World's Tallest tree

Redwood trees are ancient giants, the tallest living beings on the Earth, reaching heights of up to 360 feet (100+ meters). Redwoods are also known for their longevity, typically 500 – 1000 years, but sometimes more than 2000 years. Our contemporary Redwoods, however, are descendents from an even more ancient lineage. A hundred million years ago, in the age of dinosaurs, the primordial Redwoods were predominant in the forests of a much more moist and tropical North America. As the climate became drier and colder, the Redwoods retreated to a narrow strip along the Pacific coast of Northern California, where summer fog and mild winters contrast with harsher inland climates.

The contemporary Coast Redwood is Sequoia sempervirens. The species name is Latin meaning “forever living” or “forever green.” They are conifers (cone-bearing) gymnosperms (with “naked seeds”), like pines, firs and spruces, and keep their green needle leaves all year round. Coast Redwoods belong to the Taxodiaceae Plant Family, which also includes the two other surviving Redwood species: the Giant Sequoia, Sequoiadendron giganteum, found in the mid-elevations of the central Sierra Nevada mountains of California, and the Dawn Redwood, Metasequoia glyptostroboides, once thought to be extinct, but discovered in a remote Chinese valley in 1948.

World's Largest flower

The flower with the world's largest bloom is the Rafflesia arnoldii. This rare flower is found in the rainforests of Indonesia. It can grow to be 3 feet across and weigh up to 15 pounds! It is a parasitic plant, with no visible leaves, roots, or stem. It attaches itself to a host plant to obtain water and nutrients. When in bloom, the Rafflesia emits a repulsive odor, similar to that of rotting meat. This odor attracts insects that pollinate the plant.

Another enormous flower found in Indonesia is the Amorphophallus titanum, or Titan arum. It is also known as the "corpse flower" for its unpleasant odor. Like the Rafflesia, the Titan emits the smell of rotting flesh to attract pollinators. Technically, the Titan arum is not a single flower. It is a cluster of many tiny flowers, called an inflorescence. The Titan arum has the largest unbranched inflorescence of all flowering plants. The plant can reach heights of 7 to 12 feet and weigh as much as 170 pounds!