Sequoia (sempervirens)Root Systems

Sequoias Sequoia sempervirens do have shallow roots and, if they do, do they depend on
the roots
of other Sequoia trees to support one another the way the coastal Redwoods do?

Sequoias do have shallow, spreading roots without a tap root. I do not have any details on
support.
Species Name: Sequoia -- from the Cherokee Indian chief Sequoyah
sempervirens -- from the Latin meaning "always green"

Relatives: The coast redwood has only two close relatives. The shorter but more massive giant
sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) grows only in California's Sierra Nevada
Mountains. The deciduous dawn redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides), a vt at 361
feet in height, is found native only in a remote area of central China.

Location: this tree naturally achieves its majestic heights and lush groves only in one place in
the world -- a 450-mile strip along the Pacific Coast of North America, beginning in
southern Oregon and ending just south of Monterey, California. The trees prosper in
this mild climate zone, where winter rains and summer fog provide an even
temperature and a high level of year-round moisture. The trees inhabit sheltered,
well-watered places of rich soil as far inland from the Pacific Ocean as the fog drift --
seldom more than 20 miles -- and up the coastal mountainsides to about 2,000 feet
elevation.

Age: The oldest verified redwood tree is at least 3500 years of age, but foresters believe
that some may be much older.

Size: The coast redwoods are the tallest living species on Earth. Often they can reach
heights of 300-350 feet and diameters of 16-18 feet. More than a dozen trees
exceeding 360 feet in height are now growing along the California coast.

Redwoods are also renowned for their extremely high volume of standing biomass, in
some stands exceeding 3,500 metric tons per acre.

Growth: Redwood trees can grow very rapidly. Young trees develop a narrow conical
silhouette--the highest branches reaching upward, the lower ones drooping. This
shape changes with age.

Young redwoods use sunlight so efficiently (3-4 times more than pines) that they can
grow even in deep shade. But with full sunlight and moist soil, a redwood sapling can
grow more than 6 feet in a single growing season!

Water Redwoods are a hydrostatic marvel. They can siphon water upward to great heights,
Wonder: fighting gravity and friction every inch of the way. And during the dry summers in
California, the coast redwoods actually create their own "rain" by condensing heavy
fog into drenching showers that provide welcome moisture to the roots below.

In addition, scientists believe that redwoods take in much of their water directly
 from the air, through their needles and through canopy roots which the trees sprout
on their branches. Lofty "soil mats" formed by trapped dust, needles, seeds and other
materials act like sponges to capture the water that nurtures these canopy roots.
Moisture from fog is thought to provide 30% to 40% of a redwood's water supply.

Natural The redwood's thick bark, with deep furrows running the length of the trees, is a rich
Features: reddish brown. It is this bark that gives the redwoods their excellent fire-resistant
quality.

Reproduction: Redwood cones release tiny brown seeds when mature. (They're so small that it takes
about 125,000 to make a pound!) A single tree may produce six million seeds in a
year. Of these seeds, less than 5% germinate, and of these, very few actually grow
into seedlings. Redwoods are also capable of sprouting from the roots of parent
trees, from dormant buds in the burls at the base of a tree, or from fallen trees. As
well, if a tree is cut or burned, a family circle of trees ("fairy ring") may sprout up
from the stump. These sprouts, because of already established root systems, grow
more vigorously than seedlings and so are the more common form of reproduction. In
fact, successive generations of sprouts are really "clone trees". Thus the genetic
information of an individual redwood may be thousands of years old, dating back to
the first parent.

sequoia
Either of two species of conifer tree belonging to the redwood family, native to the western USA. The
redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) is a long-living timber tree, and one specimen, the Howard Libbey
Redwood, is the world's tallest tree at 361 ft, with a trunk circumference of 44 ft. The giant sequoia
(Sequoiadendron giganteum) reaches up to 100 ft in circumference at the base of the trunk, and grows
almost as tall as the redwood. It is also (except for the bristlecone pine) the oldest living tree, some
specimens being estimated at over 3,500 years of age. (Family Taxodiaceae.)

Here is a time line concerning the oldest living tree, Giant Sequoia “Grizzly”,
presently growing in Great Sequoia National Monument.
“Grizzly” and other Giant Sequoias are impressive, standing as tall as the Statue of
Liberty (305 feet) and having diameters of greater than 35 feet.

Take a look at history through the lives of these 3500 year olds!

1500 years Before Christ Grizzly sprouted

1323 BC King Tut was entombed
775 BC The modern alphabet developed by the
Greeks
221 BC The Great Wall of China started
331 AD The Roman Empire Falls
1595 AD Shakespeare writes “Romeo and
 Juliet”
1776 AD The Declaration of Independence is signed
1890 AD SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARK established
1969 AD Man lands on the Moon
2004 AD ???????????????????????????????????????

No One Need Stand Alone

Courage, Strength & Wisdom

Roots – Hold up each other

Always green – God’s people are always up
361’ hight – we are above the rest
Only in one place – God’s church is only going to one place
Growth rapidly – we are growing rapidly
Bark is burn resistance – we are fire proof.

1 Corinthians 13