The photo below shows part of a huge limb, like 150 ft. up from the ground, on Arco Giant, the 11th largest known Coast Redwood. This shot taken with a zoom lens, sort of has a story to tell.

The branch collar to the right indicates that there was more to the limb once, and it broke or peeled away, leaving what I believe to be the other 1/2 or 2/3 which split. I don’t think the remnant was two limbs that fused … the shape of the branch collar has me suspecting that. Typically when trunks peel apart or limbs peel apart, what remains is bark toward the outside and splintered looking wood on the inside.

What used to be the inside, is covered with bark now. Virtually everything you see here is bark, and for that bark to exist, there had to be cambium, phloem and some wood growing beneath it too. So this wound could easily be a century or more old. Regardless of just how long, the tree’s structure endured here, growing more wood and adding more strength with that extra wood. I suppose “endurance” could seem more like a human trait, but it’s the word that came to mind. Either way, the Coast Redwoods are remarkable for recovering with new growth, resisting decay and generating enormous growth.

Arco Giant redwood limb