How tall trees can grow

The tallest trees on the planet are coast redwoods. Giant sequoias are, pound for pound, more massive three times the mass of the largest animal, the blue whale but still about an eastern tree shorter than the tallest redwoods.

Indeed, the tallest known individual tree on Earth is a redwood, known by the nickname Hyperion. Measured at feet, Hyperion is feet taller than the very tallest tree known in New England.

It comes down to water — not so much water supply, but the physics of moving water. We all know trees need water and that it comes from the ground. Transporting water from the roots, on through the trunk, and up to the leaves is a challenge.

Water is not pushed up the tree. Instead, it is pulled from above: water molecules tend to stick to each other and to other substances. When moisture evaporates from the surface of a leaf, it pulls along a column of water that extends all the way back to the roots. The water is pulled from the soil to replace what was lost above. The mathematical explanation for this phenomenon, it turns out, also sets a limit on how tall trees can grow. Kaare Jensen of Harvard University and Maciej Zwieniecki of the University of California, Davis, compared tree species, with leaves ranging from a few millimetres to over 1 metre long, and found that leaf size varied most in relatively short trees.

Sugars produced in leaves diffuse through a network of tube-shaped cells called the phloem. Mobile Newsletter chat avatar. Mobile Newsletter chat subscribe. Life Science. Flowering Plants, Shrubs and Trees. How tall can a tree grow?

One study found that Douglas firs have the highest theoretical height, but most of the world's tallest trees are redwoods. See more pictures of trees. The World's Biggest Trees " ". So far, General Sherman, a giant sequoia, holds the title of being the world's most massive single tree. How Rainforests Work If I plant trees in my yard, will it offset global warming?

Can we replant the world's rainforests? Sources Amos, Jonathan. April 21, Associated Press. New tallest living thing discovered. Richard and Steven A. May 2, Cite This!