Sabah has the world's tallest tropical tree
The lowlands of Borneo were once covered from coast to coast by towering dipterocarp forests.
EVERYONE knows that the tallest trees in the world belong to the Coastal Redwoods of California, which can tower more than 100m (over 350 feet) into the sky! These trees do not occur in Sabah, but did you know that the tallest tropical rainforest tree in the world is a Borneo dipterocarp?
And not just any dipterocarp but one that grows right in our own backyard in Sabah's Tawau Hills Park!
The lowlands of Borneo were once covered from coast to coast by towering dipterocarp forests.
There are at least 270 species in Borneo, all having winged shuttlecock fruits, typical of the dipterocarp family, that twirl like helicopters when dispersed by the wind.
While dipterocarps are found across South-east Asia, Borneo is (or was) their kingdom.
Years ago, I remember walking through a logging concession before the trees were felled - one of the most magnificent forests I have ever seen.
The huge buttressed trunks with their massive canopies filtered out nearly all the light, so there were almost no other plants on the dim forest floor, and we walked silently and unimpeded over the soft earth and the fallen leaves.
Such majestic forests no longer exist - rampant logging, which reached its peak during the timber boom years of the 1970's, has taken its toll.
Only in protected parks and conservation areas do Borneo's dipterocarps survive today and the tallest of those that remain is found in the Tawau Hills Park.
The Park was established in 1979, and we are lucky indeed for the foresight that preserved this wonderful area. The 'hills' in Tawau Hills Park are extinct volcanoes.
Last active around 27,000 years ago, the rich volcanic soil that now nurtures oil-palm (and, formerly, cocoa) plantations, allowed the dipterocarp forest to flourish and not only the dipterocarps.
Several rare species of orchids, wild gingers and begonias have also been discovered, and a small botanical garden has been developed.
Before 2005, the Park was virtually unknown outside local circles.
That all changed, however, when the tree-canopy scientist Roman Dial from Alaska in the US and his team, visited in 2005, to measure several trees in search of the tallest tropical tree in the world, for the National Geographic Society.
They found it, here, in a dipterocarp labouring under the name of Shorea faguetiana, with huge buttress roots, which at over 88m tall, (88.14m to be exact), stands just below the crest of a low ridge, about half-an-hour's walk into the forest. Unfortunately, it is difficult to get good pictures - the one shown is the best we could do!
As mentioned earlier, the tallest trees in the world are the famous Coastal Redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens) of California, though the tallest individual Redwood changes every few years or so, as more and more trees are measured.
Currently, discovered in 2006, the tallest is Hyperion, named after the ancient Greek God of Light, with a height of 115.61 m. (almost 380 feet!).
Redwoods are conifers, and conifers are some of the world's most ancient trees. They covered the earth long before the flowering plants evolved.
The tallest flowering tree, (ie. not a conifer), is an Australian species, the Mountain Ash (Eucalyptus regnans).
The "Centurion" tree, from Tasmania measures 97m (318 ft) in height, and is the third tallest tree in the world. In fact, Australian Mountain Ash are thought to be the tallest trees ever recorded, though the tallest giants were logged long ago. One fallen trunk from Australia's State of Victoria, dubbed the "Ferguson" tree, after the surveyor who measured it in 1872, was reportedly 132.6m (453 ft) in length, even after the top had broken off!
Another Victorian giant was the "Robinson" tree, which in 1889 was reported to have been 143m (470ft), both far, far taller than any Redwood!
Dipterocarps are also flowering trees but, sadly, not as tall as the Mountain Ash! Instead, we have the tallest tropical tree.
As can be seen from our picture, it is not easy to view the tallest tree for its canopy blends in with the other trees nearby, mostly dipterocarps, almost equally tall.
Easier to see is the 'mengaris' or 'kayu rajah' (Koompasia excelsa), in a totally different family of trees, (the bean family - Fabaceae), nearby.
For a long time, the 'mengaris' trees were preserved when the forest around them was cleared - they are difficult to fell and their wood is too brittle for timber but they are famous as "bee" trees, and in season, (for the bees are migratory), huge curved combs of the giant honey bee (Apis dorsata) could be seen hanging from the largest, highest branches.
Although the dipterocarps in Tawau Hills hold three out of the top four records for the tallest individual tropical trees, it is the 'mengaris' that holds second place , but a Sarawak tree, not a Sabahan.
To visit Sabah, please contact us on +91 22 40213204 or write to us at info@ultimatetourism.com
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