Centurion is the name given to a single '' Eucalyptus regnans'' tree growing in Southern Tasmania,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, and the world's tallest known '' Eucalyptus''. The tree was first measured by climber-deployed tapeline at tall in 2008, and was subsequently re-measured to be tall by ground laser in 2018. This discovery places ''E. regnans'' as the second-tallest tree species in the world after the coast redwood, and taller than both the

Sitka spruce ''Picea sitchensis'', the Sitka spruce, is a large, coniferous, evergreen tree growing to almost tall, with a trunk diameter at breast height that can exceed 5 m (16 ft). It is by far the largest species of spruce and the fifth-larg ...

and Coastal Douglas Fir. It was discovered in August 2008 by employees of Forestry Tasmania while analysing the data collected by

LiDAR Lidar (, also LIDAR, or LiDAR; sometimes LADAR) is a method for determining ranges (variable distance) by targeting an object or a surface with a laser and measuring the time for the reflected light to return to the receiver. It can also be ...

system used in mapping and assessment of state forest resources.

Condition

The tree is in a small patch of very old forest surrounded by

secondary forest A secondary forest (or second-growth forest) is a forest or woodland area which has re-grown after a timber harvest or clearing for agriculture, until a long enough period has passed so that the effects of the disturbance are no longer evident. ...

and has survived logging and forest fires by coincidence. Near Centurion grew two other giant trees: the 86.5 metre tall ''E. regnans'' named

Triarius Triarius was a Gothic nobleman and soldier. He was a member of the Amali dynasty. At least by the Battle of Nedao, Triarius had withdrawn his support from Valamir, who was his relative and the king of the Ostrogoths. Triarius joined the Eastern ...

and The Prefect which had a girth of 19m until destroyed in the 2019 fires. In February 2019 it was damaged from a bushfire that devastated the surrounding area but appears to have initially survived. A new hollow in the base was created by the fire.

Height

Two more recent measurements indicated that the tree was growing, albeit very slowly. In January 2014 the tree was climbed and the tape drop indicated the tree had grown to 99.82m. However, a further tape drop done in 2016 obtained the slightly lower height of 99.67m. Centurion was re-measured again by ground laser in December 2018 and was found to have possibly reached 100.5 meters in height. The diameter of Centurion is 4.05 metres, its girth exceeds 12 metres, and its volume has been estimated at 268 cubic metres. The name "Centurion" was saved for the hundredth noble tree to be discovered by Forestry Tasmania and coincided with the height of the tree. Named after

centurion A centurion (; la, centurio , . la, centuriones, label=none; grc-gre, κεντυρίων, kentyríōn, or ) was a position in the Roman army during classical antiquity, nominally the commander of a century (), a military unit of around 80 ...

s (Roman officers), the root of the name contains ''centum'', which in Latin means "one hundred". Centurion is alternately known as "the Bradman" as the height of the tree at 99.82 metres was close to the Test run average of the Australian cricketer

Donald Bradman Sir Donald George Bradman, (27 August 1908 – 25 February 2001), nicknamed "The Don", was an Australian international cricketer, widely acknowledged as the greatest batsman of all time. Bradman's career Test batting average of 99.94 has bee ...

References

{{Southern Tasmania , state=autocollapse Individual eucalypts Tourist attractions in Tasmania Southern Tasmania Tasmanian forests Individual trees in Tasmania

Condition

Height

See also

References