Redwood Forest
Explore this virtual redwood exhibit to see who lives in the redwood forest, how we learn about redwoods, how redwoods play a role in our ecosystem and where you can get out and see redwoods in our community.
Redwood Family Tree
Below you will read about different types of redwoods.
Fast Facts: Dawn Redwood
(Metasequoia glyptostroboides)
The dawn redwood is commonly known as "water-fir" or "water pine" in China because of its tendency to grow in low-lying areas near rivers and streams.
Before it was discovered in a remote area of China (in 1944), the species was thought to be extinct.
It is the smalles of the three redwoods (typically between 50 and 60 feet tall.)
It is a deciduous tree (which means it looses its leaves in the winter) rather then an evergreen (like it s two family relatives.)
Fast Facts: Redwoods
(Sequoia sempervirens)
Each cone contains 14 to 24 tiny seeds: It could tak well voer 100,000 sees to weight a pound!
One of th tallest living things on Earth which live to more than 2,000 years.
Grow naturally today only in a narrow 450-mile strip along the Pacific coast.
Life in the canopy of redwood forests includes worms, salamanders and plants such as Sitka spruce, ferns, and huckleberry.
They create their own "rain" by capturing the fog on their lofty branches.
Fast Facts: Giant Sequoia
(Sequoiadendron gigantium)
This is the world's most massice tree and one of the oldes, often living to 3,000 years.
Earth's last giant sequoias total fewer than 48,000 total acres distributed in 77 scattered groves along the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
To thrive, giant sequoias require thousands of gallons of water each day (the average American uses 80-100 gallons daily.)
Dendrochronology
A method of scientific dating base on the analysis of tree ring patterns.
See Redwoods in our Community
View suggested places to walk among redwoods, see redwood curriculum for in the classroom and outdoor education, and learn more about current redwood research.