>Redwoods:
>
>Sequoia sempervirens seems to need both cool and moist to really do
>well. In the best redwood habitat, it does get hot during the day, but
>the nights are almost always cool. The moisture barrier is evident along
>the redwood forest/chaparal border but there seems to be more than mists
>involved in their survival. You will see redwoods in the S.F. Bay area,
>where they get plenty of mist, but they are almost always very stressed
>specimens. The cooler climate up north doesn't hurt the redwoods; they
>survive beautifully in Seattle and farther north; the climate however
>favors Douglas-fir as the dominant tree and the redwoods can't get the
>upper hand.
Large numbers of redwoods also create their own cooler habitat through
respiration. Logging has reduced their numbers and the size of their range
which in turn reduces their ability to withstand warm spells between times
of heavy fog and rain.
>
>As for conjecture - well, I'd love to hear other ideas too. Since we
>have three genera in the Americas that are very widely distributed, there
>must have been some central distribution point. We are here to share
>ideas and learn things too, not necessarily to always be right.
>Everyone's understanding of horticulture, evolution, botany, and geology
>is not equal, and that is to be expected. No need to chide people for that.
>Bob
Hear hear! The listserv can be fun too. Besides the "truth" is always
stranger than first believed (just look at the history of scientific
debate), is always changing, and one can always keep a balanced perspective
while entertaining concepts from the fringe.
Didn't someone find that Cephalotus is related to roses through DNA analysis?
Had this been thought of before DNA analysis?
Serious research can have a sense of humor too!
John Phillips
Information Services and Interlibrary Loan
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