Giant sequoias: There are less than 80,000 of these redwoods left in California,

[speak easy]

Last edited Mon Mar 18, 2024, 12:46 AM - Edit history (1)

... and half a million in the UK.

Redwoods are growing almost as fast in the UK as their Californian cousins

[A Redwood's] thick, spongy bark insulates against fire and disease, and they can survive severe winters and arid summers. Despite these challenges, these trees absorb and store CO₂ faster and in greater quantities than almost any other in the world, storing up to five times more carbon per hectare than even tropical rainforests. However, the changing climate means Californian giant sequoias are under threat from more frequent and extreme droughts and fires. More than 10 percent of the remaining population of around 80,000 wild trees were killed in a single fire in 2020 alone.

What is much less well-known is that there are an estimated half a million sequoias (wild and planted) in England, dotted across the landscape ...
These remarkable trees are being planted in an effort to help absorb carbon, but perhaps more importantly they are becoming a striking and much-admired part of the UK landscape..

So, how did these trees get here? Exotic plant collecting was big business in the 18th and 19th centuries, in large part as a display of wealth and taste. Giant sequoias were first introduced in 1853 by Scottish grain merchant and keen amateur collector Patrick Matthew, who gave them to friends. Later that same year commercial nurseryman William Lobb brought many more from California, along with accounts of the giant trees from which they came.

Giant sequoias quickly became a sensation and were planted to create imposing avenues, at the entrances of grand houses and estates, in churchyards, parks and botanic gardens. The letters about these trees helps us to accurately age planted trees, enabling us to calculate their growth rates.

https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/03/redwoods-are-growing-almost-as-fast-in-the-uk-as-their-californian-cousins/


Hamsterley Forest, UK

[4dog]

1. So they live on fog there, like CA?

[PufPuf23]

3. The range of coast redwood follows the Summer fog line off the Pacific while

Giant Sequoia (subject of article) occur in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

[speak easy]

8. Have edited the OP. ty

[PufPuf23]

2. Neat story but misleading title.

Last edited Mon Mar 18, 2024, 12:42 AM - Edit history (1)

There are two redwoods in California that differ in genus etc.

These trees are Giant Sequoias that are in the Sierras (can tell in photo by buttress at stump) but most California redwoods are coast redwood that are still a commercial species with about 5% of original forests in parks. I live in the National Forest on Klamath River just inland of Redwood National Park and worked for many years and am highly educated and experienced as a forester, also a was CA RPF.

from wiki with some comments copied from California forum.

Sequoiadendron giganteum

Sequoiadendron giganteum is the species of mention here. The range is scattered stands in central Sierra Nevada Mountains. Many have been damaged by fire in recent years.

>>Sequoiadendron giganteum, also known as the giant sequoia, giant redwood or Sierra redwood is a coniferous tree, classified in the family Cupressaceae in the subfamily Sequoioideae. Giant sequoia specimens are the most massive trees on Earth.[3] They are native to the groves on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountain range of California but are grown around the world.

The giant sequoia is listed as an endangered species by the IUCN, with fewer than 80,000 trees remaining. The tree is reducing in numbers in its native California but its numbers are growing in other parts of the world. 500,000 giant redwoods are thriving in the United Kingdom[4][5].

The Giant sequoia grow to an average height of 50–85 m (164–279 ft) with trunk diameters ranging from 6–8 m (20–26 ft). Record trees have been measured at 94.8 m (311 ft) tall. The specimen known to have the greatest diameter at breast height is the General Grant tree at 8.8 m (28.9 ft). Giant sequoias are among the oldest living organisms on Earth. The oldest known giant sequoia is 3,200–3,266 years old.

Wood from mature giant sequoias is fibrous and brittle; trees would often shatter after they were felled. The wood was unsuitable for construction and instead used for fence posts or match sticks. The giant sequoia is a very popular ornamental tree in many parts of the world. A potential hypothesis for the species name, is in honor of the Cherokee Chief Sequoyah, however there are no surviving records of why the species was named as such.>

Sequoia sempervirens

Coast redwood ranges from Big Sur north to slightly into southern Oregon. Coast redwood grows taller, grows faster, and has the highest cubic volume per unit area than any tree on Earth. Think Redwood National Park.

>>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 organisms 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.

[4dog]

4. Thanks, informative.

Drove a little of the coast, just once. Saw another giant of its species on road from Portland to the coast also.

[PufPuf23]

5. There is a 3rd redwood species, the living fossil, Dawn Redwood.

First, the tree you saw driving to Portland is a planting outside the natural range.

