Tallest tree in Amazon rainforest reached by researchers after three years and four failed attemptsScientists have visited the tallest tree ever found in the Amazon rainforest after three years of planning, five expeditions and an arduous two-week trek through dense jungle.Key points:- The tree is the tallest in the Amazon rainforest at 88.5 metres- Researchers travelled 250 kilometres by boat and 20 km on foot to reach it- The tree is at least 400 to 600 years old, an expert saysThe giant tree, which juts out high above the canopy in the Iratapuru River Nature Reserve in northern Brazil, is an Angelim vermelho measuring 88.5 metres tall and with a circumference of 9.9 metres.Three more expeditions to the reserve's remote Jari Valley region, which sits at the border between the states of Amapa and Para, reached several other gigantic trees, including the tallest Brazil nut tree ever recorded in the Amazon at 66 metres.But the Angelim vermelho remained elusive until the expedition from September 12-25, when researchers travelled 250 kilometres by boat up rivers with treacherous rapids, and then 20 km on foot across mountainous jungle terrain to reach it.Jakeline Pereira, who is a member of the environmental group Imazon said Angelim vermelho wood was prized by loggers, and the Iratapuru Reserve was being invaded by illegal gold miners infamous for bringing ecological destruction."