The heights of the tallest trees in the world have been
the subject of considerable dispute and much exaggeration. Modern verified measurements with laser rangefinders or
with tape drop measurements made by tree climbers (such as those carried out by canopy researchers), have shown
that some older tree height measurement methods are often unreliable, sometimes producing exaggerations of 5% to 15% or more above the real height.
Historical claims of trees growing to 130 m (430 ft), and even 150 m (490 ft), are now largely disregarded as unreliable, and attributed to human error.
The following are the tallest reliably measured specimens from the top 10 species. This table shows only currently standing specimens
The world's superlative trees can be ranked by any factor. Records have been kept for trees with superlative height, trunk diameter (girth), canopy coverage, airspace volume, wood volume, estimated mass, and age.
