Coast Redwood Tree Seedling
The tallest tree in the world, Sequoia sempervirens (Redwood) is a vigorous, densely branched, evergreen conifer of narrow-conical habit adorned with a massive trunk that is flared outward at the base, and a dense conical crown. Young trees have a graceful pyramidal shape with horizontal or drooping branches. As they mature, they begin to lose their lower branches to become tall and straight with a high crown. The flat, bright green needles are soft and arranged in sprays along the stems. The fibrous bark is rich reddish brown and furrowed. The oblong, reddish-brown cones are quite small for such a big tree, 1.25 in. long (3 cm). Spectacular with its huge trunk and neat pyramidal shape, this California and Oregon native may take 400 years to reach maturity. It is extremely long-lived (2000 years!). Many trees have been protected in areas such as Redwood National Park, Muir Woods, and a number of California State Parks. Sequoia sempervirens and its close relative, Sequoiadendron gigante