Tallest Palm in the World

[_Keith]

Just for the fun of it I googled that earlier. How about this one?

http://www.happinessplunge.com/2012/02/photo-friday-cocora-valley-and-the-worlds-tallest-palm-trees-salento-colombia/

[JD in the OC]

Ceroxylon quindiuense (sp?) I'm sure

[DoomsDave]

Yep, that's it, hands down.

Tallest tree in the world, till the Spaniards "discovered" the Redwoods in California.

[tropicbreeze]

Yep, that's it, hands down.

Tallest tree in the world, till the Spaniards "discovered" the Redwoods in California.

Incorrect, that should read "Tallest tree in the world, till the discovery of Eucalyptus regnans in south eastern Australia."

[NorCalWill]

The world's tallest living tree is a 'Hyperion', a Sequioa sempervirens measuring just over 379 feet (115.61 meters) in Northern California.

The tallest living Eucalyptus regnans measures in at 327.3 ft, or (99.6 meters), but there are publicized claims that there were 400 ft tall specimens at the time of European settlement, but there is some question as to the accuracy of measurements taken at that time. There is however a credible claim of one being 375 ft tall.

[Mandrew968]

Awesome photo, but is that really the tallest Ceroxylon? I have heard they can reach 230ft...

[spockvr6]

When palms (or trees) get that tall, are they extracting water from the air through their leaves, rather than moving water from the ground through their roots? Lifting water that high seems like it would be a herculean task.

[Mandrew968]

When palms (or trees) get that tall, are they extracting water from the air through their leaves, rather than moving water from the ground through their roots? Lifting water that high seems like it would be a herculean task.

Good point--I know the big redwoods must live where the fog can deliver fresh water to the crown everyday as vascularly it would be too much to ask. I wonder how much water Ceroxylons uptake through their leaves... Their climate is conducive to providing that moisture way up high too.

[tank]

Pretty sure they don't take water through their leaves. The benefit of living in an extremely humid environment is that transpiration is less of a strain on the plant. Humidity at the crown and a large amount of available water in the soil are generally limiting factors. Also these trees generally have adaptations to their xylem that protects against cavitation and the collapsing of these cells.

[tank]

I know there are some theories and studies suggesting that these trees may utilize the water in there canopy directly into the leaves and wood, but I haven't heard that this had been proven, at least in these large trees

Edited October 28, 2013 by tank

[Mandrew968]

I know there are some theories and studies suggesting that these trees may utilize the water in there canopy directly into the leaves and wood, but I haven't heard that this had been proven.

Not proven for palms but it has been stipulated for Redwoods--which are you speaking of?

[tank]

Both,

I was under the impression that the redwoods study was recent and they hadn't really concluded anything.

[Zeeth]

Tank, doesn't transpiration help bring water up the plant? I was under the impression that because plants have no pumping method, the water moves up due to capillary action, which transpiration helps to occur.

[spockvr6]

Tank, doesn't transpiration help bring water up the plant? I was under the impression that because plants have no pumping method, the water moves up due to capillary action, which transpiration helps to occur.

I was under the same impression....but am unsure of at what point the "lift" required to get water to a certain height is greater than the capillary action can provide?

[tank]

Both the pull from transpiration and the natural property capillary action, generally. I think it has been found that gravity has less of an effect on the transport of sap in these tall trees.

http://5e.plantphys.net/article.php?ch=&id=100

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=how-do-large-trees-such-a

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transpiration

[Funkthulhu]

I seem to remember a study of the oxygen isotopes in the water in the sequioas. The determination was that roughly half the water in the higher branches was transported up through the tree from groudwater, the remainder was recycled from and to the air on a daily basis.

[tank]

Found a more recent article.

They found that a small amount of water was taken up into the plant and that they think that this could help keep the leaves from desiccating. They speculated whether or not this water was being used for photosynthesis/carbon fixation, but they don't know.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-3040.2004.01207.x/full

I bet their is a more recent article on this

[tank]

Not really a scientific paper but useful:

http://www.savetheredwoods.org/what-we-do/study/researchgrants_detail.php?id=35

Didn't see any articles on palms but the max height of C. quidiuense is thought to be around 200 ft while the largest redwoods alive today are around 380 ft, with some speculation that larger ones existed before they were heavily logged.

[tropicbreeze]

The world's tallest living tree is a 'Hyperion', a Sequioa sempervirens measuring just over 379 feet (115.61 meters) in Northern California.

The tallest living Eucalyptus regnans measures in at 327.3 ft, or (99.6 meters), but there are publicized claims that there were 400 ft tall specimens at the time of European settlement, but there is some question as to the accuracy of measurements taken at that time. There is however a credible claim of one being 375 ft tall.

You're being very selective in your comments. The Ferguson Tree was measured on the ground (fallen) by Surveyor William Ferguson in 1872 at 133 metres. The top of the tree had broken, at the point of the break the trunk was about a metre diameter, meaning the tree was originally well in excess of the 133 metres recorded. Regardless, this puts the Ferguson Tree well ahead as the tallest tree recorded. There are other records from officials, from government botanist to surveyors, and also numerous reports from loggers. Unfortunately, most measurements were made of felled trees. Conservation of forests is still a hot issue in these parts.

