Full-length photo of Taiwan's tallest tree shown Thursday

Taipei, March 27 (CNA) The Taiwan Forestry Research Institute (TFRI) on Thursday presented a full-length photo of Taiwan's tallest tree, a Taiwania (Taiwania cryptomerioides) nicknamed "Heaven Sword," measuring 84.1 meters in height.

The research was a collaboration between TFRI, "Taiwan champion trees," a National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) team, and Steven Pearce, the leader of Australia's The Tree Project, with the photographing of the tree completed in January 2023, a TFRI news statement said.

TFRI Deputy Director Wu Meng-ling (吳孟玲) told a press event that the research team spent six days scaling mountains and trekking up the Da'an River to reach the location of the tree.

Hsu Chia-chun (徐嘉君), a member of the research team, said that the team entered the mountains from Hsinchu County and made their way to Taichung.

Pearce told the press conference that the mission was very difficult, involving a trek up a stream with a very strong current.

The accomplishment is something Taiwan can be proud of, he said, adding that he is jealous Taiwan has such a culture of preserving trees.

The tree was located using airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR) technology, which can obtain three-dimensional information over a large area in a short time, which in turn helps to measure the height of trees, explained Wang Chi-kuei (王驥魁), a professor of geomatics at NCKU.

In 2023, the team received sponsorship from Yuen Foong Yu Consumer Products Co., Ltd. and utilized LiDAR to measure and investigate the Taiwania hotspot. After compilation and analysis work throughout 2024, the team confirmed that "Heaven Sword" is the tallest tree in Taiwan.