[TICKING]
[CLOCK ALARM]
[FIREWORKS].
♪ ♪
CHARLIE: WHAT’S UP GUY’S I’M CHARLIE, THAT’S PAT,
KIRBY’S BEHIND THE CAMERA AND TODAY WE’RE IN GIANT
SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARK TO CHECK OUT THE LARGEST SINGLE
TREE SPECIMENS IN THE ENTIRE WORLD, GIANT SEQUOIAS.
WHAT’S UP GUYS?
I’M CHARLIE, PATRICK’S GETTING ATTACKED BY MOSQUITOES AND
KIRBY’S ON THE CAMERA AND TODAY WE’RE IN
HUMBOLDT REDWOODS STATE PARK CHECKING OUT THE LARGEST SINGLE
TREE SPECIMENS IN THE ENTIRE WORLD, COASTAL REDWOODS.
WAIT, WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?
GIANT SEQUOIAS ARE THE BIGGEST.
AH-HA, NO WAY, REDWOODS ARE THE LARGEST.
AH, SEQUOIAS ARE.
AH, COASTAL REDWOODS ARE.
SEQUOIAS ARE!
REDWOODS ARE!
PATRICK: AREN’T THEY THE SAME THING?
CHARLIE: GUYS, RELAX, YOU’RE BOTH RIGHT.
PATRICK: CAUSE THEY’RE THE SAME THING.
CHARLIE: PAT, THEY’RE NOT THE SAME THING.
PATRICK: EH, BUT…
CHARLIE: PATRICK…
PATRICK: EH…
CHARLIE: PAT…
PATRICK: EHHHH…
CHARLIE: PAT, THEY’RE NOT, I MEAN IT’S EASY TO CONFUSE THE
TWO SINCE THEY’RE BOTH GIANT TREES LIVING IN CALIFORNIA.
BUT THEY’RE ENTIRELY DIFFERENT SPECIES,
WITH ENTIRELY DIFFERENT SCIENTIFIC NAMES.
PATRICK: SO THEY’RE NOT THE SAME THING.
CHARLIE: CORRECT, PATRICK.
COASTAL REDWOODS AND GIANT SEQUOIAS ARE DIFFERENT IN
WHOLE BUNCH OF WAYS.
I MEAN, FOR ONE THING, THEY DON’T EVEN GROW
IN THE SAME PLACE.
THESE COASTAL REDWOODS ARE GROWING IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
ALONG THE COAST NEAR THE PACIFIC OCEAN.
HERE, THE FOG HELPS MAKE THINGS NICE AND WET,
CREATING THE PERFECT ENVIRONMENT FOR THESE
GUYS TO GROW.
WE’RE CHECKING OUT THESE GIANT SEQUOIAS ON A WESTERN SLOPE
OF THE SIERRA NEVADA MOUNTAIN RANGE IN CALIFORNIA,
WHERE IT’S NICE AND MILD AND DRY,
WHICH ARE EXACTLY THE CONDITIONS THAT THESE
SEQUOIAS NEED FOR THEIR SEED CONES TO RELEASE THEIR SEEDS.
YEP, ENTIRELY DIFFERENT LOCATIONS.
YOU WILL NEVER FIND A COASTAL REDWOOD GROWING IN
THE SAME PLACE AS A GIANT SEQUOIA.
THEY REPRODUCE DIFFERENTLY TOO.
GIANT SEQUOIAS REPRODUCE USING SEEDS.
SO DO COASTAL REDWOODS.
WELL OUR SEED CONES ARE THREE TIMES LARGER.
FINE WELL SOMETIMES COASTAL REDWOODS DON’T EVEN NEED
TO USE SEEDS, THEY CAN REPRODUCE VEGETATIVELY,
WHICH MEANS ENTIRE NEW TREES CAN GROW FROM
PIECES OF OTHER TREES.
SO IF YOU CUT DOWN A REDWOOD, A NEW BABY REDWOOD CAN GROW
FROM ITS TRUNK OR ROOTS OR BRANCHES THAT FELL OFF.
OOOH, FANCY, VEGETATIVE REPRODUCTION,
AND UH HOW LONG DOES A COASTAL REDWOOD LIVE?
AROUND 2,000 YEARS.
OH, THAT’S CUTE.
GIANT SEQUOIAS CAN LIVE FOR ABOUT 3,200 YEARS, SO.
WELL THE BARK OF COASTAL REDWOOD IS A DEEP CHOCOLATEY
BROWN LIKE A WARM NUTTY BROWNIE THAT YOUR
GRANDMOTHER MADE JUST FOR YOU.
WELL THE BARK OF GIANT SEQUOIA IS A BRIGHT REDDISH BROWN
LIKE A SLIGHTLY DISCOLORED BROWNIE YOUR GRANDMOTHER
JUST MADE FOR YOU.
COOL, THEY’RE DIFFERENT, WE GET IT.
BUT, WHICH ONE IS THE LARGEST?
THAT’S KIND OF A HARDER QUESTION TO ANSWER
THAN YOU MIGHT THINK.
