Identifying Features:
Large
Redwoods:
-If
it's over 300 feet tall - it's a Redwood!
Regular
Sized Redwoods:
-Single needles laying flat on stem.
-Woody cones .75-1 inches long.
-Straight trunk swells at base.
-Bark very fibrous and usually red colored.
Not
A Redwood:
Sequoias
(Sequoiadendron giganteum)
-Sequoias have scale like leaves.
Images
(All
of these images come from the CalFlora Website)
Needles and new cones.
Photographer:
Charles
Webber
To understand the scale of this picture, realize that those ferns probably come up to your waist, not your knees!
Photographer: Sherry Ballard
Mature and old cones.
Photographer: Charles Webber
Rewoods are some of the most inspiring trees. Click on the picture at left to see a bigger view.
Photographer: Robert Potts
Where are they found?
Redwoods occur natively along the Pacific Coast from southernmost Oregon to central California. Redwoods love water and occur most widely where there is a fog belt, but they can't stand sea spray so there is usually an intervening protective environment between the shoreline and the Redwoods. Inland from the fog they are more limited to moist, alluvial soils.
If you find a group of Redwoods, also look for:
Big
Leaf Maple (Acer macrophyllum)
California
Laurel (Umbellularia californica)
Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii)
Grand Fir (Abies grandis)
Pacific Madrone (Arbutus menziesii)
Sitka Spruce (Picea sitchensis)
Western Hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla)
Succession Status
You'd think that the Redwood would be a most obvious candidate for a climax species, but in fact there's a lot more evidence that it is seral. After fire, Redwoods sprout quickly from almost any piece that was left undamaged and they quickly grow to cover areas newly denuded. There's even evidence that Redwoods need fire to reproduce. When flooding raises the soil level, Rewoods respond by growing new, higher placed lateral roots from buds on the trunk. At the same time, Redwoods reach ages of 2000+ years. That's quite a long sere! Seedlings also are very shade tolerant and do well in the low light their foreparents create. As much as their grace and beauty astounds us so does their incredible adaptations to change.
Ecological Use
Redwoods in old growth forests provide important habitats for at least two endangered species; The spotted owl and the marbled murrelet. The pileated woodpecker also nests in snags. Black tail deer and Roosevelt elk use Redwoods for cover, but numbers of deer increase shortly after clear cutting due to an increase in understory forage.
Redwood (Sequoia Sempervirens)
