The tallest organism on Earth, the Coast Redwood may be less photogenic than the Giant Sequoia, but it will never be overshadowed by it. The Coast Redwood adapts a more ‘grow fast, die “young”‘ attitude compared to its eastern cousin, ascending 0.5-1.8m per year and living to the tender age of 2,200 years old. These living highrises make their cities across the western coastal forests of California and Oregon, where the wet and foggy conditions provide the water these trees desperately need.

The largest specimen on Earth (that we know of) is Hyperion. Discovered in 2006, Hyperion stands 116m tall and is nestled in Redwood National Park, California. Estimated to be 916 years old, Hyperion may seem like it still has plenty of time to beat its own record, but it may have already reached very close to its limit. As trees grow taller and taller, it becomes harder and harder for the water in the xylem vessels to be passively transported against gravity. At some point, leaves at the top of the crown become so water stressed that they close their stomata to prevent further water loss, in turn reducing or halting gas exchange for photosynthesis. Therefore, there comes a point where further growth is no longer worth it, the leaves simply do not provide enough energy to justify expanding the leaf and water transport network. This is called the hydraulic limitation hypothesis.
So there you go, keep growing! Even the tallest trees have their limits, you’ve got plenty of time to get there.

Some interesting facts:
– Coast Redwoods suck up to 40% of their water from the humid, foggy air of their environment, one of the many adaptions which lets them grow so tall.
– Like many trees, their root system is surprisingly shallow, reaching only 3.6m. However, they’ll happily spread their roots 30m+ outwards from their base.
– Their species name means “always green”.
– A single tree can sequester 250 tonnes of carbon dioxide in a lifetime, that’s roughly 25 years’ worth of carbon production from one person in the UK.