Heaven Sword of the Da’an River: Taiwan’s 84.1-meter giant crowned East Asia’s tallest tree
Researchers in Taiwan identified the Heaven Sword of the Da’an River as East Asia’s tallest known tree, a 84.1-meter (276-foot) Taiwania fir about 1,000 years old, confirmed after a decade of aerial lidar surveys, map-based targeting, and final tape-drop measurements from the tree itself; the discovery highlights giant trees’ role in carbon storage and biodiversity and demonstrates how combining remote sensing with on-site verification can uncover Earth’s rare giants.