World Record Christmas Trees

Worlds Tallest Living Christmas Tree

On December 20 1999 a towering Eucalyptus regnans, 80 metres (262 ft) tall, became the tallest-ever Christmas tree in the world.

With 3,000 Christmas lights, The Wilderness Society transformed this massive tree into a powerful beacon of hope for Tasmania's threatened forests. The tree is adjacent to a logging road in the valley of the Styx River. It and the surrounding forests are scheduled for destruction in the year 2000.

The Wilderness Society's Tasmanian Campaign Coordinator, Geoff Law, said the Christmas regnans would focus world attention on the plight of Tasmania's tall forests.

"Two hundred years of logging and clearing have reduced oldgrowth regnans to only 13% of their original extent,"Mr Law said. "Yet these giants are still being destroyed by ruthless clearcutting."

A team of climbers has spent eight days braving wind, rain and sleet to scale and decorate the tree. The regnans is now festooned with lights to be lit up on the nights of Monday to Friday this week. To add a further touch of Christmas, a light dusting of snow has fallen on the surrounding mountains.

This year's tallest Christmas tree elsewhere is in Grace, Washington, USA, and only half the height of the Tasmanian specimen at 37.2 metres (122 feet). The previous tallest Christmas tree was also in the USA in 1950. It measured 67 metres (221 feet). It was a dead tree, having been cut down and decorated in Seattle.

Tasmania is the major stronghold of tall oldgrowth Eucalyptus regnans. These are the tallest hardwood trees in the world, and the tallest trees in the Southern Hemisphere. They are full of native wildlife including owls, possums, gliders, bats, hawks, eagles and cockatoos.

The Styx River valley is less than two hours' drive from Hobart, Tasmania's capital.

These tall forests have been identified as worthy of World Heritage Listing. Despite this, the Tasmanian Government and the logging industry are destroying the forests in large-scale clearcutting operations, largely for export as woodchips to Japan.

The tallest living Christmas tree in the world is a giant oldgrowth Eucalyptus regnans in the Styx Forest. It measures roughly 80 metres or 254 feet.

The previous tallest Christmas tree was in Seattle in 1950. It measured 67.36 metres.

The Styx Forest is one of the last strongholds of the mighty Eucalyptus regnans. These are the tallest hardwood trees in the world, and the tallest trees in the Southern Hemisphere.

The world's tallest living Christmas tree grows in an area of the Styx Forest that is slated for logging next summer. The Wilderness Society specifically chose this 300-year-old giant to highlight the tragic plight of this ancient forest.

Tallest Cut Christmas Tree

The world's tallest cut Christmas tree was a 67.36-m (221-ft) Douglas fir (Pseudotsga menziesii) erected and decorated at Northgate Shopping Center, Seattle, Washington, USA, in December 1950.

It took two days to clear the streets between the logging merchant and the shopping center, and the Highway Patrol accompanied the trunk on its 32-km (20-mile) journey. The lower branches of the tree were attached separately, as trees of this height rarely receive enough sunlight at the base to promote growth.

A dedicated generator provided electricity for the thousands of lights that adorned the titanic tree, and guidelines were needed to keep the tree in place, although it was still badly damaged by winds that gusted through Seattle shortly after it was erected. So impressive was the final decorated and lit tree that it made the cover of Life magazine.

These details from: www.guinnessworldrecords.com/