Sequoia sempervirens, more commonly known as the redwood tree, is native only to an approximately 450-mile stretch along the North American Pacific Coast. The conifers are the tallest living trees on the planet, some of which are more than 2,000 years old.

View a second image of a redwood tree radial section.

Mature redwoods have a thick, deeply furrowed reddish brown bark that makes them very resistant to fire damage, although young trees burn easily. The bark of aged trees may be over a foot thick and is exceedingly impervious to attacks by disease or fungus. However, such natural protections have not protected redwoods from man. Historically, logging has been a constant threat to the redwood forests and contemporary development is also a peril.

Sometimes when a redwood tree is cut, a family circle of trees, frequently referred to as a fairy ring, grows from the stump that remains. Due to the previously established root system, these sprouts grow faster and more heartily than redwood seedlings. Thus, many trees in successive generations are really clones of a single parent and their genetic information may date back thousands of years.