those who have seen them say its an awe-inspiring sight: giant redwood trees in the fog. Towering above all other vegetation, these ancient biological wonders stand like mythical giants shrouded in the mist. It is a timeless landscape. But now, scientists think that the fog that wraps these giants in cloudy, wispy covers might be performing a more crucial biological role than merely a decorative one. They also think that the fog might finally reveal why redwoods are the tallest trees on Earth.

Scientists have always known that water suspended in the fog drips down the trees' limbs, needles and trunk. Now, Todd Dawson, plant ecologist at Cornell University and University of California at Berkely, usa , says that this curious mechanism provides an immense amount of water not only to the trees but also to the ground around them. His study, published in January 1999, contradicts a long-held piece of ecological dogma that plants