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El Grande was a massive ''
El Grande was a massive ''Eucalyptus
''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of over seven hundred species of Flowering plant, flowering trees, shrubs or Mallee (habit), mallees in the Myrtaceae, myrtle Family (biology), family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the Tribe (biology) ...
'' (''Eucalyptus regnans
''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of over seven hundred species of flowering trees, shrubs or mallees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalypteae, including ''Corymbia'', they are commonly known as euc ...
'') in Tasmania
)
, nickname =
, image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdi ...
and Australia's largest tree. It was located on a ridge in the upper Derwent valley, adjacent to the World Heritage Area of the Florentine Valley, approximately from Hobart. The tree stood in height, had a girth of , and a volume of 439 cubic metres. While it was not the tallest tree in Australia, it was considered to be the largest in terms of volume, and the world's biggest-stemmed flowering plant.
Approximately 350 years old, it was burned in April 2003, and died in December 2003, as the result of catching fire in a burn-off of the debris remaining after the clear-felling of old-growth forest
An old-growth forestalso termed primary forest, virgin forest, late seral forest, primeval forest, or first-growth forestis a forest that has attained great age without significant disturbance, and thereby exhibits unique ecological featur ...
in the tree's immediate vicinity. Australian forestry officials admitted responsibility for killing the tree. Its hollow trunk acted like a furnace so that it was cooked from the inside.
The death of the tree, which had already been used as a symbol in the Wilderness Society's campaign against logging, brought national and international media attention. The destruction of El Grande became a symbol for the destruction of Tasmanian forests. Scrutiny intensified the use of Tasmania's forests for wood chip exportation, and the processes involved.
In the later half of 2003, Forestry Tasmania decided to remove individual names from the state's giant trees, but later relented. Other giant trees in the area of El Grande which are also protected by Forestry Tasmania’s Giant Trees Policy, have since been named 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 le ...
, which was discovered in 2008, and 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 Easte ...
. Trees in the vicinity that had been named previously by the Wilderness Society include the Chapel tree and Gandalf's Staff.
See also
* List of the world's most largest tree species * List of the tallest tree species in the world *List of individual trees
The following is a list of notable trees. Trees listed here are regarded as important or specific by their historical, national, locational, natural or mythological context. The list includes actual trees located throughout the world, as well as ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:El Grande (tree) Individual eucalypts Central Highlands (Tasmania) Tasmanian forests 2000s individual tree deaths Individual trees in Tasmania