Trees are the largest plants on Earth and play a very important part on the planet. They cover almost a quarter of the Earth, helping to stabilize the atmosphere by taking in huge amounts of carbon dioxide from the air and giving off oxygen. In addition, tree roots help to retain fertile soil and stop the rain from washing it down hillsides, while the huge amount of water vapour given off by trees has an important effect on the weather.
The largest tree in the world is a giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) in California’s Sequoia National Park. Called General Sherman, the tree is about 52,500 cubic feet (1,487 cubic meters) in volume.
That’s the equivalent of more than half the volume of an Olympic-size swimming pool, commonly considered to be 88,500 cubic feet (2,506 cubic meters).
General Sherman is estimated to be about 2,000 years old. That makes it only a middle-age giant sequoia, as other trees are believed to be more than 3,220 years old, based on tree ring counts.
The tree lost a huge branch in 2006, which shattered a new walkway and fence below. It didn’t affect General Sherman’s ranking as the largest tree, however, as that was calculated using trunk volume and not branches.
Picture Credit : Google