Largest Tree Ever Recorded

Discussion in 'Celebrate Biodiversity' started by M. D. Vaden, Feb 4, 2010.

  1. M. D. Vaden

    M. D. Vaden Active Member 10 Years

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    Recently, I've been following a growing update at the site of Michael Taylor, at landmarktrees.net, about what was at least the second largest tree ever recorded in the last few centuries, if not the second largest.

    Crannell Creek Giant coast redwood

    He's been assembling reference sources much more complete than some vague mentions that I have read elsewhere. Total wood volume would have been over 60,000 cubic feet, quite a bit bigger than General Sherman giant sequoia (52,000 cubic feet). A log by log acount published early in the century, showed over 20' diameter at dbh, and a remarkable 15' diameter at 200' high. Total height 308' tall.

    Although a larger coast redwood was never photographed, I think Taylor suspects the Lindsey Creek coast redwood existed. It would have been 19' diameter at 130' high, whereas Crannell Creek Giant was 17' diameter at 130' high. Taylor wrote that Lindsey Creek tree was covered in an article, as having "535,000 board feet of merchantable timber", which he said indicates a 90,000 cubic foot coast redwood. That would make the Lindsey Creek redwood virtually twice the size of General Sherman.

    I had wondered if an image even existed for these. Apparently at least one large image exists in a museum.

    "merchantable timber" is only part of a tree's wood volume. A 90,000 cubic foot coast redwood would have volume of 1,080,000 board feet if wood and bark were dice-up.

    Either coast redwood sounds realistic, because presently, only 7 giant sequoia known to exist, are bigger than the largest coast redwood. So giant sequoia are not the largest trees in the world: but only 7 of them, at present.

    Recently, Taylor visited a "Fieldbrook Stump" about 1000 feet from where the Lindsey Creek Giant grew. Some comments on the internet suggested that maybe the Fieldbrook stump was a double tree. Taylor confirmed that the stump was a single trunk, and that this one also would have been larger than any standing coast redwood known today.
     
  2. Tom Hulse

    Tom Hulse Active Member 10 Years

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    Was there anything on estimated ages for the trees, Mario?
     
  3. Michael F

    Michael F Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    Can you repost with scientific measures please? All the imperial stuff is totally meaningless to most people.
     
  4. Poetry to Burn

    Poetry to Burn Active Member

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    @Micheal F "meaningless to most people" lol, you've been directed to the online metric converter so many times. It's improbable that you speak for 'most people'.
     
  5. Michael F

    Michael F Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    That's a tedious nuisance that I haven't got the time for, and shouldn't have to do anyway.
     
  6. M. D. Vaden

    M. D. Vaden Active Member 10 Years

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    For information using "board feet" for size comparison, it seems practical to include cubic feet.

    If anyone needs an online converter for feet to meters, look at the top of my page:

    http://www.mdvaden.com/redwood_dimensions.shtml

    There is a circle solver top right, and a feet to meters converter to the left of it. Just type a number and enter.

    : - )
     
  7. Michael F

    Michael F Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    But it doesn't put the figures in their place in the page of text, so it is still impossible to follow what's what.
     
  8. M. D. Vaden

    M. D. Vaden Active Member 10 Years

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    Impossible ... ? ... Behold ... a miracle:

    1 foot = 0.3048 meters .............. Or the other way .............. 1 meter = 3.2808399 feet

    A 308 foot tall tree is 308 x 0.3048 meters. Or 93.87 meters.

    Since "board foot" is a standard USA & Canada lumber measure based on inches and feet, it is still fairly practical to use feet and board feet side-by-side for height or diameter reference. In case a few folks are curious, 1 cubic foot (a 12 inch cube) contains 12 board feet.
     
    Last edited: Feb 6, 2010
  9. Michael F

    Michael F Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    Every tried reading something where you have to put a book away and go to another book to read a few words, and then go back to the first book, and so on, every few lines?
     
  10. Tom Hulse

    Tom Hulse Active Member 10 Years

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    Michael, Mario did not do the science in Imperial Measure, he merely did you the kind favor of passing on some interesting information. Instead of rudely demanding that he go further and convert it for you, why don't you do it yourself and share it here? It would be no more work for you than for him, and he already understands the measures, so the need is yours, not his. :)
     
  11. Poetry to Burn

    Poetry to Burn Active Member

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    Tom,

    Nice post! How many inches in Maryland?
     
  12. Michael F

    Michael F Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    If I can find the time . . .
     
  13. Tom Hulse

    Tom Hulse Active Member 10 Years

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    PtB, no snow here, sunny warm day in Marysville, Washington. Got 10 hellebores planted today!
     
  14. Poetry to Burn

    Poetry to Burn Active Member

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    Tom,

    My explanation for that question? My vision is so unreliable that I thought I read Maryland where "Marysville" appears in your post.

    Congrats on hellebores looking forward to spring planting myself.
     
  15. M. D. Vaden

    M. D. Vaden Active Member 10 Years

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    References are few for this redwood, but for anyone searching someday, its also called the Maple Creek Tree. And one reference calls it the Captain Elam Tree.

    I may inquire sometime about Captain Elam if I get to a museum near Humboldt County, because there is a creek in Redwood National Park called Elam Creek. Probably after the same person.

    One redwood I read about today was called the "Randy Stoltmann" redwood. Probably named by Michael Taylor or Chris Atkins. Sounds like it may be named after a Randy Stoltmann who was an outdoorsman in B.C.
     
    Last edited: Feb 12, 2010
  16. Ron B

    Ron B Paragon of Plants 10 Years

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    Randy Stoltmann was the big tree coordinator for British Columbia, and his untimely death in 1994 was devastating for the British Columbia Big Tree Program, the BC conservation movement, and to a great many friends. His love of trees and wild areas will forever be an inspiration for me.

    --Robert Van Pelt, Forest Giants of the Pacific Coast (2001, Global Forest Society/University of Washington Press)
     
  17. M. D. Vaden

    M. D. Vaden Active Member 10 Years

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    I didn't find anything useful for age. 1000 years minimum is virtually certain. 2000 benchmark likely. 3000, not neccessarily. There's a good chance that the right tree, in the right location, could get that big in like 1,800 years maybe. The centers decay many times, and the ring numbers become unavailable.

    Its ancient, anyway.
     
  18. M. D. Vaden

    M. D. Vaden Active Member 10 Years

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    Does this old dinosaur of a thread still work? Let's find out.

    Years later, I finally learned some new information about the Fieldbrook stump mentioned in the opening post. It's real age and size are much smaller than urban legend has led people to believe. I included a paragraph about it on the following page, to compare with a living new discovery that helps clarify sizes.

    Spartan or Grogans Fault Coast Redwood. One Largest Sequoia sempervirens Redwoods

    With more commentary about the tree at the next page link. Apparently most stuff that's been said about the stump or it's tree have been made up or exaggerated.

    Fieldbrook Redwood. Humboldt County. Sequoia sempervirens.
     
  19. wcutler

    wcutler Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout 10 Years

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    It still looks very impressive in that photo at the bottom of the page at that link.
     

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