Carbon deposition under extreme conditions causes tree-like structures to spring up. The complex deposition and growth of graphitic carbon has come up with several surprises in recent years, including the growth of fullerenes and carbon nanotubes1. Here we describe the spectacular growth of micron-sized tree-like carbon structures produced by chemical vapour deposition of methane without the use of any catalysts. Our results show that carbon surfaces can be tailored while they are growing simply by controlling the rate of deposition from the vapour phase.