Grove of Titans

Arborist glancing at Screaming Titans, a coastal redwood in the Grove of Titans.

The Grove of Titans is a redwood grove within Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, in Del Norte County, Northern California.

Description

The Grove of Titans includes several massive Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) trees, some being among the largest known in terms of wood volume. The largest Coast redwood tree in the grove by volume is Lost Monarch. It's 42,500 cu. ft. volume includes 6,000 cu. ft. from a large basal sprout from the ground, which can be considered a separate tree. The largest single stem Coastal Redwood there is Del Norte Titan.[1] The grove no longer has the largest coast redwood trunk following more recent 2014 discoveries.[2] Refer to the Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) article for a list ranking size (2009).

History

The Grove of Titans (unofficial name) was discovered May 11, 1998, by Stephen Sillett, and naturalist Michael Taylor in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park.[3] The discovery implies that Sillett and Taylor are the first to realize and declare the significance of the grove, not that they are the first ones to have seen the grove. The grove's botanical significance is claimed by one author to be near equal with Atlas Grove to the south.[3]

Flora

Names of the named largest Coast redwoods in this grove include: Lost Monarch, Del Norte Titan, El Viejo del Norte, Screaming Titans, Eärendil and Elwing, Aragorn, Sacajawea, Aldebaran, and Stalagmight.[3]

Abundant understory plants include: California sword ferns ( Polystichum munitum), Redwood sorrel (Oxalis oregana), and Giant chain ferns (Woodwardia fimbriata).

Location

The Grove of Titans is within Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, part of the Redwood National and State Parks group, located south of Highway 199. The park is near Crescent City and the community of Hiouchi. Access to the park is via Highway 199 and Howland Hill Rd.

The location was described by author Richard Preston in The Wild Trees: A Story Of Passion And Daring as "the bottom of a hidden notch-like valley near a glade." The exact location within the park has not been revealed in the book for fear that excessive foot traffic will damage the trees.[3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Gymnosperm Database
  2. ↑ http://www.mdvaden.com/redwood_year_discovery.shtml
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Preston, Richard (2007). The Wild Trees: A Story Of Passion And Daring. Allen Lane Publishers.

External links