A giant of the rainforest

An adventurous expedition, 250 kilometres by boat along rivers, plus another 20 on foot for a total of 10 days of walking, among rapids and waterfalls, poisonous spiders and snakes, brought a team of scientists to the presence of the tallest tree in the Amazon rainforest. This is a specimen of Dinizia excelsa also known as 'angelim vermelho' in the local language. Like a wooden pillar, 88.5 metres tall and 10 metres in circumference, it is a huge tree as tall as a 25-storey building. The tree had been identified through three-dimensional laser scanning of the entire surrounding of the Jari River, a northern tributary of the Amazon. The researchers collected leaves, soil and other samples that will be analysed to learn more about this majestic tree that may be up to 600 years old. This colossus is only the tallest in a forest of giants. Many other trees around it exceed 70 metres, huge trees capable of storing tons of carbon, up to 40 tonnes each. Angelim vermelho is tall but does not beat the record of 'Hyperion', a 115-metre-high coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) in northern California, which holds the undisputed title of the world's tallest tree.