What is the largest tree on Earth by volume?

The largest tree on Earth by volume is General Sherman, a giant sequoia in California’s Sequoia National Park.

“Largest” here means the volume of a single living stem, not height, age, or trunk diameter. General Sherman’s estimated bole volume is about 1,487 cubic meters, making it the largest known living single-stem tree. Its immense trunk continues to add wood even though individual branches and sections can break off.

The tree is a Sequoiadendron giganteum in the Giant Forest. It was named for Union Army general William Tecumseh Sherman, although the story of its naming by naturalist James Wolverton is sometimes described as apocryphal. Comparisons with the nearby General Grant Tree helped establish General Sherman as the largest known tree by volume in 1931.

A common mix-up is Hyperion: Hyperion is taller, but it is a coast redwood. General Sherman is also not necessarily the oldest or widest tree on Earth. The record is specifically about living tree volume, a measurement that normally excludes roots and most branches.