Pam Goble, age 8, of Monroe, La., for her question:
WHAT IS THE WORLD'S TALLEST TREE?
Tallest tree in the world is the coast redwood, which is also called the California redwood. The trees commonly grow 200 to 275 feet in height and have trunks that are from eight to 12 feet in diameter. The tallest known tree in the world is a coast redwood in Northern California that is 368 feet high.
The coast redwood is related to the giant sequoia, a tree sometimes called the giant redwood.
Thick forests of coast redwoods grow along the West Coast of the United States from Central California to Southern Oregon. The tree thrives in the foggy climate along the sides of the mountains that face the Pacific Ocean. Only rarely will you find the tree growing more than 50 miles inland.
In a typical coast redwood forest you'll find the trees growing very close together, shutting out most of the sunlight. There is little underbrush for few plants can survive in the dim, cool atmosphere.
The lowest branches of many of the old trees may be 80 to 100 feet from the ground. As young trees start to grow, however, their branches extend all the way down to the ground.
Redwood trees have needles that grow about one inch long. The yellowish green needles stay on the tree for several years. The fruit, a globe shaped scaly cone, is also about one inch long.
Under each scale on the cone are several tiny reddish brown seeds. Each seed is about one sixteenth of an inch in length. It takes about 123,000 of these tiny seeds to weigh a pound.
Sometimes the bark on a coast redwood is 12 inches thick. Its fibrous texture gives it a deep fissure appearance and makes it fire resistant. The wood is soft, red and weak, but it is remarkably resistant to decay, disease or insect enemies. Builders and architects prize the tree for siding or interior finish in buildings.
Great lumps called burls often grow on the trunks of older redwood trees. These burls are highly valued for their beautiful grain and are often used for veneer.
Small burls of redwood are often sold for table decorations because of their ability to sprout when placed in water.
Many of the coast redwood forests have been set aside as state or national parks in order to preserve the ancient beauty of these impressive, magnificent trees.
Coast redwood trees grow to be very old. Although they are not the oldest trees on earth, many of the tallest ones are more than 2,000 years old.
Redwoods belong to the taxodium family, Taxodiaceae. They are classified as genus Sequoia, species S. Sempervirens.
The world's tallest tree is found in Redwood National Park which Congress established in Northern California in 1968. Three state parks lie within its boundaries. The park has 40 miles of coastline, south of Crescent City.