Super Colossus Coast Redwood

by Mario Vaden

 

The Super Colossus

Here is another of the most unusual coast redwoods tucked away in Redwood National and State Parks. This redwood is not just any single trunk. It's a huge dome of bark and wood and emerging trunks combined. It's possible this entire redwoods' main trunk may be a huge burl. Compared to another burl elsewhere that was calculated at 40,000 lbs. this would have to be nearly 90,000 lbs. of burl wood.

September 2015, John Montague sent a note that the diameter was 28.7 feet wide. The Super Colossus exceeds two diameter champions found last year (Crocodile and Dejvu) and remains 2nd to the 29.2 ft. diameter Jupiter measured by John in 2015. Jupiter has a greater diameter at dbh than every known giant sequoia. Whereas the Super Collosus is medium size with a near world record size burl, the Jupiter, Deja vu and Crocodile are huge coast redwood trunks.

From a distance, it may resemble a rotting stump shaped like the giant dinosaur dropping in the first of the Jurassic Park movies. But the wooden hill is living, solid and growing. The serpentine shape thing on the right side is one of its own roots or branches that grafted to itself (innosculation)

I don't recall another coast redwood having characteristics resembling the Super Colossus. This is one of world's most unusual evergreens.