So it’s more accurate to speak of “lower foliage” … “middle foliage” … \u00a0“upper foliage”. The taller the old coast redwoods grow, the smaller the foliage may become. I added images below showing foliage from the bottom, middle and top of coast redwoods in a grove reaching close to 300 ft. high. Plus an image of upper foliage and an image of lower foliage with cone.<\/p>\n
Finally, one\u00a0August 9th video claimed that coast redwood branches are made to snap off easily if other branches or trunks hit them. From what I’ve observed among urban and old growth forest redwoods, I don’t find solid evidence to support this. It may seem that way from a limited perspective. Many of the old redwoods have been battered and lost many solid branches over the years. Often, those are replaced with weaker epicormic sprouts that can break off more easily. Otherwise, some coast redwoods retain branches up to three, four or even seven\u00a0feet thick. And those could \u00a0be guaranteed as exceptionally\u00a0strong.<\/p>\n
One more thing worth expounding is Lobaria pulmonaria or “lung lichen<\/strong>“. Ranger Steven mentioned it\u00a0in the Aug. 7th video. Viewers may get the impression that forests ranging from sapling to \u00a0200 ft. can’t grow\u00a0 lung lichen. It’s true that older taller forests can develop lung lichen much more abundant<\/strong>. That’s basically true of coast redwood forest and other like Douglas fir. But it’s not impossible for lung lichen to grow much lower down. I’ve seen it on some species including deciduous trees, growing as low as 8 ft. from the ground, like a spot I recall near the Umpqua River. Similarly, Methuselah’s Beard lichen often takes-hold \u00a0far overhead in older forests. But if you pass through Avenue of the Giants, stop by the Bear Creek bridge and look straight across … eye level – \u00a0at a Bigleaf Maple\u00a0laden with Methuselah’s Beard. But it’s true, given centuries, some of these lichens can multiply far above our heads.<\/p>\n The parks and rangers post a lot of good information, and we thank them for that. But sometimes if the ducks don’t line up in a row, it’s best to correct the dialogue. Thank you for reading.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
![\"Redwood](\"http:\/\/mdvaden.com\/photoblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Foliage_Sample_B_600.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"Redwood](\"http:\/\/mdvaden.com\/photoblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Foliage_Sample_C_600.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"Redwood](\"http:\/\/mdvaden.com\/photoblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/redwood_needles_cones_800-e1502421552892.jpg\")
<\/a>