Not unusual, the redwoods are planted frequently outside their range.

Have personally visited redwood plantings in UK. In 1994 went to UK with then wife and usually when traveled was interested in the forests. One goal was to attend a book fair in Hay-on-Wye (the town of books according to wiki). Bought a used book on The Trees of Wales (1947). The next two nights we had reservations in Welshpool, Wales. The dated book said the tallest and largest trees in UK were near Welshpool just by coincidence. The tallest tree being Abies grandis (coastal white fir) and the largest a Giant Sequoia (this may not be true now or even then). The largest tree was a Giant Sequoia we did not see.

Went driving in general area and saw from distance what looked like grove with tall tree. Went as close as could be road, climbed a rock fence probably trespassing. Soon we were in a grove with the tallest tree mixed in a planting with Douglas-fir and coast redwood and a trail that we followed. The forest grew tamer and then we were in a younger grove of pure coast redwood, looked just like a young growth redwood forest in my home, Humboldt County. Proceeding on the trail, there started to be markers and explanatory info. We were on a formal nature trail and soon were at trailhead in a parking lot with a building the housed the Royal Forestry Society, the improvements developed after the 1947 book.

The next day we had to leave having reservations that night in Bath and the next day in Stratford on Avon. Just outside of Welshpool here was a funky old buy active sawmill and had to stop. We were approached by a fellow that was the forester for Welshpool Castle (that we had not visited). He explained the sawmill was for use for repairs and replacement at the Castle that had acreage and an active commercial timber program and invited us to tour but we had to continue (and never have been back).

Back to Dawn redwood (which is deciduous and beautiful)

Metasequoia (Dawn Redwood)

Metasequoia, or dawn redwood, is a genus of fast-growing coniferous trees, one of three species of conifers known as redwoods. The living species Metasequoia glyptostroboides is native to Lichuan county in Hubei province, China. Although the shortest of the redwoods, it grows to at least 165 feet (50 meters) in height. Local villagers refer to the original tree from which most others derive as Shuǐshān (水杉 , or "water fir", which is part of a local shrine. Since its rediscovery in 1944, the dawn redwood has become a popular ornamental, with examples found in various parks in a variety of countries.

Together with Sequoia sempervirens (coast redwood) and Sequoiadendron giganteum (giant sequoia) of California, Metasequoia is classified in the Cupressaceae subfamily Sequoioideae. M. glyptostroboides is the only living species in its genus, but three fossil species are known. Sequoioideae and several other genera have been transferred from the former family Taxodiaceae to Cupressaceae based on DNA analysis.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metasequoia

[4dog]

6. I saw a meta in New Jersey. Nice foliage.

The tree in Oregon was not a sequoia but some other Western conifer.

[PufPuf23]

7. Sorry misread your post.

Probably a Douglas-fir, Sitka spruce or western red cedar.

[The_REAL_Ecumenist]

9. Umm, whoever wrote this article needs to understand that Redwoods & Sequoias are "TWO DIFFERENT TREES"

They are NOT interchangeable. I live in northern Callifornia and spend SIGNIFICANT time in Arcata, Bridgeville, Rio Dell & Kneeland. I understand that both species of trees are under threat BUT they are were not the clearest in explaining which trees were sent to Hibernia & Britain.

[speak easy]

10. Umm ... no. This is a study of Sequoiadendron giganteum in the UK

Giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) in the UK: carbon storage potential and growth rates
https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.230603.

Throughout the article the author is clear he is studying the Giant sequoias first introduced in 1853 by Scottish grain merchant and keen amateur collector Patrick Matthew "More recently, there has been a resurgence in planting giant sequoias in the UK, particularly in urban settings. This is because of their carbon storage potential and perhaps because people seem to really like them."

Yes, the half a million number conflates "Giant sequoias (Sequoiadendron giganteum) are some of the UK’s largest trees, despite only being introduced in the mid-nineteenth century. There are an estimated half a million giant sequoias and closely related coastal redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens) in the UK. "

But the TFA its about giant sequoias which are plentiful in Britain.

