Found the tallest tree in the Amazon forest

Scientists found legumes up to 88m high in a reserve in the Amazon rainforest. The tallest tree alive on Earth is 157m.

Dinizia excelsa is 88m high in the Amazon.(Photo: AFP).

During a visit to the Amazon forest last month, an international team of scientists led by Eric Bastos found an unusually large specimen of Dinizia excelsa , a flowering plant in the Beans family. The tree, with a circumference of 5.5m and a height of 88m, is located in the Dinizia reserve in the Paru State forest in northern Brazil.

"We just had a great discovery," Bastos said. This is not only the largest Dinizia excelsa specimen but also the tallest tree known in the Amazon forest . The discovery came after the team scanned the entire Paru State forest with aerial sensors.

Dinizia tree reserve is currently in a safe area, outside the area affected by forest fires, according to local reports. It is home to some of the tallest plants in the Amazon, including Dinizia excelsa, which often reaches heights above 60 m.

Currently, there are tropical trees in the Meranti genus up to 100m high and the redwood tree is named Hyperion, in California National Park (USA) 157m high. Hyperion holds the record as the tallest tree alive on Earth.