Interesting news about CA Redwoods in the UK.

[SleeplessinSoCal]

World’s largest trees 'thriving in UK'

The giants were first brought to the UK about 160 years ago, and a new study suggests they are growing at a similar rate to their US counterparts.

An estimated 500,000 trees are in the UK compared to 80,000 in California.

However they aren't yet as tall. In California they can reach 90m-high, but in the UK the tallest is 54.87m.

More: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-68518623

[niyad]

1. Thank you for this most interesting article. 500,000 to our 80,000. . .

[Not Heidi]

2. Fascinating.

160 years ago? Wonder how they kept them alive on a trip across the country, then across the Atlantic?

[multigraincracker]

3. Seeds?

Just a wild guess.

[Richard D]

4. I had no clue

525% more California redwoods in the UK than in California. Time for a name change?

I love that they are there. These and California Oaks are my favorite trees. From what I have seen, the California redwoods my suffer greatly from climate change. Good to know that their genetics are safe.

I wonder if they have been planted in large groves in the UK. I"d love to visit them

[PufPuf23]

5. There two types of California redwood.

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.