A tree of gigantic size, a representative of the species of evergreen sequoia, Hyperion is considered the highest plant in the world. According to recent measurements, its growth exceeds 115 m. The giant is listed in the Guinness Book of Records and is considered a national treasure of the United States.
Location history
Despite its cyclopean size and solid, over 600 years old, this natural monument was discovered relatively recently - in 2006 there is nothing surprising in this, because a giant tree grows among similar ones in Redwood National Park, located in northern California, not far from San Francisco.
American naturalists discovered the plant. Its height was measured manually by a team of scientists using a special tape, lowered and stretched from the top to the ground. The process was filmed and then shown on National Geographic.
A sharp reduction in magnificent trees that survived to our era was facilitated by their active felling, which continued until recently. Almost until the end of the 70s of the XX century, logging was carried out in the zone of growth of the evergreen sequoia. The wood of coniferous giants is in demand in various industries due to its low cost, excellent technical characteristics and beautiful appearance. This durable, equal-density, non-cracking material, well amenable to any type of processing, is used in the manufacture of furniture, construction and finishing materials, various turning products, pulp and paper.
Active deforestation was limited by the government only in 1978, when more than 90% of timber was destroyed. It is possible that, up to this point, larger specimens have died under the saw than Hyperion. Although conifers are recovering quickly from pnevos, and the sequoia do not yet completely disappear, it would hardly have been possible to see the mighty centuries-old giants if felling continued. We can assume that the tallest tree survived by a miracle, because its brothers, who grew several tens of meters, managed to be destroyed.
Sizes and Age
It turned out that the giant is more than 3 m above the sequoia "Stratospheric giant." Until 2006, this tree was the tallest in the world. The name Hyperion was given to the new record holder in honor of the ancient Greek mythological titan Hyperion, who was distinguished by unprecedented growth and powerful strength.
The exact height of the giant sequoia is 115.61 m, the trunk girth at the level of 1.5 m from the ground is more than 40 m, the volume of wood is about 530 cubic meters. m. For comparison: the height of the famous London Big Ben is only 96 m, and the New York Statue of Liberty without a pedestal is almost twice lower than Hyperion.
The age of the champion is determined approximately: according to the estimates of nerds, he can be from 600 to 800 years. Given that the total lifespan of these relict trees exceeds the mark of 2500 years, Hyperion can be considered a young sequoia.
It turned out that the growth of the tallest tree continues to increase by 2.5 cm annually. For sequoia, this is extremely small, usually these rocks rise at least 2 m per year. But Hyperion was out of luck. Outstripping all neighboring trees in height, he ran into a problem - woodpeckers began to beat the soft bark and wood of the upper part.
Location
The territory of the national park and the adjacent reserve - Muir Forest - is one of the few remaining habitats of relict conifers. The evergreen sequoia and its giant sequoiadendron are endangered species of trees. They were distributed during the preglacial period throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Currently, plants have been preserved only in a few small areas of land: in California, in limited areas of the states of Texas and Maryland, in a narrow strip along the eastern Canadian coast.
Unlike giants similar in size to them, Hyperion is not located in the central lowland part of the forest, where the soil is saturated with moisture, but on the side of a mountain. Apparently, for this reason, little attention was paid to him before.
Where exactly in the protected park is the national treasure, the general public is not informed. The reason for this is the fear of increased attention from numerous tourists. It’s rare that one of them would not want to be photographed in an embrace with a whopper. Surely there would be those who wanted to climb up, break off a piece of bark for memory or leave traces of their visit with a knife directly on the trunk. The constant crowds of hunters to admire the wonder would necessarily violate the fragile ecological balance of the reserve. To preserve the unique specimen and the surrounding nature, the location is kept secret.
Other natural giants
Hyperion tree is the highest plant known in the world today. However, in nature there were more powerful giants. For example, in 1900 on the territory of Canada, the pseudo-tyssol leaf or Menzies was discovered - a coniferous tree resembling fir. Her height was almost 126 m.
In 1872, eucalyptus was recorded in Australia, whose height was almost 132 m. It was possible to measure it after the barrel fell. There is information - state records of forest inspectors, which indicate the presence of even larger specimens of eucalyptus - up to 140 m. Unfortunately, these trees have not been preserved to this day, and it is impossible to verify the information.
In 2008, another natural monument was registered in Tasmania - the highest eucalyptus in the world. Its height was measured from a plane with a laser and amounted to almost 100 m. In the world there is no other, equally tall deciduous tree.
Many biologists and geographers believe that the record-breaking trees known to mankind are close in growth to the absolute maximum, which is determined by the laws of nature. The existence of specimens above 130 m is called into question, since the trunks of such giants would not have the ability to promote moisture and nutrients so high.