The tallest trees in the world produce some of the smallest cones. Coastal redwoods grow to 110 m (360 ft) and have a trunk diameter of 9 m (30 ft) near the base. Not just giants, these trees are among the oldest organisms on the planet. Ring counts suggest that some California redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens) can live for more than 1800 years. Found from California’s central Pacific coast to southwestern Oregon, these relics of the ice age have very tiny cones. The egg shaped cone has spiraling scales, is 3 cm long and only weighs a few grams. In contrast to redwoods, coulter pines (Pinus coulteri) along the coastal mountains of Southern California, grow to only 24 m (80 ft) in height and produce the largest cones. The spiky coulter cone is 20 to 40 cm (8 to 16 in) long; more than ten times the length of the largest redwood cone. Furthermore, this beast of a pinecone weighs as much as 5 kg (10 lb).
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