, is 54abbr=onNaNabbr=on and the petiole, or stalk is 31abbr=onNaNabbr=on[160] | About wide. | Trunk often very short, even subterranean. | |||||||
| Largest bipinnate leaf. | Caryota kiriwongensis | Peninsular Thailand. | 36feet overall. Lamina length 26feet. Petiole is only 20inches joined to crownshaft sheath 8feet long.[161] | 23feet in width. | This species was unknown to science prior to 1980. Has up to 2,500 fan-shaped leaflets. Up to 120feet in height. | |||||||
| Largest costapalmate leaf. (Petiole extends into the palmately veined lamina as a rachis). | "Coco-de-Mer", or "Double Coconut". Lodoicea maldivica. | Seychelles Islands, about 800order=flipNaNorder=flip northeast of Madagascar. | Up to 15round=5NaNround=5 overall. Acaulescent juveniles have the longest leaves, with a lamina up to 60NaN0 joined to a petiole 9abbr=onNaNabbr=on with no overlap.[162] [163] | Lamina up to 15abbr=onNaNabbr=on wide. | One reliable source says the petiole can be 10m (30feet) long for a total length of 160NaN0.[164] | |||||||
| Largest true palmate leaf (rachis very small, or nonexistent, and all the veins radiate from a single point). | "Dondah" Corypha macropoda | Endemic to Termoklee Island near South Andaman in the Andaman Islands south of Burma. | Approximately 35abbr=onNaNabbr=on. Lamina 20feet long partly overlaps the 25feet petiole.[165] | Lamina up to 20feet wide. | Usually considered to be a subspecies of C. elata. Termoklee does not seem to have been revisited by naturalists any time recently. | |||||||
| Largest simple (undivided) tree leaf. | "Monkey-Cap Palm" Manicaria saccifera | Neotropical flood forests. | Up to 34feet all told. Lamina is 30abbr=onNaNabbr=on plus a 4feet petiole.[166] | Maximum width 7feet.[167] | Obovate with pinnate veination. Toothed margin 6inches deep. | |||||||
| Largest treefern leaf; Largest non-palm. | "Mule's Foot Fern", or "Paku Gajah". Angiopteris evecta | Southern Asia, East Indies, Melanesia, Polynesia, Queensland and Madagascar. | 90NaN0 overall. 7abbr=onNaNabbr=on lamina plus 2frac=2NaNfrac=2 petiole which can be up to 4inches thick.[168] [169] | 2frac=2NaNfrac=2 width. Bipinnate, | Trunk can be up to 3abbr=onNaNabbr=on in height. | |||||||
| Largest quadripinnate leaf. (Leaflets are the fourth order of branching). | "Black Treefern", or "Mamaku". Cyathea medullaris | New Zealand, Fiji and Polynesia. | 70NaN0 overall. 60NaN0 lamina with a 1-1NaN-1 petiole.[170] | 2frac=2NaNfrac=2 width. | ||||||||
| Largest Gymnosperm leaf. | "Kwango Giant Cycad", or "Malele" (Encephalartos laurentianus) | Endemic to the Kwango River Basin, Bandundu Province, Congo (Kinshasa) and edging into adjacent Angola. | Overall length 70NaN0 and massively constructed. Lamina 22feet plus a 300NaN0 petiole which is up to 3inches thick.[171] [172] [173] | 35inches. | This is the largest of all known cycads, multistemmed specimens sometimes exceeding 50ST in total weight. | |||||||
| Largest indeterminate leaf (never stops growing). | "Tumbo". Welwitschia mirabilis | Coastal Namibia and southwestern Angola. | Living portion up to long, usually with up to around one meter of dead leaf still attached. No petiole. New leaf tissue emerges from a lip-like groove around the top of the trunk.[174] [175] Other, much narrower green segments have been up to in length.[176] | Segments have been measured up to in width. | In the course of a 2000+ year life, its cumulative growth can be over 600abbr=onNaNabbr=on. It is considered a tree because the trunk, although always under 10feet in height, is very thick and woody. | |||||||
| Largest Dicot tree leaf. | "Midnight Horror" Oroxylum indicum | India and Sri Lanka. | Up to 4.4m (14.4feet) total length. Lamina up to [177] plus a petiole up to in length. | Lamina up to in width.[178] | Quadripinnate. Makes huge sword-like seed pods up to long by 4inches wide. | |||||||
| Largest linear leaf. (Ribbon-like leaves with parallel veins running lengthwise. No petiole). | Pandanus laxespicatus | Endemic to swamps near Perinet (Analamazaotra), Madagascar. | Up to on juvenile plants.[179] | Up to 14inches in width. | This species was unknown to science prior to 1951.[180] Adult plants have smaller leaves, and the side branches have very much smaller leaves.[181] | |||||||
| Largest entire (undivided, unlobed, untoothed) tree leaf. | Traveler's Tree Ravenala madagascarensis subspecies bemavo | Hills of eastern Madagascar. | Total length up to . Petiole up to bearing a lamina up to long.[182] | Up to in width. | This is the tallest (up to 100 feet (30 meters)) of the five subspecies and the only single-trunked (up to two feet (61 centimeters) in diameter) form. | |||||||
| Greatest surface area of any dicot leaf. Largest entire dicot leaf. | "Maior Folha" Coccoloba gigantifolia | Amazon rainforest. Thus far only in Brazil and mostly in Rondonia. | Up to 2.5m (08.2feet) plus a petiole of about 4inches.[183] [184] The tree is a single rosette of leaves atop a 13m (43feet) rarely branching trunk.[185] | Up to 1.44abbr=onNaNabbr=on in width. | First observed by botanists in 1982.[186] The name "Coccoloba inpae" was proposed at first, but that is now a junior synonym. | |||||||
| Largest palmately divided leaf (all leaflets attached at one point to the petiole tip). | Longispadix sp. nov. | Endemic to Sandaun Province, Papua New Guinea. | 24 or more wedge-shaped leaflets forming a circle about in diameter, on a petiole of comparable length.[187] | This Longispadix species discovered in 2009. Cola megalophylla (Sterculiaceae) of the West African rainforest has seven palmate leaflets which form a circle about in diameter, with its largest (central) leaflet measuring up to 34inches in length and 20inches in width,[188] making it the largest of all Dicot leaflets, and exceeded only by the leaflets of two palm species (Sabinaria magnifica and Masoala kona). | ||||||||
| Largest peltate leaf. (Petiole is attached at or near the center of the lamina, as in the Nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus) and the Sacred Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera)). | "Chia Kubit" Macaranga gigantea | Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Borneo, Java and Celebes. | Lamina up to long with a petiole of similar length attached to the upper central region.[189] | Also up to in width. | Also largest tricuspidate leaf (like the undivided leaves of Boston Ivy). | - | Largest naturally inverse leaf. | Chisocheton lasiocarpus (Meliaceae) | Rainforests of western New Guinea. | Each of the few mesocaul branches is topped by a terminal rosette of leaves up to five feet (1.5 meters) in length with up to eleven pairs leaflets, each up to 18 inches (45 centimeters) long by nine inches (23 centimeters) in width.[190] The lower limbs are of a weeping habit, so that the rosettes face towards the earth.[191] | Up to 36 inches (91 centimeters) in width. | . |
| Largest succulent tree leaf. | "Berg-Aalwyn" Aloe marlothii | South Africa. | long.[192] | 12inches wide. | About NaNinches thick. The tree can be up to in height.[193] | |||||||