SO, WHEN YOU’RE STANDING AT THE BASE OF EITHER TREE,
GIANT SEQUOIAS DEFINITELY LOOK BIGGER BECAUSE
THEIR TRUNKS ARE MASSIVE.
AND, GIANT SEQUOIAS ARE THE MOST MASSIVE TREES IN THE
ENTIRE WORLD BECAUSE THEY HAVE THE MOST VOLUME.
BUT, COASTAL REDWOODS ARE THE TALLEST TREES IN
THE ENTIRE WORLD, THEY HAVE THE GREATEST HEIGHT,
AND THEY KIND OF KICK GIANT SEQUOIA’S BUTT
IN THIS CATEGORY.
THIS IS POSSIBLE BECAUSE EACH TREE
SPECIES GROWS DIFFERENTLY.
GIANT SEQUOIAS ARE SUPER WIDE, THICK TREES
THAT ARE PRETTY TALL.
BUT, COASTAL REDWOODS ARE SKINNIER TREES
THAT ARE CRAZY TALL.
THINK OF THEM LIKE THIS, IF A GIANT SEQUOIA WHERE
AN ATHLETE, IT WOULD BE 6 FOOT 5,
300 POUND NFL LINEMAN.
IF A COASTAL REDWOOD WERE AN ATHLETE,
IT WOULD BE A 6 FOOT TEN INCH, 250 POUND NBA CENTER.
ONE’S BULKIER AND HEAVIER, AND ONE’S THINNER AND TALLER.
IT’S SIMPLE AS THAT.
AS AN EXAMPLE OF THIS IDEA, LET’S CHOOSE AN ALL-STAR
FROM EACH TREE SPECIES.
THE GIANT SEQUOIA ALL-STAR WOULD BE BY UNANIMOUS DECISION
COMING OUT OF SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARK, OUR MAN,
THE BIG BOY, GENERAL SHERMAN.
HE IS A BEHEMOTH.
WITH A BASE DIAMETER OF 36.5 FEET,
THIS MONSTER IS 52,500 CUBIC FEET AND WEIGHS IN
AT 4 MILLION POUNDS.
HE IS THE MOST MASSIVE, SINGLE LIVING TREE
IN THE ENTIRE WORLD.
THE MOST MASSIVE ONE, PERIOD.
HE ALSO HITS THE HEIGHT CHART AT 275 FEET,
SO I MEAN HE’S PRETTY TALL TOO.
UP AGAINST THIS HEAVYWEIGHT IS OUR COASTAL REDWOOD ALL-STAR
COMING TO YOU FROM A HIDDEN LOCATION IN NORTHERN
CALIFORNIA, BIG STRETCH, THE TALL BOY, HYPERION.
HYPERION’S EXACT LOCATION HAS BEEN A CLOSELY
GUARDED SECRET SINCE IT WAS DISCOVERED IN 2006.
ONLY LIKE SIX PEOPLE KNOW, AND THEY’RE NOT TELLING ANYBODY,
SO WE HAVE NO IDEA WHERE IT IS.
BUT, WE DO KNOW THAT THIS GUY IS SUPER TALL.
SAYING HYPERION IS A TALL TREE IS AN ENORMOUS UNDERSTATEMENT,
BECAUSE HE IS THE TALLEST TREE IN THE ENTIRE WORLD,
NO TREE IS TALLER.
HE’S JUST UNDER 380 FEET, ABOUT 105 FEET TALLER
THAN GENERAL SHERMAN.
STILL THOUGH, THIS GUY IS PRETTY SKINNY.
WITH A BASE DIAMETER OF ONLY ABOUT 16 FEET,
ITS VOLUME ISN’T EVEN HALF OF GENERAL SHERMAN’S
AT 18,600 CUBIC FEET.
SO IN A HEAD TO HEAD BATTLE FOR TALLEST TREE IN THE
WORLD HYPERION WINS, FOR MOST VOLUME, GENERAL SHERMAN WINS.
SO WHICH IS THE LARGEST TREE IN THE WORLD?
I GUESS THAT KINDA DEPENDS ON WHAT YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT.
YOU CAN SEE HOW INCREDIBLY DIFFERENT THESE TWO TYPES
OF TREES ARE, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, THOUGH,
YOU CAN CONSIDER BOTH OF THESE GIANTS TO BE RECORD BREAKERS
IN DIFFERENT CATEGORIES IN THE NATURAL WORLD.
COASTAL REDWOODS ARE THE LARGEST TREES IN THE WORLD IN
TERMS OF HEIGHT.
BUT, GIANT SEQUOIAS ARE THE LARGEST TREES IN THE
WORLD IN TERMS OF VOLUME.
SO, I GUESS IT’S PERFECT, YOU KNOW, EVERYBODY WINS!
YEAH, I GUESS THAT WORKS.
YEAH?
YEAH, I GUESS THAT WORKS.
ALRIGHT, IT’S COOL WITH ME.
NICE, COOL, COOL, COOL, AWESOME. ALRIGHT.
PATRICK: SO, THEY’RE NOT THE SAME THING?
CHARLIE: PATRICK…
[FIREWORKS].
