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Plant science

Tall storeys

Nature volume 428, pages 807–808 (2004)Cite this article

The tallest living organisms are trees, but how tall could they be and what stops them growing any taller? Measurements at the tops of the world's tallest trees now provide quantitative answers to these questions.

Record-holders are of enduring interest1, and in the plant world none stands out more than the tallest tree on Earth. This tree, coincidentally the tallest living organism, is found in California. It is a giant redwood (Sequoia sempervirens), which, at 112.7 m high, is equivalent to a 30-storey building.

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Figure 1: High and mighty.
Figure 2: Physiological responses to tree height2.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. the Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, the NERC Centre for Terrestrial Carbon Dynamics, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK

    Ian Woodward

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  1. Ian Woodward
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Woodward, I. Tall storeys. Nature 428, 807–808 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/428807a

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