What's the name of the giant sequoia tree that's the largest living thing on the planet?

The giant sequoia that is the largest known living single-stem tree by volume is called General Sherman. It grows in the Giant Forest of Sequoia National Park in California and is a Sequoiadendron giganteum, or giant sequoia. Its massive trunk contains an estimated 1,487 cubic metres of wood.

General Sherman is about 275 feet tall, has a ground circumference of roughly 103 feet, and is estimated to be around 2,300 to 2,700 years old. It was named for American Civil War general William Tecumseh Sherman, reportedly in 1879 by naturalist James Wolverton.

“Largest” needs a small qualification. General Sherman is not the tallest tree—that record belongs to a coast redwood—and it is not necessarily the oldest living tree. The comparison refers to the volume of its single living trunk. In 1931, measurements comparing it with General Grant helped establish trunk volume as the standard for identifying the world’s largest tree. The tree survived major branch loss and ongoing wildfire threats.