Discover the world's tallest plant on the island of Borneo

Scientists have discovered the highest tropical tree in the world on Borneo island with a height of 309 feet (94.1 meters). New trees were found to break the record of the previous gold meranti (89.6 meters), which was only established five months earlier.

They discovered the plant when mapping the areas of the Sabah rainforest . The team discovered 49 trees of similar height in the area.

The varieties of the tallest tropical plants are still unknown, scientists currently know only that these trees belong to the genus Shorea (Shorea has about 196 different species). The species of the Shorea group are often distributed in southeastern Asia, from northern India to Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia.

Plants of the Shorea group are often distributed in southeastern Asia.

In Borneo there are about 138 Shorea species and 91 of them are endemic to the island.

Researcher Gregory Asner of Stanford University's Carnegie Institute has published the highest tropical tree record at the Heart of Borneo conference in October. He said that this tallest tropical tree and 49 tall trees close to the height are truly extraordinary manifestations of natural strength.

He also added that this finding is like a gift for science, for the people of Sabah, Borneo and the world. The purpose of scientists to map this area is to understand the habitat of animals, the biodiversity and the ability of the forest to absorb carbon. They used a technique called Carnegie Airborne Observatory (CAO) to capture 500,000 shots per second using a laser from an airplane. It will help scientists have a detailed look (in 3D form) from the forest canopy to the ground.

The data obtained is the basis for them to assess the amount of carbon stored in this tropical forest. Field trips of this research program are funded by the UN Development Program and director James Cameron.