[m463]

on the other hand, many giant trees get the water out of the air via fog:

Coalescence of coastal fog accounts for a considerable part of the trees' water needs.[23]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sequoia_sempervirens#Fog_and_f...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sequoia_sempervirens

[efskap]

Similarly, it blows my mind that all trees are made of air, specifically the carbon in it. I used to think that the biomass must come from the soil, but reality is more interesting.

[c22]

Kind of like how the vast majority of weight loss in animals happens via exhaling.

Weirder still is the realization that all the air is just trapped light.

[kijin]

Actually, all matter is just trapped energy.

[theendisney]

There is no such thing as energy.

[lazide]

Rather, no such thing as matter. Energy is pervasive.

[kulahan]

It's also kind of weird to think that soil, really, is just ground up "stuff" that used to be trees, plants, rocks, etc.

[nomel]

Sequoia are still limited in height by gravity, probably due to capillary pressures. [1] If they evolved to be segmented, they could probably do it.

[1] https://www.sfgate.com/science/article/REDWOODS-How-tall-can...

[hinkley]

There’s also a theory that the moss on these trees is mutualism instead of simply epiphytic. The moss holds moisture, which can be accessed by the tree.