Oregon redwoods

According to the fossil record, redwoods once occupied a large expanse of territory across North America. Today they are restricted to a narrow coastal band along the Pacific coast where year-round temperatures are mild.

The modern day range of Sequoia sempervirens stretches from Big Sur in Monterey County, California to just across the California-Oregon border. At the southern end of the range, the trees tend to be shorter, tucked away inside steep valleys cut into the Big Sur coastline. They may survive courtesy of tongues of fog that roll in from the cool Pacific into the coastal valleys, while finding the dryer warm hillsides too inhospitable. Towards the northern end of the range in Humboldt and Del Norte counties, the redwoods reach their most favorable conditions, at least as evidenced by the size of the trees. In Tall Trees Grove in Redwood National Park in northern California, for example, several contenders for the world's tallest tree thrive near Redwood Creek.

Though I have spent much time among the redwoods throughout much of their range, until this week I had never seen the northernmost trees in the southwest corner of Oregon. The occasion was the first leg of a Pacific Northwest vacation in northwestern California and southeast Oregon. After an early morning exploration of rocky tidepools in Crescent City, I thought it would be an opportune time to make a detour to find the redwoods before heading to Oregon Caves National Monument (hopefully more on these adventures in later posts).

After crossing into Oregon heading north on US101, one heads east to follow the course of the Winchuck River for a few miles and then turns off onto a narrow one-lane road that winds into the western reaches of the Rogue River Siskiyou National Forest. About 2-2.5 miles into the road, the distinctive clusters of redwoods begin to appear among other conifers and at 4 miles the road ends and the Oregon redwood trail begins.

Redwood sorrel and wild ginger.

Maianthemum sp. 

The old growth forest hosts the typical consortium of understory species in Sequoia forests: carpets of redwood sorrel, tufts of sword ferns, and rhododendrons. I also observed huckleberry bushes, wild ginger, and a few orange tiger lilies.

Reference

Turner M, Gustafson P. 2006. Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest. Timber Press, Portland, OR.