Young giant sequoia, Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, California, USA

© Hutch Axilrod/Getty Image

Giant sequoia

With some love and support, this little sprout at Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park in California has a big future: It has the potential to be one of the tallest trees on the planet. At the moment, it is a young giant sequoia, also known as a giant redwood tree, and some of these trees can grow taller than 90 metres and live for thousands of years. They affect the weather and climate, while housing and protecting other plants and animals. But all of this little sprout’s potential is at risk because the giant sequoia is an endangered species. Fewer than 80,000 of them remain.