The Tallest Tropical Tree in the World (Updated)

Higher than the Statue of Liberty of the US, the tallest tropical tree in the world is a 100.8-Metre-tall (330.7 feet) Yellow Meranti tree (species: Richetia faguetiana) in Danum Valley of Sabah, the Malaysian Borneo. It’s only 15 meters shorter than the world’s tallest tree, Hyperion, the 115.92-meter-tall (380.3-foot) coast redwood in California’s Redwood National Park.

As the first and only recorded tropical tree that exceeds 100 Metres, this tallest tropical tree is named “Menara”, which means Tower in the Malay language. Menara is also the tallest flowering plant on earth. In 2014, it was spotted on a 33-degree angled slope by a laser scanner of an airplane that surveyed the rainforest of Rhino Ridge near Danum Valley Field Centre (DVFC).

On 6 January 2019, to get the most accurate height reading, a team of professional tree climbers hiked up to a slope of 436-Metre above sea level to locate Menara. The team leader Unding Jami (Jamiluddin bin Jami) must climb up to the tree top and used tape measure to take the measurement from the top of the crown to the lowest part of the buttress.

The long straight stem posed a challenge, so Unding Jami took almost 3 hours to reach the top. The operation can be risky. There was one time Unding Jami climbed another flowering Dipterocarp and got 200 stings by a swarm of bees. Anyway, it made his day to confirm that Menara is the new record breaker of the tallest tropical tree in the world.

Height Comparison with Famous Landmarks

To get an idea of the scale of this towering tree, let’s have some fun comparing it with some well-known objects.

Past Record Holders of the Tallest Tropical Tree

All the past record-breakers are Yellow Meranti trees in first class forest reserve of Sabah. In fact, this is the fourth time Sabah has broken its record for the tallest tropical tree in the world. Though these trees are no longer the titleholder, they are still ranked as the top 20 in the list of the highest trees in the world.

May 2018: 96.9M (318 Feet)

Discovered on 28 May 2018, this 96.9-Metre tree is about 9.5 Kilometre (5.9 Miles) from the entrance of Tawau Hills Park, a national park in Tawau. Tawau Hills Park is a popular place for swimming, bird-watching, hiking and hot springs.

Nov 2016: 93.0 Metres (305 Feet)

Known as “Lahad Datu”, this tree is located near the Ulu Purut Research Station (UPRS) Camp, about 7 Kilometres (4.35 Miles) east of the Danum Valley Field Centre (DVFC). Most media reported its height as 94.1 Metres (308.7 Feet), an estimated height by laser sensor. About 3 months later, an expedition team visited the tree. They carried out more precise measurements using a tape measure and confirmed that the average height of Lahad Datu is 93.0 Metres.

Jun 2016: 89.5 Metres (294 Feet)

In April 2016, conservation scientists from the University of Cambridge discovered this giant tree during reconnaissance flights over the east side of Maliau Basin (Sabah’s Lost World). However, this record only lasted for four months when another taller tree was found in Danum Valley.

Jul 2006: 88.32 Metres (289.8 Feet)

This tropical tree was reported by Dr. Roman Dial of the University of Alaska in National Geographic Magazine (July 2006 edition) and held the title of the tallest tropical tree for nearly 10 years. It is also the most photographed by the public because it’s only a 900-Metre walk away from the entrance of Tawau Hills Park, which Sabah Parks manages.

Another beautiful tall tree in Tawau Hills Park is also worth mentioning. It’s a 85.76-Metre-tall (281.4 Feet) Menggaris tree (species: Koompassia excelsa), nicknamed as Pontiankak Putih Cantik (Pretty White Pontiankak in English). It is the world’s tallest legume (its fruit is edible).

Interesting Facts about Richetia faguetiana

• Yellow Meranti is the common name of Richetia faguetiana, a native tree species lives in Borneo, peninsular Malaysia and parts of Thailand.
• Formerly known as Shorea faguetiana, this species was renamed Richetia faguetiana in 2022 based on new phylogenetic studies.
• It’s also called Seraya Kuning Siput locally (translated as yellow snail seraya) because of its snail-like exudation of dark brown or black dammar (resin) on the bole.
• You can plant yellow meranti tree in Minecraft game.

• There are about 138 Shorea species, 91 of which are endemic to the island of Borneo.
• Richetia faguetiana is classified as endangered on the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the world’s most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species.
• 80% of the Richetia faguetiana population has been lost over the past three generations due to logging and habitat loss.
• Yellow Meranti tree produces five-winged fruits that spin like a helicopter when falling to the ground. This helps the seeds to travel farther away from their parent tree.
• The wood from this tree is medium-hardwood suitable for making Plywood, crates, and light furniture.
• A giant yellow meranti tree can host a mini-ecosystem of over 1,000 insect, fungal, and plant species.

Next Tallest Tree?

The Sabah rainforest is over 60 million years old, but not fully explored. For example, 70% of the Maliau Basin remains unstudied. Therefore, I believe the next tallest tree will be found in the future, most likely within a fully protected primary rainforest in eastern and central Sabah, where trees can reach their full height because of fertile volcanic soil and abundant rainfall. I will keep the record updated here. Hopefully Sabah can keep singing “tinggi-tinggi pokok seraya” (meaning so high our yellow meranti tree) until the end, like our Mount Kinabalu in Sayang Kinabalu.

However, a tree’s height is limited by mechanical, ecophysiological, and hydraulic constraints. The taller the tree, the harder it is for it to transport water and nutrients from the roots to the top. The biological limit restricts gymnosperm trees to a maximum height of 122 to 130 Metres (400 to 426.5 feet). Richetia faguetiana also needs some luck to grow super tall. With slender bole and large canopy, the yellow meranti tree is “… almost like giant dandelions,” Professor Yadvinder Malhi said in an interview. “They’re tall and thin, and they’re just trying to catch the wind.” Menara survives being snapped by strong winds because a ridge shelters it.

The Tallest Stamp of Malaysia

To feature the world’s tallest tropical tree, POS Malaysia issued special new stamps for Menara on 29 Dec 2020. The miniature sheet measures 180mm by 35mm (7.09 x 1.38 inches), making it the largest (and tallest?) stamp in Malaysia! The 3-part folder can open up vertically, and it is probably the longest stamp folder in Malaysia, too. I love the design so much that I bought a few sets.

Sabah has so many big and tall trees. No wonder some West Malaysians ask if Sabahans live in trees. I always answer Yes, we do and you need an elevator to get to the top, lol. For more fun facts about Borneo trees, you can read the 10 most interesting trees of Borneo.

Further Reading

• “The world’s tallest known tropical tree has been found—and climbed” by National Geographic
• “The mechanical stability of the world’s tallest broadleaf trees” by bioRxiv
• “First-ever 100-meter tropical tree discovered – the world’s tallest known flowering plant- has been located, climbed & measured in Sabah, Malaysia” by South East Asia Rainforest Research Partnership (SEARRP)
• “List of the tallest trees in the world” by Wikipedia (not so updated)
• “50 tallest tropical trees in Sabah” by Daily Express

Photos taken in Sabah, Malaysia Borneo