Painting Revelation Blog

Sequoia sempervirens

Earlier this month John and I visited our youngest son in San Francisco. One rainy day some good friends from our years in California took us to Muir Woods for a walk through the redwoods. The giant trees are equal parts majestic and mystical.

• 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.
• The oldest verified redwood tree is at least 2,200 years of age, but foresters believe that some may be much older.
• During the dry summers in California, the coast redwoods actually create their own “rain” by condensing heavy fog into drenching showers that provide moisture to the roots below.
• Young redwoods use sunlight so efficiently (3-4 times more than pines) that they can grow even in deep shade.
• With full sunlight and moist soil, a redwood sapling can grow more than 6 feet in a single growing season.

What I like best about the Redwoods is the way they reproduce.
• They have tiny seeds, but they 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.
• 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.

I would love to live my life in such a way that when I am gone, the space I leave and the roots I’ve established will nurture those who were near me and give them a greater boost to reach higher heights.

A California Great Grandmother inside a Redwood

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