Taiwan Researchers Identify East Asia’s Tallest Tree in Daan River Valley

Finding a needle in a forest of 950 million trees isn’t a task for the faint of heart. For the group calling themselves the Taiwan tree seekers, the search for East Asia’s tallest tree required a decade of blending high-tech aerial surveillance with grueling four-day hikes into the island’s most rugged interior.

The result is the discovery of a Taiwania cryptomerioides, an ancient conifer species that researchers estimate may be close to 1,000 years old. Standing 84.1 meters tall with a circumference of approximately 8.5 meters, the tree is now recognized as the tallest in both Taiwan and East Asia.

The “Heaven Sword” and the Daan River Valley

The specimen, dubbed the Heaven Sword of the Daan River, remained hidden for centuries due to Taiwan’s brutal geography. The island’s interior is defined by 258 peaks exceeding 3,000 meters, creating steep, inaccessible terrain that historically acted as a shield. While industrial logging from 1912 to 1991 stripped much of the primary forest, the most remote valleys remained physically unreachable for logging crews, preserving these ancient giants.

Kobe University Researchers Find Kikai Caldera Supervolcano Refilling With Magma

This scientific discovery aligns with long-standing Indigenous knowledge. The Rukai people have historically referred to these immense firs as the tree that hits the moon, acknowledging their height long before formal measurements were possible.

Rebecca Chia-Chun Hsu, Chi-Kuei Wang and Chung-Cheng Lee, via Times of India, stated that Taiwan is one of the rare locations on our planet capable of supporting giant trees, specimens that tower over 70 metres in height.

LiDAR Scanning and the 93 Percent Error Rate

Ground surveys alone were insufficient. In dense, multi-layered old-growth canopies, the human eye often misjudges height. To solve this, the team partnered with remote sensing specialists at National Cheng Kung University to employ LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) technology.

The technology fires laser pulses from aircraft to build 3D models of the terrain.

From the Chilan Three Sisters to Mt. Benya

The journey to the “Heaven Sword” was a progression of increasingly difficult expeditions. The formal search began in August 2014 in the Cilan conservation area, targeting the Chilan Three Sisters. While known to locals, these trees had never been scientifically measured; the tallest of the three was found to be 69.3 meters with a trunk nearly three meters wide.

Subsequent efforts shifted toward Mt. Benya and the area near Great Ghost Lake, a site sacred to Indigenous peoples. These expeditions required four days of heavy hiking and the use of professional arborists and climbers. One such expedition resulted in the measurement of a 71.7-meter tree, further proving that the island’s interior could support heights exceeding the 70-meter threshold.

Biodiversity and Carbon Storage in Old-Growth Forests

Beyond the record-breaking height, the discovery of the Heaven Sword has significant ecological implications. According to a study published in Frontiers in Forests and Global Change, these giant trees serve as critical hubs for biodiversity, supporting various fungi, insects, birds, and plants.

Researchers Analyze Use of Dyson Spheres to Harvest Black Hole Energy

These forests act as living archives. Because they have remained intact for centuries, they provide researchers with decades of biodiversity data and insights into historical climates. Furthermore, the sheer biomass of these giants allows them to stabilize soil, regulate local weather, and store significant amounts of carbon.

The current state of Taiwan’s forests reflects a stark contrast between industrial history and natural resilience. While 60 percent of the island remains forested, the survival of the Heaven Sword suggests that the most inaccessible regions still harbor natural mysteries that modern technology is only now beginning to uncover.