Family: Cupressaceae, Cypress view all from this family
Description Coniferous tree known as redwood. World's largest
tree in terms of total volume. Record trees 94.8 m. (311 ft.)
height and 17 m. (56 ft.) diameter. Bark reddish-brown, fibrous,
furrowed, and may be 90 cm. (3.0 ft.) at trunk base. Leaves
blue-green, awl-shaped, 3–6 mm. long, arranged spirally on the
shoots. Cones 4–7 cm. long and mature in 18–20 months, though
they typically remain green and closed for up to 20 years; each
cone 30-50 spirally arranged scales, with several seeds on each
scale giving an average of 230 seeds per cone. Seeds dark brown,
4–5 mm. long and 1 mm. broad, with a 1 mm. wide yellow-brown
wing along each side. Seed shed when the cone scales shrink
during hot weather in late summer, but most seeds liberated when
the cone dries from fire heat or is damaged by insects.
Dimensions Height: 46-76 m. (150-250 ft.) Diameter: 6 m. (20
ft.) sometimes larger. Habitat Canyons & valleys, Mountains.
Discussion Sole living species in the