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Sequoia sempervirens (Lamb. ex D. Don) Endl.

Coast redwood, giant sequoia, giant redwood, California redwood

KingdomPlantaePlants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
SubkingdomTracheobiontaVascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
DivisionConiferophytaConifers—cone-bearing trees (and a few shrubs)
ClassPinopsidaGymnosperms such as cedars, Douglas-firs, cypresses, firs, junipers, kauri, larches, pines, hemlocks, redwoods, spruces, and yews
OrderPinalesCone-bearing plants: cedar, cypress, fir, juniper, larch, pine, redwood, spruce, yew, and others
FamilyCupressaceaeCypres family, including junipers and redwoods
GenusSequoiaAfter Sequoiah (1770-1843), the son of a British merchant and a Cherokee woman
Speciessempervirens“Evergreen”

About plant names...

California redwoods, native to portions of California and Oregon along the west coast of North America, are the only living species remaining of genus Sequoia. They live for a long time, up to 2,200 years.

Interested in the oldest trees? Check this Wired magazine article.

Plants: Redwoods reach 377′ (115 m), the tallest trees on Earth, and may reach 26′ (8 m) in diameter. Even the bark can be 1′ (30 cm) thick. The bark is red-brown and deeply furrowed. Tree size and the restricted natural location of these majestic trees serve to identify them.

Leaves: The leaves (needles) are 1/32-1″ (1-30 mm) long, and occur in different groups depending on their age. Older leaves tend to subdivide into smaller and smaller branches, while younger ones resemble hemlock, occurring in closely-spaced, flattened, opposing pairs.

Fruits: Cones are oval in shape, ½-1¼″ (1.5-3.2 cm), with 15-25 spirally arranged scales.

 

Sequoia sempervirens (coast redwood, giant sequoia, giant redwood, California redwood)

8/28/2007 · Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, Stout Grove, Crescent City, Cali­fornia

Sequoia sempervirens (coast redwood, giant sequoia, giant redwood, California redwood)

8/28/2007 · Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, Stout Grove, Crescent City, Cali­fornia

The redwoods:

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Sequoia sempervirens

Sequoiadendron giganteum

Metasequoia glyptostroboides
Common Name

coast redwood

giant sequoia

dawn redwood
Plant Up to 377′ (115 m) tall, living up to 2,200 years. 164-279′ (50-85 m) tall. Up to 148′ (45 m) high, up to 6½′ (2 m) in diameter.
Leaves

 

Needles 1/32-1″ (1-30 mm) long, in a branching configuration or in opposite pairs. Photos of mature sun-illuminated foliage (left) and shade foliage. Photos by Christopher J. Earle.
1/16-3/16″ (3-6 mm) long, arranged in spiral whorls.

 

Small branchlets 3″ (7.6 cm) long, with needle-like leaves about ⅜″ (1.2 cm) long and 1/16″ (1.6 mm) wide.
Stem Bark up to 1′ (30 cm) thick at base. Bark, up to 3′ (91 cm) thick at the bottom of the tree, is fibrous and furrowed. Bark reddish brown when young, becoming fissured an gray.
Fruit Oval, ½-1¼″ (1.5-3.2 cm), with 15-25 spirally arranged scales. Cones are 1½-2½″ (4-7 cm) long. Cones are ½-⅞″ (1.5-2.5 cm) in diameter, with 16-28 scales.
Range/ Zones

Type Wild Wild Wild

 

Online References:

Wikipedia

The Gymnosperm Database

Plants for a Future, a resource and information centre for edible and otherwise useful plants

The Virginia Tech Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation

Wikimedia Commons

The USDA Forest Service's Silvics of North America site

The USDA Forest Service's Fire Effects Information Database

EFloras

Sequoia sempervirens (coast redwood, giant sequoia, giant redwood, California redwood)

8/28/2007 · Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, Stout Grove, Crescent City, Cali­fornia

Sequoia sempervirens (coast redwood, giant sequoia, giant redwood, California redwood)

8/28/2007 · Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, Stout Grove, Crescent City, Cali­fornia

Sequoia sempervirens (coast redwood, giant sequoia, giant redwood, California redwood)

8/28/2007 · Simpson Reed Grove, Crescent City, Cali­fornia

 

Sequoia sempervirens description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 16 Sep 2020.

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Sequoia sempervirens (coast redwood, giant sequoia, giant redwood, California redwood)

8/28/2007 · Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, Stout Grove, Crescent City, Cali­fornia

Sequoia sempervirens (coast redwood, giant sequoia, giant redwood, California redwood)

6/5/1996 · Cali­fornia · By Susan M. Kent ID is uncertain

Sequoia sempervirens (coast redwood, giant sequoia, giant redwood, California redwood)

8/28/2007 · Simpson Reed Grove, Crescent City, Cali­fornia

Range:

About this map...