THE world’s tallest topical tree has been discovered on the island of Borneo.

    At nearly 309 feet (94 meters), it’s as tall as three blue whales stacked end to end.

    The discovery was announced five months after what was previously considered the world’s tallest tropical tree — a 294-foot yellow meranti — was found in Malaysia.

    Gregory Asner of the Carnegie Institution for Science at Stanford University revealed the new record breaking tree at a Heart of Borneo conference last week.

    The tree — which belongs to the Shorea genus — stands in the state of Sabah. And, not only is it impressive vertically but its canopy also reaches a diameter of 132 feet.

    The record-breaker was spotted when Asner was mapping the Sabah forest using lidar technology on board a plane.

    To Asner’s amazement, not only was this particular tree of striking height but it was flanked by other just slightly smaller trees. All these 50 trees exceed the 294-foot mark obtained by the yellow meranti in June.

    “This tallest tropical tree, and the 49 runners-up, are truly phenomenal expressions of the power of nature,” Asner said.

    (SD-Agencies)