The tallest of the world's trees is the redwood. One tree in Redwood National Park, California, was measured at 367.8 feet (112.1 meters). Many redwoods are taller than 300 feet (90 meters). The redwood belongs to the same family of trees as the giant sequoia. The redwood's scientific name, Sequoia sempervirens, combines the name of Sequoyah, a Native American of the Cherokee nation, with a Latin word meaning “evergreen.”

Where redwoods grow

Redwoods grow in the Pacific Coast region of North America, from southwestern Oregon to central California. They are found in moist, foggy areas at elevations up to 3,300 feet (1,000 meters) above sea level. A related tree called the dawn redwood was believed to exist only in fossils until living specimens were discovered in central China. The giant sequoia of inland California and the Japanese cedar of eastern Asia are other trees that are sometimes called redwoods.

Physical features

A redwood's towering height requires massive support. At ground level is a huge gnarled base. Rising from the base is a straight trunk that can often be 10 to 20 feet (3 to 6 meters) across. The trunk may have no branches for the first 100 feet (30 meters) or so of its height because redwoods shed their lower limbs as they grow.

The leaves on a redwood's lower branches are dark green, shiny, and pointed. Short twisting needles grow closer to the top. The seeds of a redwood are carried on its cones, which are only about 1 inch (2.5 centimeters) long.

A redwood tree is not fully mature until it is 400 or 500 years old, and it may live for more than 1,000 years after that. The long life is partly due to the way the wood resists disease and parasites. The trees resist fire also. Redwood bark is so thick that only the hottest forest fires can burn through it.

Redwoods cling to life even after they fall. Sprouts can arise from the stump of a tree that has been chopped down or from the burls—flattened growths—on the trunk of a tree that has crashed to the ground. Because redwoods have a shallow root system, they do indeed fall over.

Uses

Redwood makes an excellent construction material. Much of old San Francisco was built with redwood timber from nearby groves. In addition, redwood is in demand as a material for furniture, shingles, fence posts, and paneling. In order to save some of the tallest trees for future generations, the Redwood National Park was established in northwestern California in 1968. Several state parks have been established since then to protect even more trees.