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Trees are an important carbon sink as they accumulate biomass through photosynthesis1 . Identifying tree species that grow fast is therefore commonly considered to be essential for efective climate change mitigation through forest planting. Although species characteristics are key information for plantation design and forest management, feld studies often fail to detect clear relationships between species functional traits and tree growth2 . Here, by consolidating four independent datasets and classifying the acquisitive and conservative species based on their functional trait values, we show that acquisitive tree species, which are supposedly fast-growing species, generally grow slowly in feld conditions. This discrepancy between the current paradigm and feld observations is explained by the interactions with environmental conditions that infuence growth. Acquisitive species require moist mild climates and fertile soils, conditions that are generally not met in the feld. By contrast, conservative species, which are supposedly slow-growing species, show generally higher realized growth due to their ability to tolerate unfavourable environmental conditions. In general, conservative tree species grow more steadily than acquisitive tree species in non-tropical forests. We recommend planting acquisitive tree species in areas where they can realize their fast-growing potential. In other regions, where environmental stress is higher, conservative tree species have a larger potential to fx carbon in their biomass.