Ever-Living Sequoia
The scientific name for coast redwoods is Sequoia Sempervirens, which loosely translates to “ever-living”.
It’s estimated a single old-growth redwood is capable of producing 100,000 cones each year. Each cone has 90-120 seeds. So a single tree could produce 10 million seeds in a single year! However, 90% of these seeds will not be fertile due to fungus that grows on the cones. Of the remaining 10%, most will die unless they find the perfect conditions to germinate. But coast redwoods have another method of regeneration: burls.
They are able to sprout from root collar burls at the base of the tree. By doing this, they use the existing root system of the parent tree to deliver nutrients and provide stability. These sprouted trees can eventually grow to maturity even after the parent tree has died and fallen to the forest floor. After these trees reach maturity, they too will have root collar burls, and the regeneration process continues. In this way, a single parent tree clones itself for many generations.
This tree has many burl sprouts growing from the base. One has grown to six inches (15 cm) in diameter and is 30 ft (9 meters) tall. Eventually, most sprouts will die, leaving only the most hardy. You may have noticed several trees growing in a circle around an open area. This phenomena, called a “fairy ring”, is caused by the parent tree dying and decaying, leaving the sprouts that have grown into mature trees.
