What are the origins of this fun-filled festive custom?
Hyperion, a coast redwood, is the tallest tree in the world according to Guinness World Records. It stands an unbeatable 116 m (380 ft) and is estimated to be anywhere between 700 to 800 years old.
Centurion is the name of a giant mountain ash that towers 100 m (328 ft) and has a trunk diameter of 4.5 m (14 ft). It is Australia's tallest tree.
A coast Douglas-fir called the Doerner Fir that measures 99 m (324 ft) is the world's tallest Douglas fir and one of the tallest non-redwood trees on the planet.
A Sitka spruce known as Raven's Tower reaches a height of 96 m (314 ft). It was only discovered in 2001.
Giant sequoias are the most colossal trees on Earth. A coniferous species, sequoias grow an average 50–85 m (164–279 ft), with trunk diameters ranging from 6–8 m (20–26 ft). The most massive is a monster measuring 95 m (311 ft).
The manna gum, a species of eucalyptus, typically grows to a height of 50 m (160 ft), sometimes to 90 m (300 ft). One particular tree, known as the White Night, has achieved an impressive 91 m (298 ft).
The yellow meranti rank among the tallest trees on the planet, and is in fact the world's tallest tropical tree. A standout example is Menara, the Malay word for "tower." Menara stands 100 m (328 ft) to pierce the rain forest canopy.
Menara is hidden in the hot and humid Danum Valley Conservation Area in the northern portion of Borneo, Malaysia.
The average height of the Himalayan cypress, also known as the Bhutan cypress, is 45 m (150 ft). But in June 2023, an individual was discovered that stood at an astonishing 102 m (334 ft) in height.
The southern blue gum is a lanky evergreen member of the eucalyptus family, its average height topping out at 90 m (295 ft).
Recognized for its narrow conic crown, the noble fir is the wilderness Christmas tree. Found at altitudes of 300–1,500 m (980–4,920 ft), this majestic conifer can grow to a height of up to 89 m (292 ft).
Arrowing needle-like into the sky to reach heights of up to 87 m (285 ft), the alpine ash is identified by its straight narrow trunk with rough, fibrous to stringy bark on the lower half of the trunk, and smooth white bark above.
Mengaris are abundant in southeast Asia, with some truly monumental examples found in Tawau Hills National Park in Sabah, Malaysia.
Mengaris is another exceptionally tall tropical tree species, with recorded heights of 88 m (288 ft) not uncommon. On the ground, the roots of the mengaris appear like the weathered walls of an ancient garrison.
A species of straight, smooth-barked forest tree, the mountain gray gum typically grows to a height of 65 m (213 ft), though it has been known to top out at a dizzying 85 m (278 ft).
Australia's South East Forest National Park in New South Wales is one of the best-known habitats of the mountain gray gum. The park dazzles with a beautiful old growth eucalyptus forest and remnant patches of temperate rain forest.
Sugar pine has the longest cones of any conifer, often imaginatively described as Christmas tree baubles. The tree rears up to a maximum of 60 m (196 ft), though rare examples measuring 82 m (269 ft) have been recorded.
Known only by its Latin classification, Entandrophragma excelsum is Africa's tallest tree, which measures 81 m (265 ft).
A large deciduous tree, this particular example of Entandrophragma excelsum was discovered in 2016 in a remote valley on the continent's highest mountain, Kilimanjaro, in northern Tanzania. Elsewhere the species is indigenous to several countries in tropical East Africa.
Sources: (Guinness World Records) (National Geographic)
See also: Bizarre trees with a fascinating history
Hyperion is found in Redwood National and State Parks, along the northern coast of California.
Centurion stands in the Arve Valley in Tasmania, through which runs the Arve River. The tree was badly damaged by a bushfire in 2019, but fortunately survived the inferno.
To admire the Doerner Fir you need to visit the Oregon Coast Range and trek through a Bureau of Land Management forest in Coos County.
The exact location of Raven's Tower is a secret, but it calls home the Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park in Northern California.
Not surprisingly, the gigantic tree is found in Sequoia National Forest located in the southern Sierra Nevada mountains of California.
The White Knight lives in Evercreech Forest Reserve in Tasmania, where visitors can follow the White Knights walk to meet a collection of some of the loftiest trees in Australia.
The largest specimens of Himalayan cypress tend to congregate in Southwest China. But they are also found in the Western Himalayas and throughout the Indian subcontinent.
Southeastern Australia is where the southern blue gum flourishes, in New South Wales, Victoria, and Tasmania.
Some of the most impressive examples of the noble fir are found in the Goat Marsh Research Natural Area within the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, in Washington state.
Alpine ash is one of the tree species visible east from Mount Macedon Memorial Cross in Victoria, southeastern Australia.
Sugar pine embroider Yosemite National Park in California to lend one of the world's most celebrated natural reserves a wonderfully textured emerald mantle.
Some of the tallest trees in the world easily beat man-made structures like the Statue of Liberty, the United States Capitol, and London's Big Ben for height. Indeed, Nature's natural towers are truly majestic in their grandeur, with some standing over 100 m (more than 325 ft) from top to toe. But who is the king of the canopy, and what are its nearest rivals?
Click through and gaze up at the tallest trees in the world, then find out where to admire them.
The tallest trees in the world, and where to admire them
These are Nature's skyscrapers
LIFESTYLE Natural world
Some of the tallest trees in the world easily beat man-made structures like the Statue of Liberty, the United States Capitol, and London's Big Ben for height. Indeed, Nature's natural towers are truly majestic in their grandeur, with some standing over 100 m (more than 325 ft) from top to toe. But who is the king of the canopy, and what are its nearest rivals?
Click through and gaze up at the tallest trees in the world, then find out where to admire them.