Centurion is the name given to a single ''

Eucalyptus regnans ''Eucalyptus regnans'', known variously as mountain ash (in Victoria), giant ash or swamp gum (in Tasmania), or stringy gum, is a species of very tall forest tree that is native to the Australia states of Tasmania and Victoria. It is a straigh ...

'' tree growing in Southern

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. 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 third-tallest tree species in the world after the

coast redwood ''Sequoia sempervirens'' ()''Sunset Western Garden Book,'' 1995: 606–607 is the sole living species of the genus '' Sequoia'' in the cypress family Cupressaceae (formerly treated in Taxodiaceae). Common names include coast redwood, coast ...

and the Himalayan cypress, and taller than both the

Sitka spruce ''Picea sitchensis'', the Sitka spruce, is a large, coniferous, evergreen tree growing to just over 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- ...

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, an acronym of "light detection and ranging" or "laser imaging, detection, and ranging") is a method for determining ranging, ranges by targeting an object or a surface with a laser and measuring the time for the reflected li ...

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 regenerated through largely natural processes after human-caused Disturbance (ecology), disturbances, such as Logging, timber harvest or agriculture clearing, or ...

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 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.Unfortunately, largely due to the 2019 Tasmania fires, by 2025 Centurion had lost 4 meters of height and now measures 96 meters tall, with many trees nearby having died in the aftermath of the fire. Centurion now ranks sixth as tallest living tree species. 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 In the Roman army during classical antiquity, a centurion (; , . ; , or ), was a commander, nominally of a century (), a military unit originally consisting of 100 legionaries. The size of the century changed over time; from the 1st century BC ...

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 Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film) ...

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. His cricketing successes have been claimed by Shane ...

References

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

Condition

Height

See also

References