Lab Notes: Tallest tree in East Asia

Lab Notes: Tallest tree in East Asia

From The Science Show - Separate stories podcast by ABC Australia

June 11, 2026 · 11 min

About this episode

This episode explores how researchers in Taiwan discovered the tallest tree in East Asia.

On an island full of trees, there can only be one that is the tallest. How did researchers in Taiwan manage to find the tallest tree in East Asia? This week, Jonathan Webb finds this out by speaking to Dr Rebecca Hsu, the lead researcher behind the project to find The Heaven Sword. You can binge more episodes of the Lab Notes podcast with science editor and presenter Jonathan Webb on the ABC Listen app (Australia). You'll find episodes on animal behaviour, human health, space exploration and so much more. Get in touch with us: labnotes@abc.net.au Featuring: Dr Rebecca Hsu, Taiwan Institute of Forestry Further information: The journey of finding the tallest tree in Formosa Taiwan Finding and saving the world's biggest trees before they disappear This episode of Lab Notes was produced on the lands of the Gadigal, Ngunnawal and Ngambri people.

People in this episode

Host: Jonathan Webb

Guest: Dr Rebecca Hsu

Topics covered

  • tallest tree
  • Taiwan
  • research
  • environment
  • biodiversity
  • forestry

Keywords

  • tallest tree
  • East Asia
  • Taiwan
  • research
  • forestry
  • environment
  • biodiversity

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Taiwan Institute of Forestry

Places: East Asia, Taiwan, Formosa, Gadigal, Ngunnawal, Ngambri

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