Methods. We compare two experiments: - The Scholander pressure bomb experiment (1955) based on the cohesion-tension theory (1894) in which liquids are considered to be incompressible. - The Sheludko experiment (1967) based on the concept of disjoining pressure in DLVO theory (1948) that highlights a strong difference between liquid bulk and thin layer pressures. The theoretical results allow us to obtain: - The computation of tallest trees' level that fits with real facts - The interpretation of the motion in xylem microtubes by using the shallow water approximation and the slippage on walls at the nanometric scale.
