In the depths of winter, an amazing emergence of emerald green ferns appear on cliffs, rocks, and forest tree trucks throughout the coast redwood forest. These delicate beauties are Polypodium glycyrrhiza, commonly known as licorice fern. The species name, glycyrrhiza, means sweet root in Greek and is aptly named because the fern’s rhizome tastes faintly of licorice. This … Continue reading
Last month, redwood scientists and forest stewards from as far away as New Zealand gathered for the fourth Coast Redwood Science Symposium in Eureka, CA. Twenty years after the first symposium, this three-day event showcased a tremendous amount of progress in the field of redwood science in topics ranging from genetics to wildlife. Highlights from … Continue reading
The beautiful Alerce trees, Fitzroya cupressoides, grow in the cool rainforests of Chile, just to the west of the Andes. The Alerce are members of the same conifer family as the redwoods (the Cupressaceae) and the two species share many striking similarities. As Ruskin mentioned, the Alerce live as far south of the equator as … Continue reading
Redwoods are in the news this week, reminding the world once again that Earth’s tallest trees are truly ecosystems in their own right. Teeming with life from quite literally their roots to their highest leaves, the magnificent coast redwoods are home to hundreds of other species. With the pioneering redwood canopy research that began in … Continue reading
Did you know that the coast redwood forest is home to a native rose? The wood rose or dwarf rose, is known botanically as Rosa gymnocarpa. It grows throughout Western North America and commonly grows on the forest floor of coast redwood forests reaching heights of approximately 4 feet. In the spring (April – June), … Continue reading
Warning: this topic is gruesome, and awesome. Last week, Land Project Manager Christine Aralia and I walked the Orick Mill Site with Texas State researcher Butch Weckerly. Butch has studied the Roosevelt elk in Redwood National and State Parks since 1997, witnessing local extinctions and population explosions of the elk over the years. We walked … Continue reading
This gorgeous video by Wendy Baxter, a Redwoods and Climate Change Initiative researcher, shows the beauty and intrigue of mating season for red-bellied newts in the old-growth coast redwood forest at Montgomery Woods State Natural Reserve. Continue reading
