PLANT SOCIETIES 



445 



shade-endurers are apt to have the advantage in the natural 

 regeneration of the forest. The hemlock spruce, for example, is 

 a shade-endurer, and thus the seedlings and young trees in the 

 forest stand a good chance of coming to maturity. The redwood 

 (Sequoia sempervirens] is a light-demander, and so natural 

 regeneration by seed is difficult except in open places. The red- 

 wood, however, develops abundant coppice, and the great amount 

 of nutriment in the roots of the large trees supplies it with an 



Fig. 407. 

 Coppice from redwood, showing sprouts 6 to 8 years old. (From Bull. 38, Bureau of Forestry.) 



abundance of food, so that it grows rapidly, the stems often 

 becoming quite tall, and the young trees remaining white except 

 for a small crown of green leafage at the top. The big tree 

 (Sequoia washingtoniana) regenerates by seed, and while not a 

 great shade-endurer, enough seedlings survive to provide a suc- 

 cession of different ages where lumbering is not practiced. 