The current situation:

"Tallest tree in U.S. now the Hyperion Tree in Redwood National Park discovered in September 2006. It stands 115.55m (379 feet) making it the 6th tallest ever recorded tree and tallest currently in the world.

Australia's tallest tree (as of October 2008) is the Centurion Tree measuring 99.6m (located in south eastern Tasmania)."

[Jonathan]

All of the really big regnans that I've seen are usually stag headed with broken crowns, so may have been a fair bit taller in their prime.

They generally only live 400 - 500 years before they start to break up.

E. globulus, viminalis and delagatensis also achieve heights of around 80m in Tasmania.

Considering that we've had 150 years of intensive logging, I doubt whether the big trees recorded these days are a patch on the ones the old boys cut down...you see some mighty large stumps out in the bush!

Cheers,

Jonathan

[Xerarch]

The world's tallest living tree is a 'Hyperion', a Sequioa sempervirens measuring just over 379 feet (115.61 meters) in Northern California.

The tallest living Eucalyptus regnans measures in at 327.3 ft, or (99.6 meters), but there are publicized claims that there were 400 ft tall specimens at the time of European settlement, but there is some question as to the accuracy of measurements taken at that time. There is however a credible claim of one being 375 ft tall.

You're being very selective in your comments. The Ferguson Tree was measured on the ground (fallen) by Surveyor William Ferguson in 1872 at 133 metres. The top of the tree had broken, at the point of the break the trunk was about a metre diameter, meaning the tree was originally well in excess of the 133 metres recorded. Regardless, this puts the Ferguson Tree well ahead as the tallest tree recorded. There are other records from officials, from government botanist to surveyors, and also numerous reports from loggers. Unfortunately, most measurements were made of felled trees. Conservation of forests is still a hot issue in these parts.

The current situation:

"Tallest tree in U.S. now the Hyperion Tree in Redwood National Park discovered in September 2006. It stands 115.55m (379 feet) making it the 6th tallest ever recorded tree and tallest currently in the world.

Australia's tallest tree (as of October 2008) is the Centurion Tree measuring 99.6m (located in south eastern Tasmania)."

Interesting, makes you wonder how tall trees were before arrival of Europeans. Most of the Redwood forest is now gone, it would be reasonable to assume that the real giants are already gone from California as well.

[Buckleshoot]

OK, it’s not a palm, or tropical, but I figured the thread kinda swerved to talk about Sequoias and what not and I think it’s a cool story... Sorry if it’s too off topic.

Below is a Douglass Fir tree my Grandfather cut down in 1946, in the foothills of Mt Rainier. The tree had been shattered (possibly by lightning) and the top was missing. The standing portion stood 198 feet to the damaged/missing top half. The lowest branch was 98 feet off the ground. I'm not sure how tall the tree may have been if not damaged.

A cross section of the tree measured over 13 feet across and the age of the tree was found to be 586 years old. It took three men 1 1/2 days to fell the tree. The tree was cut into sections and hauled out as one log loads on four different trucks.

To the best of my knowledge it is still the largest Douglass Fir ever cut down. The cross section of the tree remains in the Lakewood branch of the Pierce County library.

That is my Grandpa on the right...

Edited October 29, 2013 by Buckleshoot

[NorCalWill]

Thanks for the additional information tropicbreeze, truly remarkable.

As is Buckleshoot's Douglas fir pic with his grandfather...Very cool!

Take note of that trunk Doomsdave... I hope you never have to chop down the Parajubaea torallyi in your front yard

[DoomsDave]

When palms (or trees) get that tall, are they extracting water from the air through their leaves, rather than moving water from the ground through their roots? Lifting water that high seems like it would be a herculean task.

That's a really interesting question.

Washies die when they hit about 120 feet because of a lack of ability to pull water to the crowns. Does the environment make a difference? Or, do the Ceroxies have a special adaptation to allow them to pull the water higher?

How's that for a hypothesis, someone?

[Sabal Steve]

OK, it’s not a palm, or tropical, but I figured the thread kinda swerved to talk about Sequoias and what not and I think it’s a cool story... Sorry if it’s too off topic.Below is a Douglass Fir tree my Grandfather cut down in 1946, in the foothills of Mt Rainier. The tree had been shattered (possibly by lightning) and the top was missing. The standing portion stood 198 feet to the damaged/missing top half. The lowest branch was 98 feet off the ground. I'm not sure how tall the tree may have been if not damaged.A cross section of the tree measured over 13 feet across and the age of the tree was found to be 586 years old. It took three men 1 1/2 days to fell the tree. The tree was cut into sections and hauled out as one log loads on four different trucks.To the best of my knowledge it is still the largest Douglass Fir ever cut down. The cross section of the tree remains in the Lakewood branch of the Pierce County library.That is my Grandpa on the right...[url=http://s897.photobucket.com/user/kmaras11/media/DougFir_zpsd0da19a3.jpg.html][/uWwwrl]

Great black and white photo.