Biological Record: What is Known About the World's Largest and Heaviest Organism - Here's Where It Is
The largest living organism is found in the United States of America.
We are talking about a sequoiadendron, which received an interesting nickname - "General Sherman".
Despite its status as the largest and heaviest organism on the planet, it is not the tallest tree in the world.
What is known about the General Sherman tree?
The "record holder" grows in Sequoia National Park in the American state of California.
The total mass of the tree is 1910 tons, and the mass of the trunk is 1121 tons.
The volume of the trunk is estimated at 1487 cubic meters.
Thanks to all these indicators, "General Sherman" was recognized as the largest tree on the planet, as well as the largest and heaviest organism in the world.
But the giant sequoiadendron is not the tallest tree. In this respect, the "resident" of the Sequoia National Park is inferior to the "Hyperion" - a 115-meter sequoia evergreen growing in another Californian national park.
The General Sherman is believed to be at least 2,300 years old.
It is worth noting that this tree was not once the largest in the world, being second only to the Crannell Creek Giant Sequoia. The latter's trunk volume was at least 15 percent larger.
However, the Crannell Creek Giant was cut down 80 years ago, and the record-breaking status eventually went to the General Sherman.
