Tree

==Superlative trees==
[[File:General Sherman tree looking up.jpg|thumb|upright|The [[General Sherman Tree]], thought to be the world's largest by volume]]
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{{main | List of superlative trees}}

Trees have a theoretical maximum height of {{convert|130|m|ft|abbr=on}},<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Koch |first1=George W. |last2=Sillett |first2=Stephen C. |last3=Jennings |first3=Gregory M. |last4=Davis |first4=Stephen D. |date=22 April 2004 |title=The limits to tree height |journal=Nature |language=en |volume=428 |issue=6985 |pages=851–854 |doi=10.1038/nature02417 |pmid=15103376 |bibcode=2004Natur.428..851K |s2cid=11846291 }}</ref> but the tallest known specimen on earth is believed to be a coast redwood (''[[Sequoia sempervirens]]'') at [[Redwood National Park]], California. It has been named [[Hyperion (tree)|Hyperion]] and is {{convert|115.85|m|ft|abbr=on}} tall.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.conifers.org/cu/Sequoia.php |title=Sequoia sempervirens |work=The Gymnosperm Database |editor=Earle, Christopher J. |date=2017 |access-date=15 September 2017 |archive-date=1 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160401041103/http://www.conifers.org/cu/Sequoia.php |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2006, it was reported to be {{convert|379.1|ft|m|abbr=on}} tall.<ref>{{cite news |title=Humboldt County: World's tallest tree, a redwood, confirmed |author=Martin, Glen |url=http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/HUMBOLDT-COUNTY-World-s-tallest-tree-a-2550557.php |newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle |date=26 September 2006 |access-date=1 July 2012 |archive-date=9 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120709180523/http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/HUMBOLDT-COUNTY-World-s-tallest-tree-a-2550557.php |url-status=live }}</ref> The tallest known broad-leaved tree is a mountain ash (''[[Eucalyptus regnans]]'') growing in Tasmania with a height of {{convert|99.8|m|ft|abbr=on}}.<ref name=regnans>{{cite web |url=http://www.gianttrees.com.au/index.php/meet-the-giants/tassies-tallest-trees |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140210163226/http://www.gianttrees.com.au/index.php/meet-the-giants/tassies-tallest-trees |archive-date=10 February 2014 |title=Tassies Tallest Trees |access-date=19 March 2015 |publisher=Tasmanian Giant Trees Consultative Committee |quote=Height (m): 99.8; Species: ''E. regnans''; Tree identification: TT443; Name: Centurion; Location: south of Hobart |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The largest tree by volume is believed to be a giant sequoia (''[[Sequoiadendron giganteum]]'') known as the [[General Sherman Tree]] in the [[Sequoia National Park]] in [[Tulare County, California]]. Only the trunk is used in the calculation and the volume is estimated to be {{convert|1487|m3|cuft|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite web |title=Sequoiadendron giganteum |url=http://www.conifers.org/cu/Sequoiadendron.php |editor=Earle, Christopher J. |date=2017 |work=The Gymnosperm Database |access-date=15 September 2017 |archive-date=25 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170325012913/http://conifers.org/cu/Sequoiadendron.php |url-status=live }}</ref>

The oldest living tree with a verified age is also in California. It is a Great Basin bristlecone pine (''[[Pinus longaeva]]'') growing in the [[White Mountains (California)|White Mountains]]. It has been dated by drilling a core sample and counting the annual rings. It is estimated to currently be {{formatnum:{{Age|-3055|8|31}}}} years old.{{efn|That bristlecone pine is unnamed, its location secret. The previous record holder was named Methuselah, with an age of 4,789 years measured in 1957.<ref name=bp/>}}<ref name=bp>{{cite web |url=http://www.conifers.org/pi/Pinus_longaeva.php |title=Pinus longaeva |editor=Earle, Christopher J. |date=2017 |work=The Gymnosperm Database |access-date=15 September 2017 |archive-date=17 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190517015108/https://www.conifers.org/pi/Pinus_longaeva.php |url-status=live }}</ref>

A little farther south, at [[Santa Maria del Tule]], [[Oaxaca]], Mexico, is the tree with the broadest trunk. It is a Montezuma cypress (''[[Taxodium mucronatum]]'') known as [[Árbol del Tule]] and its diameter at breast height is {{convert|11.62|m|ft|abbr=on}} giving it a girth of {{convert|36.2|m|ft|abbr=on}}. The tree's trunk is far from round and the exact dimensions may be misleading as the circumference includes much empty space between the large buttress roots.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.conifers.org/cu/Taxodium_mucronatum.php |title=Taxodium mucronatum |editor=Earle, Christopher J. |date=2017 |work=The Gymnosperm Database |access-date=15 September 2017 |archive-date=10 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010032604/http://conifers.org/cu/Taxodium_mucronatum.php |url-status=live }}</ref>