Largest living hardwood tree (volume)

In terms of volume, two genera of hardwood tree are neck and neck for this title: the gum trees (Eucalyptus) of Australia and the baobabs (Adansonia) of Africa, both of which are capable of exceeding a wood and bark volume of 400 m3 (14,126 cu ft). Currently, the most voluminous non-conifer tree is the Sagole Big Tree, a specimen of A. digitata located in Masisi, Vhembe, South Africa, near the border with Zimbabwe. Based on its most recent measurements, Sagole has an extremely large base that covers 60.6 m² (652.3 sq ft), a height of 19.8 m (64 ft 11.5 in) and a total wood and bark volume of 414 m³ (14,620 cu ft). Its aboveground dry mass is estimated to be 54 tonnes (60 US tons). The most voluminous living eucalypt, by contrast, is a specimen of swamp gum, aka mountain ash (E. regnans) named Still Sorrow located in Tasmania, with 400 m³ (14,126 cu ft) of wood and bark. Still Sorrow does, however, take the record of largest living hardwood tree by weight with an estimated aboveground dry mass of 215 tonnes (237 US tons) - a staggering four times the mass of the Sagole Big Tree!

Until 2018, the largest living baobab was the sacred Tsitakakoike Baobab, a specimen of the endangered species Adansonia grandidieri, which grew near Andombiro in the Ambiky Forest of south-west Madagascar. The incredibly stout and compact tree had a cylindrical trunk with a base that covered 59.6 m² (641.5 sq ft), a height of 14.6 m (47 ft 10.8 in) and a total volume of 455 m³ (16,068 cu ft) - 380 m³ (13,420 cu ft) of which was trunk and 75 m³ (2,648 cu ft) of which was canopy. It partially broke and collapsed in February 2018 leaving about 40% of the tree still standing, but this was expected to also collapse soon after.

Baobabs have among the lightest wood for any tree. Balsa wood is well known to model aeroplane makers as one of the lightest and softest woods, with a wood density that averages around 0.15 g/cm³, yet baobab wood is even lighter, averaging 0.13 g/cm³. As a result, the aboveground dry mass of the Platland baobab was estimated at only 58 tonnes (64 US tons) and about 59 tonnes (65 US tons) for Tsitakakoike. The wood density for E. regnans, by contrast, is in the range of 0.40-0.46 g/cm³.

Two even larger eucalypts from Tasmania were alive in the 21st century. Another swamp gum had a measured trunk and appendage volume of bark and wood of 426 m3 (15,044 cu ft), and an estimated total dry mass of 267 tonnes (294 US tons). While a blue gum (E. globulus), known as the Arve Giant, had a measured volume of 400 m3 (14,126 cu ft) and estimated total dry mass of 233 tonnes (257 US tons). The swamp gum was accidentally burned and killed in 2003, and the blue gum was killed in the 2019 Tasmanian bushfires.

The Sagole Big Tree has been carbon-dated to 800 years old, the Platland Tree to 1,100 years and Tsitakakoike to 1,270 years.

The world 's largest individual tree (by both volume and mass) is a giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) named General Sherman, located in Sequoia National Park in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California, USA. The tree is 83.6 m (274 ft 3.3 in) tall and has an aboveground dry mass of 582 tonnes (642 US tons). The bark alone has a dry mass of 48 tonnes (53 US tons), and the tree supports 1.68 tonnes (1.85 US tons) dry mass of leaves. As of 2013, total volume of wood and bark was 1,591 m3 (56,186 cu ft) – 1,389 m3 (49,052 cu ft) of which is in the main trunk. General Sherman is estimated to contain the equivalent of almost 675,000 board feet of timber, enough to make in excess of 5 billion matchsticks.