SAN FRANCISCO — A redwood tree discovered in a remote California
forest has turned out to be the world’s tallest tree, edging out
one nearby that had been the previous titleholder, a botanist
said Friday. Humboldt State University Professor Steve Sillett
told Reuters the record-setting tree, named Hyperion, is 379.1
feet tall, besting the previous record holder, the 370.5-foot-
tall Stratosphere Giant. Researchers exploring remote and rugged
terrain this summer in the Redwood National and State Parks
along California’s northernmost coast also discovered two other
redwoods taller than the Stratosphere Giant, suggesting there
had been many more massive ancient redwoods in the area, Sillett
said. Some of those taller trees may have fallen to loggers,
while the remaining ones were saved by a logging ban when the
Redwood National Park was expanded in 1978, Sillett said.
Officials would not pinpoint the exact locations of the trees
out of concern that too many visitors could damage the delicate
ecology of the mild,