[The_REAL_Ecumenist]

11. UMM YES, they are TWO DIFFERENT trees!

GIANT SEQUOIA

Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Gymnosperms
Division: Pinophyta
Class: Pinopsida
Order: Pinales
Family: Cupressaceae
Genus: Sequoiadendron
Species: Sequoiadendron giganteum
NATURAL RANGE: The SIERRA NEVADA MOUNTAIN RANGE in CALIFORNIA
USDA Hardiness Zone: Zone 6-9
Elevation Limit: Upper elevation limit: 8,858 ft (2,700 m) to Lower elevation limit: 2,723 ft (830 m)
Size: Height: up to 300 ft (91 m)
Shape: Pyramidal-oval shape; columnar trunks
Foliage: Scale-like
Wood: High-quality, rot-resistant
Cones: 1.97 – 3.54 inches (5 to 9 cm)

COAST REDWOOD
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Gymnosperms
Division: Pinophyta
Class: Pinopsida
Order: Pinales
Family: Cupressaceae
Genus: Sequoia
Species: Sequoia sempervirens
Natural ORIGIN: Coastal Extreme southwestern Oregon & Coastal Northwestern California
Natural Habitat Forests Forests
USDA Hardiness Zone: Zone 7 to 10
Elevation Limit: Upper elevation limit: 3,018 ft (920 m) to Lower elevation limit: 3 ft (1 m)
Size: Height: 200 to 325 ft (60 to 99 m)
Shape: Straight, slender trunk; conical crown
Wood: High-quality, decay-resistant
Cones: 0.8 – 1 inch (2 to 2.5 cm)

THEY ARE NOT THE SAME TREE SPECIES! They are 2 DIFFERENT trees. I am a Native Californian and LIVE IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA! I know what I'm talking about.

[speak easy]

12. Are you saying that giant sequoias are not 'redwoods'

as popularly understood?

[PufPuf23]

14. Both Giant Sequoia and Coast Redwoods are redwoods

and the third species of tree called redwood is the Dawn Redwood, fossil tree found in China in 1944, a third redwood genus.

Some fossilized trees in Arizona's Petrified Forest National Park are related the modern redwoods.

Preserved bark is rare, but known bark fossils show that it is thin and "rippled", with low ridges and longitudinal furrows similar to some modern pines. The roots, when preserved, are significantly different from modern conifers: There is a massive central taproot, up to 5 meters (16.4 feet) long, ringed by four to six thick lateral roots. Modern conifers, on the other hand, typically bear a circular cluster of relatively small, narrow roots. No known conifer foliage is directly associated with the trunks, but common conifer leaves such as Pagiophyllum, Brachyphyllum, and Podozamites are also known from the Chinle Formation.[4] In life, Araucarioxylon arizonicum may have looked similar to a medium-sized Sequoiadendron giganteum (giant sequoia).[

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Araucarioxylon_arizonicum

[The_REAL_Ecumenist]

18. There are alot of things that are popularly understood BUT are completely wrong....

Even though they belong to the same clade & are RELATED, they're more like Ovids, (sheep) & Bovines, (cows) in that they're both ruminants BUT cannot interbreed. BTW, they're NOT both redwoods, they are what they are and as in the earlier example, they do belong to the same Family, the CYPRESS family BUT like in the earlier example, they are NOT compatible, CANNOT interbreed because they belong to different genera. So NO, they are NOT the same tree. FACT & end of story.

[speak easy]

19. The point is there are 500,000 redwoods in the the UK

not which species they belong to -

But there are more than just a handful of giant redwoods in the UK, and Wakehurst has many more than these three. The Victorians were so impressed that they brought seeds and seedlings from the US in such large numbers that there are now approximately 500,000 in Britain, according to a Forestry Commission estimate that includes coastal redwoods and dawn redwoods (a separate Chinese species) as well as the giant redwoods. Experts at Kew think most of the UK trees are giant sequoias, the official name for giant redwoods. California has about 80,000 giant redwoods, as well as also having coastal redwoods and a few ornamental dawn redwoods imported from China.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/mar/16/hidden-giants-how-the-uks-500000-redwoods-put-california-in-the-shade

[PufPuf23]

13. SE already changed the OP title from California Redwoods to Giant Sequoias.

Last edited Mon Mar 18, 2024, 05:42 PM - Edit history (1)

Oops edit because did not finish post.

The same article is in California Forum and confuses Giants Sequoia with Coast Redwoods.

Maybe work on that thread?

https://www.democraticunderground.com/104033782

[speak easy]

15. This OP was always titled "Giant Sequoias"

I had no idea there were any other sort of redwoods but since reading the responses,, and have had an enjoyable time zipping around the net, educating myself. Thank you all.

[PufPuf23]

16. Excuse me. Confused with the article in California Forum

entitled "Interesting news about CA Redwoods in the UK"

[The_REAL_Ecumenist]

17. Not a problem. I was a bit perplexed because being a native California girl, I instantly knew that this

was an HUGE mistake. NO worries, however, we all make mistakes.