Sequoia sempervirens

"California Redwoods" redirects here. For the professional lacrosse team, see California Redwoods (PLL). For the defunct UFL football team, see Sacramento Mountain Lions.

Sequoia sempervirens
Sequoia sempervirens along US 199

Apparently Secure  (NatureServe)[2]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Gymnospermae
Division: Pinophyta
Class: Pinopsida
Order: Cupressales
Family: Cupressaceae
Genus: Sequoia
Species:
S. sempervirens
Binomial name
Sequoia sempervirens
Natural range of California subfamily Sequoioideae
green - Sequoia sempervirens
Trunk in sectional view
Redwood cone scales begin to open mid November, with seeds dispersing by the wind.

Sequoia sempervirens (/səˈkwɔɪ.ə ˌsɛmpərˈvaɪrənz/)[3] is the sole living species of the genus Sequoia in the cypress family Cupressaceae (formerly treated in Taxodiaceae). Common names include coast redwood, coastal redwood and California redwood. It is an evergreen, long-lived, monoecious tree living 1,200–2,200 years or more.[4] This species includes the tallest living trees on Earth, reaching up to 115.9 m (380.1 ft) in height (without the roots) and up to 8.9 m (29 ft) in diameter at breast height. These trees are also among the longest-living trees on Earth. Before commercial logging and clearing began by the 1850s, this massive tree occurred naturally in an estimated 810,000 ha (2,000,000 acres)[5][6][7] along much of coastal California (excluding southern California where rainfall is not sufficient) and the southwestern corner of coastal Oregon within the United States. Being the tallest tree species, with a small range and an extremely long lifespan, many redwoods are preserved in various state and national parks; many of the largest specimens have their own official names.

The name sequoia sometimes refers to the subfamily Sequoioideae, which includes S. sempervirens along with Sequoiadendron (giant sequoia) and Metasequoia (dawn redwood). Here, the term redwood on its own refers to the species covered in this article but not to the other two species.

  1. ^ Farjon, A.; Schmid, R. (2013). "Sequoia sempervirens". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2013: e.T34051A2841558. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T34051A2841558.en. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  2. ^ NatureServe. 2020. Sequoia sempervirens, Redwood. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia. Available https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.140518/Sequoia_sempervirens. Accessed 11 November 2021.
  3. ^ Sunset Western Garden Book, 1995: 606–607
    "sempervirent". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  4. ^ "Sequoia gigantea is of an ancient and distinguished family". Nps.gov. 2007-02-02. Retrieved 2012-08-07.
  5. ^ "Redwood National & State Parks Redwood burl poaching background and update" (PDF). www.nps.gov. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  6. ^ Kreissman, Bern; Lekisch, Barbara (1991). California, an Environmental Atlas & Guide. Bear Klaw Press. p. 104. ISBN 978-0962748998. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  7. ^ Hearings, Reports and Prints of the House Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs. United States. Congress. House. Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs. 31 January 1978. p. 266. Retrieved 8 June 2020.