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Sequoia Trees Facts & Worksheets

Known for being the largest trees in the world, Sequoia trees, more commonly known as Redwood trees or Redwoods, refer to three species of trees that have reddish colored wood.

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Known for being the largest trees in the world, Sequoia trees, more commonly known as Redwood trees or Redwoods, refer to three species of trees that have reddish colored wood. These three species are Coast Redwood, Sierra Redwood, and Dawn Redwood. Redwoods are part of the subfamily Sequoioideae under the cypress family Cupressaceae. They are usually found in the coastal forests of Northern California.

See the fact file below for more information on the Sequoia trees or alternatively, you can download our 20-page Sequoia Trees worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

COAST REDWOOD

  • The scientific name for the Coast Redwood is Sequoia sempervirens. They are among the oldest living things on the planet, reaching 2,000 years or more in age.
  • Their trunk is covered in thick, soft red bark, which can grow up to 30 cm – 1 foot in thickness. This bark is fire-resistant, which means it can protect the trees from most fires.
  • The roots of the Coast Redwood grow and spread widely just under the surface of the ground and do not go much deeper. Their branches grow out horizontally and are covered with green needle-like leaves.
  • Young Coast Redwoods grow their branches from ground level but as they grow, they lose their lower branches up to 20 or 30 meters. This allows other smaller plants to grow in their shade.
  • The tree also grows seed cones that bear small winged seeds that enable the survival of the seedlings during autumn.
  • When the wind has dispersed the seedlings, they begin to grow rapidly and reach 20 meters in 20 years. Coast Redwoods can also reproduce by sprouting from the root, stump, or a fallen branch.
  • Coast Redwoods provide a valuable source of timber for California. The lumber from the tree is highly valued because of its lightweight quality and resistance to decay. There are about a million acres managed for Redwood timber production.

COAST REDWOOD

  • In terms of total volume, the Giant Sequoia, or Sequoiadenron giganteum, is the world’s largest tree. They can reach a height of 50-85 meters and a thickness of 5-7 meters in diameter. Its bark is fibrous and can grow up to 2 feet thick at the base of the trunk.
  • The Giant Sequoia reproduces mostly by seeds and they can start to grow their own cones at the age of 20 years. The leaves are evergreen and arranged spirally on the shoots.
  • This tree regenerates primarily by its seed cones that have 30-50 spirally arranged scales containing a total of 230 seeds per cone. Giant Sequoias can disperse 300,000 to 400,000 winged seeds a year with the wind carrying them up to 180 meters from the parent tree.
  • Two animals also aid in the Giant Sequoia’s seed dispersal: the longhorn beetle and the Douglas squirrel.
  • The longhorn beetle lays eggs that hatch into larvae, which in turn bore holes into the cone enabling the seeds to release. The Douglas squirrel gnaws on the cone, which allows seeds to fall and disperse to the ground.
  • Giant Sequoia trees can usually be found in environments with a humid climate, dry summers, and snowy winters. Their natural distribution is limited to the Sierra Nevada area of California and they occur in scattered groves.
  • These trees however are having difficulty reproducing in their natural habitats due to competing plant-life. They require periodic wildfire to clear out the surrounding vegetation around the trees.
  • Due to the Giant Sequoia tree’s lightweight and brittle wood, they are generally unstable for construction. They have become a popular ornamental tree instead, with some entrepreneurs cultivating them for Christmas trees.

DAWN REDWOOD

  • Dawn Redwood trees, known by the scientific name Metasequoia glyptostroboides, can be found in the provinces of Sichuan and Hubei in Central China.
  • They are smaller than Coast Redwoods and Giant Sequoias and unlike these two, which retain their leaves throughout the year, Dawn Redwoods shed all their foliage for a part of the year.
  • The leaves of Dawn Redwoods have a bright green color that turns reddish-brown during the autumn season. Their cones are 2-3 centimeters in diameter with 16-30 scales. Older specimens of the Dawn Redwood form wide buttresses on the lower trunk.
  • This tree was first described as a fossil from the Mesozoic era but a living specimen was found in China in 1941. After World War II, scientists from the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University began collecting seeds and distributing them worldwide to test the tree’s capacity for growth and survival.
  • The Dawn Redwood has proven easy to grow in temperate regions and is now popular as an ornamental tree.

Sequoia Trees Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about the Sequoia trees across 20 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Sequoia Trees worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about the Sequoia trees, more commonly known as Redwood trees or Redwoods, which refer to three species of trees that have reddish colored wood. These three species are Coast Redwood, Sierra Redwood, and Dawn Redwood. Redwoods are part of the subfamily Sequoioideae under the cypress family Cupressaceae. They are usually found in the coastal forests of Northern California.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • Sequoia Trees Facts
  • What About Sequoia?
  • Towering Facts
  • Sequoia Tree Parts
  • Three Redwood Species
  • Redwood Gallery
  • Sequoia FAQs
  • Save the Forests
  • Collage of Uses
  • Ode to the Trees
  • Call to Attention

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Link will appear as Sequoia Trees Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, August 3, 2020

Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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