Menara is the name of a yellow meranti (Shorea faguetiana) tree found in the Danum Valley Conservation Area, in Sabah, Malaysia. It was measured at 100.8 m (331 ft), which ranks it as the world's tallest known living tropical tree[1][2][3] and was the tallest known tree on the Asian continent until a taller Himalayan cypress was found in the Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon in 2023.[4] The research team, working with Southeast Asia Rainforest Research Partnership (SEARRP), named the tree “Menara”, which means "tower" in the Malay language due to its towering height.
| Menara | |
|---|---|
 Jamiluddin (Unding) bin Jami climbing the tree in January 2019 to verify its (A) height and (B) diameter above buttress. The tree is a Shorea faguetiana, located in the rainforests of Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. | |
 | |
| Species | Shorea faguetiana |
| Height | 100.8 m (331 ft) |
| Diameter | 40 m (130 ft) |
Menara was discovered in August 2018. A research team scanned the tree in August 2018 with a terrestrial laser scanner and drone flights to produce a 3D model.[5] On January 6, 2019, Unding Jami and his team established a measurement for the tree by climbing it and measuring its height using a tape measure. Menara is likely the tallest flowering plant in the world as it is taller than the previous record holder, Centurion (Eucalyptus regnans) in Tasmania that may be 100.5 m tall.
Menara weighs nearly 81,500 kilograms not counting its roots. 95% of this mass is located in the trunk, while 5% comes from the 40 meter-wide crown. The stem is extremely straight, with its center of mass at 28 m above the ground, which is just 0.6 m off from the central vertical axis. This indicates that the tree is highly symmetrical and well-balanced, even though it is sitting on a slope.[1] Researcher Yalvinder Malhi stated in Monagabay that Sabah is a good place for trees to grow tall due to an absence of severe storms, hence the states nickname the land beneath the wind.[6]
In 2020, Pos Malaysia Berhad release a stamp set featuring Menara. The set also includes a miniature sheet 18 centimetres in length, making it the largest stamp ever released by Pos Malaysia. [7]
See also edit
References edit
- ^ a b Shenkin, Alexander; Chandler, Christopher; Boyd, Doreen; Jackson, Tobias; bin Jami, Jamiluddin; Disney, Mathias; Majalap, Noreen; Nilus, Reuben; Foody, Giles; Reynolds, Glen; Wilkes, Phil; Cutler, Mark; M. Van Der Heijden, Geertje; Burslem1, David; Coomes, David; Patrick Bentley, Lisa; Malhi, Yadvinder (2019). "The World's Tallest Tropical Tree in Three Dimensions". Frontiers in Forests and Global Change. 2. doi:10.3389/ffgc.2019.00032. hdl:2164/12435. ISSN 2624-893X.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ nationalgeographic.com / The world's tallest known tropical tree has been found—and climbed, By Mary Gagen / PUBLISHED April 3, 2019
- ^ nst.com.my / UK scientists find world's first 100m tall tropical tree in Danum Valley, By Olivia Miwil - April 4, 2019
- ^ livescience.com / World's deepest canyon is home to Asia's tallest tree - and Chinese scientists only just found it, by Lydia Smith / June 21, 2023
- ^ "LiDAR + UAV Model of Menara". 2019-09-30. Retrieved 2019-09-30.
- ^ Cannon, John (April 7, 2019). "Climb confirms that the world's tallest tropical tree tops 100 meters". Mongabay. Retrieved February 26, 2024.
- ^ "Towering wonder stamps its mark". 2021-01-05. Retrieved 2021-01-15.