A tree taller than a 25-storey building was discovered in Taiwan

The height of the tree wasn't just confirmed from photographs. The team first looked for candidates using laser scanning of the forest, then checked the data manually, and finally the climbers climbed the tree and measured it with tape from top to bottom.

Important: It's not the tallest tree in the world. World records are held by California sequoias, which exceed 100 metres. But for Taiwan and East Asia, this is an outstanding find.

Details

Taiwan has turned out to be one of the rare places on the planet where true forest giants can grow. The island is small but very mountainous: there are many steep slopes, deep valleys and rainforests. It is precisely such inaccessible areas that have helped some of the old growth forests to survive after decades of industrial logging.

The search for the record-breaking tree went on for nearly a decade. Researchers and climbers studied the forests where the tallest taivans could be hiding. From the ground, such trees are difficult to spot: in an old dense forest, the tops cover each other, and on steep slopes, the eye can easily make mistakes.

That's why the team used LiDAR, an aerial laser scanning technology. An aeroplane or drone sends laser pulses downwards, and then a three-dimensional map of the forest is built from the reflected signal. That way you can see where particularly tall trees rise above the canopy.

But the computer was also wrong. Because of the complex terrain, the algorithm often mistook cliffs, slopes and height differences for extra tall trees. Therefore, hundreds of volunteers were involved in the project: they viewed the images and helped sift out false finds. In the end, the researchers mapped 941 trees taller than 65 metres.

One of the most promising candidates was found near the Da'an River. In 2023, an expedition reached the tree after an arduous route through mountainous terrain. When the climbers reached the top and lowered the measuring tape, the height was 84.1 metres.

The tree was later named Heaven Sword of Da'an River - "Heaven Sword of Da'an River". Taiwanese sources also reported that the tree was about 1,650 metres above sea level.

Why it's important

This find is not only important as a record. Trees like this show where ancient and particularly valuable forests remain in Taiwan. Tall old trees are not just beautiful giants: they store a lot of carbon, create a challenging environment for other species and help assess the health of the ecosystem.

The study also shows how the search for natural records is changing. It used to be that such trees were found mostly by walking expeditions. Now scientists are combining satellite and laser data, volunteer work, 3D maps and direct on-site measurements.

That said, the exact locations of such trees are best not revealed widely. Giant trees and old-growth forests are vulnerable: extra tourist traffic can damage the soil, roots and surrounding vegetation.

Backcountry

Taivania cryptomeria is a large coniferous tree that can reach enormous size. In Taiwan, such trees are particularly important culturally and ecologically. The researchers' material mentions that the indigenous Rukai people have a poetic image for these giants - "the tree that touches the moon."

In the past, many of Taiwan's old-growth forests have suffered from industrial logging. But some of the giant trees survived in areas that were too steep, remote or difficult to traverse. It is there that modern researchers are now looking for living evidence of what the island's ancient forests might have been like.

Source

Research: 'The Journey of Finding the Tallest Tree in Formosa Taiwan', Frontiers in Forests and Global Change, 2026.