Coast redwood
The tallest tree on Earth, a fog-loving evergreen of the northern California coast where trails at Redwood run beneath 300-foot trunks.
Coast redwood at a glance
Sequoia sempervirens REDwood; Sequoia sempervirens is seh-KWOY-uh sem-per-VY-renz
- Type
- Plant · tree
- Diet
- Producer
- Size
- The tallest known redwood, a tree called Hyperion, is about 380 feet high, taller than a 35-story building and higher than the Statue of Liberty. A single trunk can be wider than a car is long.
- Lifespan
- A very long life for a tree. The oldest known coast redwood is about 2,200 years old, and many in the forest are more than 600 years old.
- Conservation
- Endangered (IUCN)
Eats sunlight, water, carbon dioxide, coastal fog, soil nutrients
A redwood makes its own food. Its needles catch sunlight and turn it, water, and carbon dioxide from the air into sugar. It also drinks the fog that rolls in off the ocean, combing moisture out of the air with its leaves so it can stay wet through the dry summer.
Is it safe to touch?
A redwood will not hurt you. There is nothing to grab, sting, or bite. The rule goes the other way: their shallow roots and young sprouts are easy to trample, so stay on the trail, and never carve into or peel the bark.
The coast redwood is the tallest living thing on the planet. The record holder, a tree named Hyperion, stands about 380 feet high, taller than a 35-story building and higher than the Statue of Liberty, and a single trunk can be wider than a car is long. It grows in a narrow strip of foggy country along the northern California coast, and the trails at Redwood National and State Parks run right beneath those trunks. Like every green plant, it makes its own food: its needles turn sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide into sugar. What sets it apart is the fog. A redwood combs moisture straight out of the ocean air with its leaves, which helps it stay wet through the long dry summer and climb higher than any other tree.
A redwood is built to last. Its bark can be more than a foot thick, soaks up water, and shrugs off fire that would kill most other trees, which is why so many old redwoods carry black fire scars up the trunk and keep growing anyway. The tree can also copy itself. New redwoods sprout from the roots or from a fallen trunk, and a ring of young trees, called a fairy ring, often circles the stump of a parent tree. The oldest known coast redwood is about 2,200 years old, and plenty of the trees standing in the forest today were already tall when the trails around them were footpaths.
The forest these trees make is the homeland of the Yurok, Tolowa, and Hupa peoples, who have lived among the redwoods for thousands of years. The tree is also in trouble. Loggers cut most of the old redwood forest in the last century and a half, and the coast redwood is now listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. The rule for a visitor is a gentle one: the roots run shallow and the young sprouts trample easily, so stay on the trail, and never carve into or peel the bark.
Did you know?
- Coast redwoods are the tallest living things on the planet. The record holder tops 380 feet, and the tree grows so tall partly because it can pull extra water straight out of ocean fog.
- Redwood bark can be more than a foot thick and soaks up water, which helps the tree survive fires that would kill most other trees. Many old redwoods carry black fire scars and keep growing anyway.
- Redwoods can grow a whole new tree from their own roots or a fallen trunk. Rings of young redwoods, called fairy rings, often circle the stump of a parent tree.
Common questions
What is the tallest tree in the world?
A coast redwood. The tallest one, named Hyperion, is about 380 feet high, taller than a 35-story building. You can see huge redwoods along the trails at Redwood National and State Parks.
How old do redwoods get?
Very old. The oldest known coast redwood is around 2,200 years old, and lots of them have been alive for more than 600 years.
How do redwoods drink water?
From the ground and from the sky. Their roots pull up rain, and their leaves comb water out of the thick ocean fog, which keeps them wet through the dry summer.
Are redwoods and giant sequoias the same tree?
No, but they are cousins. Coast redwoods are the tallest trees. Giant sequoias, which grow in the mountains, are the biggest by size around the trunk.