The Giant Redwood is native to Sierra Nevada in Californian and is confined to a few isolated slopes with a western aspect between 5000 and 8000 feet above sea level. It was introduced to Ireland and the UK in the 1850’s and is commonly found throughout the British Isles with the exception of the West of Ireland.
The bark of the oldest trees is dark pinkish – brown that can be black, almost burnt looking in places. It is very thick and soft with deep, wide fissures that are separated by shedding ridges. It has a tall, narrowly conical growth pattern with dense deep green foliage on large branches. Branches to the top of trees are ascending, with level branches to the middle of the tree with the lowest branches becoming increasingly heavy and drooping before sweeping up at the end. Giant Redwood can grow to a maximum height of 100 m with a girth of up to 27m. Under Irish conditions the largest recorded is 51m high and a girth of 8.6m. Individual trees may live for up to 3400 years.
