PINACEAE 



Redwood 

 Sequoia sempervirens (D. Don) Endl. 



HABIT. This handsome tree reaches greater heights than 

 any other in the world, commonly rising 200-275 feet in height 

 and from 8-12 feet in diameter (max. 364 by 20 feet); crown 

 short and narrowly conical; bole clear and straight; often tight 

 circles of young trees are found around old stumps, due to the 

 ability of the tree to crown sprout. 



LEAVES. Spirally arranged, flattened, and decurrent; on 

 lower branches V^-1 inch long, linear, appearing 2-ranked, 

 acute tips, short petioles; on leaders and fertile branches V^-Yz 

 inch long, awl-shaped to needle-shaped, in several ranks and 

 thickly clothing the twigs; dark yellow-green above with two 

 bands of stomata below; persistent several years and falling 

 with twigs. 



FLOWERS. Monoecious; solitary; male oblong, of several 

 spirally arranged bracts containing stamens; female of 15-20 

 spirally arranged, peltate scales, each bearing 3-12 erect ovules; 

 ovuliferous bract and scale partially fused. 



FRUIT. Woody, ovoid, pendent cone; %-l inch long; red- 

 brown; with wrinkled, peltate scales; maturing in one season. 

 Seed: J/fe inch long, light brown, laterally 2-winged with wings 

 as broad as seed, 2-9 seeds on each scale. 



TWIG. Slender, greenish, smooth. Winter buds: small, glo- 

 bose, covered by numerous, imbricated, acute scales. 



BARK. 6-12 inches thick; fibrous; red-brown to cinnamon- 

 brown; deeply furrowed. 



WOOD, Important; light clear red weathering to dark red; 

 soft and weak; very durable; used for lumber, dimension stock, 

 tanks, shingles, and other products. A single tree yielded 480,000 

 board feet. 



SILVICAL CHARACTERS. Very tolerant; growth rapid; 

 maturity reached in 400 to 1,800 years; reproduces vigorously 

 by stump sprouts as well as producing large numbers of seed; 

 deep, wide-spreading lateral root system; remarkably free from 

 enemies. 



HABIT. Restricted to the fog belt in the Coast Ranges from 

 the Santa Lucia Mountains near Carmel, California, to southern 

 Oregon; the dominant species in this narrow belt; in pure 

 stands or mixed with Douglas-fir, Sitka spruce, grand fir, western 

 hemlock, and hardwoods. 



[89] 



