Amy Roseman, age 11,of Shaker Heights, Ohio, for her question:

What is the tallest plant on earth?

The tallest plant is, of course, a tree. The tallest trees are the giant sequoias of California. And among these trees is a giant of giants. We are not surprised to learn that this tallest of all plants has been given a name all his own. He is called General Sherman. And the General is not only the tallest plant on earth, he is far and sway the tallest of all living things.

From the ground to the top of his tallest branches, the General stands 272 feet, He is tall as a building of 25 stories. There is enough wood in his rusty red trunk to build all the houses in n fair sized village.

This majestic tree stands in a grove of such trees, some of them almost as tall as he is. They are among the few clusters of redwood sequoia trees left in the world and all of them grow in California. The grove in which General Sherman stands is preserved in Sequoia National Park, not far from lofty Mount Whitney.