Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) - Ancient Tree of California.

Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) - Ancient Tree of California.
by Ariadne Unst

Discover the Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens), which can grow over 360 feet high and can live over 1000 years. In exceptional cases, trees over 2000 years old have been found.

Redwood Description.	FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions). Links. Books. See also: Trees of North American. Trees of the American Pacific Northwest.
Books read.	Soquel Demonstration State Forest: Redwoods and the forests of California 'Life History and Ecological Guide to the Coast Redwood' by Daniel J. Miller
Ecology.
	Remarkable Trees of the World by Thomas Pakenham. A great treasury in words and photographs of 60 trees of unusually strong personality; photographed in North America, Mexico, Europe, Japan, other parts of Asia, Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.
	Ancient Trees: Trees that Live for a Thousand Years by Anna Lewington and Edward Parker.

Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens): Description.

• Leaves:
  1. Dark green. Slender and linear, with sharp-pointed needle tips. Typically a half inch (1.2 cm) to 1 inch (2.5 cm) long. The needles grow flat along their stems, grouped in feathery sprays whose delicate foliage is a contrast to these tall trees.
  2. An additional type of leaf is seen on the forest floor after a storm: the shorter (quarter-inch (0.6 cm) to half-inch (1.2 cm)) scale-like leaves (like giant sequoia foliage) from the tree-tops.
  3. Redwoods are evergreen. They shed older needles in autumn, turning the forest floor vermillion.

• Shape and Trunk:
  1. Average mature (several hundred years old) trees are 200-plus feet tall with diameters of 10-plus feet.
  2. The heartwood of redwood bright vermillion and highly tannin, letting the trees resist fungus and insects. The thick, fibrous bark has a higher tannin content.

• Reproduction:
  1. Redwood cones are small (about 1 inch (2.5 cm) long) and barrel-shaped.
  2. A cone contains about 20 tiny seeds.
  3. With good light and water, redwood seedlings can grow more than a foot per year.
  4. As is known from second-growth redwood forests, trees can sprout from their parents' roots. By using the web of roots established below the ground, such trees grow rapidly.

Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens): FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions).

• Where is it a native tree?
  The Coast Redwood is now native to a narrow 450-mile strip along the central and northern California coast and southwest Oregon, by the Pacific Ocean. The temperature is moderate all year, which this tree requires. Also, this region gets substantial winter rain. Though the summers are dry, most nights and many days have a thick summer fog. It is found in mixed forests (with Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), tan oak, etc), although pure stands are often seen. It grows in suitable valleys up to about 3,000 feet (900 m.).

• Haven't they found fossils of it over a wider area?
  Yes. Paleobotanists report finding fossil redwoods (dated up to 160 million years old) throughout western North America and along the coasts of Europe and Asia. Redwoods fossils in California seem to be more recent, limited to rocks under 20 million years old.

• What is its family?
  There is some discussion! It is often included in the family Taxodiaceaeone. In North America, that includes the Giant Sequoia of California's Sierra Nevada in and the bald cypress of the south-east U.S.A.

• What other trees grow with the redwoods?
  
  • Other evergreens: Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), western (coast) hemlock(in the north), grand fir (in the north), Sitka spruce, sugar pine, western red cedar (in the north).
  • Deciduous trees include: bigleaf maple, California bay laurel, California black oak, hazel, madrone, maples, nutmeg, red alder, and tan oak.

• What other plants grow in the redwood understory?
  
  • Many varieties of ferns (including sword fern, chain fern, etc).
  • Rhododendrons and azaleas.
  • Poison oak.
  • Huckleberry.
  • Many flowering herbs, as in our monthly hike reports for Big Basin Berry Creek Falls loop trail:
    • Autumn ( September, October, November).
    • Winter ( December, January, February).
    • Spring ( March, April, May).
    • Summer ( June, July, August).

• Are the coast redwoods the longest-lived trees in the USA?
  
  • The bristlecone pine is the longest-lived trees in the USA.
  • Other trees that have been found to grow older than the oldest coast redwood are:
    • Giant Sequoia (Sequoiadendron Giganteum).
    • black-butt baobab
    • cedar
    • chestnut
    • cypress
    • some oaks
    • western juniper
    • yew.

• What creatures live with the redwoods?
  • The yellow banana slug which grooms the area beneath the redwoods. Also see the Slug Central reports for Big Basin State Park.
  • Birds include the marbled murrelet and the northern spotted owl. These nest almost exclusively in old-growth redwood and Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) forests.
  • The most commonly seen mammals are squirrels and deer.
  • Also found are raccoons, skunks, Roosevelt elk (in the north), porcupines, and weasels.
  • Mink and ringtail cats are sometimes reported.

Links.

• Home and Index of Articles.
• Redwood-related article by conservationist and birder Pamela Conley:
  • The Northern Spotted Owl;
  • Marbled Murrelets - California's Fog Larks;
  • Defending the Redwoods in Sonoma: How a Neighborhood Fought Back;
  • Another Way to Save Redwood Trees.
• Related trees:
  • Giant Sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum).
  • Dawn Redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides).
  • Pines.
• State Trees of the U.S.A..
• International trees:
  • Baobab of Africa (the world's widest tree).
  • Fig (Ficus) (sacred to many in Asia).
  • Ginkgo.

Books.

	Support us in bringing information to you - buy at Amazon!
	The Legacy of Luna, Julia Butterfly Hill. The dramatic story of devotion and dedication to the old growth forests and the great tree, Luna.
	Coast Redwood: A Natural and Cultural History by Michael G. Barbour (Editor), et al.
	Forest Giants of the Pacific Coast by Robert Van Pelt.
	Field Guide to Old-Growth Forests by Larry Eifert. Discover and explore the ancient lowland forests from California, north through Oregon, to Washington Olympic Peninsula, to Cananada, and to the Sitka spruce forests of Alaska.
	Giants in the Earth by Peter Johnstone (Editor), Peter E. Palmquist (Photographer)
	The Redwood Forest by Reed F. Noss (Editor), Save-The-Redwoods League.
	Redwood Region Flower Finder: A Guide to Identifying Wildflowers of the Coastal Fog Belt of California by Phoebe Watts, Sarah Ellen Watts (Illustrator) .
	Remarkable Trees of the World by Thomas Pakenham (Writer and Photographer).
	Trees and Shrubs of California (California Natural History Guides) by John David Stuart, et al.
	The Sibley Guide to Birds by David Allen Sibley. For experienced birders. Includes 810 species in North America, with 6,600 beautiful watercolor illustrations and descriptive text by one of the foremost bird painters and authorities in the U.S.A. With a pointer system for key field markings.
	Sibley's Birding Basics by David Allen Sibley. For novice bird watchers. This compact field-guide primer is also useful for veterans. Includes techniques in sighting birds; suggestions for sketching birds in the field. 200 beautiful painted illustrations; clear descriptive text; 16 essays;

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Copyright © 2003-2006 by Ariadne Unst.