Giant Sequoia Lineage

[neofelix]

I am looking for information on the evolution, past ranges and migration of the Giant Sequoia. Does anyone know of any recent information, studies, articles, graphs, maps, anything--- more recent than the regurgitated stuff from the late 1800's and 1951?

I would also be interested in stuff about the coast redwood evolution as it relates to the Giant sequoias.

I am NOT a fossil expert, so, I figured I would ask the 'experts' --- maybe I'm missing something. Thank you, in advance, for any help or references.

[piranha]

The monograph "A Revision of Fossil Sequoia and Taxodium in Western North America based on the recent discovery of Metasequoia" by Ralph Works Chaney is still considered at the top and is actually the reference currently in use at the UO paleontology department. At nearly 100 pages it is a fairly comprehensive text and bolstered by the fact that Chaney is responsible for bringing the Metasequoia to North America from China in 1948. Thanks to that effort the Metasequoia was successfully reintroduced to the Northwest and was officially named the state fossil of Oregon in 2005. Chaney resolved the taxonomic problem of middle Tertiary Sequoia fossils actually being Metasequoia as a result. To this day he remains one the true giants of paleobotany and I suspect there are not many folks willing to challenge his great works. If you have a chance to read through it a bit you will be thoroughly impressed. Fortunately Google books has it archived for free. I did source a recent text on the topic from Amazon although the price seems quite prohibitive and no way to determine how useful it is in comparison.

Good Luck with your research!

Chaney - Metasequoia

Amazon- Metasequoia

[Fruitbat]

There are a few resources available, primarily about Metasequoia, on the Internet. Here are a few links to articles that might get you started:

Ahuja, M.R. and D.B. Neale (2002). Origins of Polyploidy in Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens (D. Don) Endl.) and Relationship of Coast Redwood to other Genera of Taxodiaceae. Silvae Genetica, 51, 2-3.

Akkemik, U., et al. (2009). Woods of a Miocene Forest near Ankara, Turkey. Turk.J.Agric.For., 33.

Anderson, R.S. (1994). Paleohistory of a Giant Sequoia Grove: The Record from Log Meadow, Sequoia National Park. USDA Forest Service Gen.Tech.Rep. PSW-151.

Arnold, C.A. (1955). Tertiary Conifers from the Princeton Coal Field of British Columbia. Contributions from the Museum of Paleontology - The University of Michigan, Vol.XII, Number 12.

Weatherspoon, C.P., Y.R. Iwamoto and D.D. Piirto (Tech. Coords.)(1986). Proceedings of the Workshop on Management of Giant Sequoia. Pacific Southwest Forest and Range Experiment Station, U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Yang, H. From Fossils to Molecules: The Metasequoia Tale Continues. Arnoldia, 58/4-59/1.

-Joe

[siteseer]

For those interested in a less technical review of sequoias, check out the mainstream book, "Dragons in Amber" (1949) by Willy Ley. The book was a forerunner of some of the natural history nonfiction (books by David Quammen, especially) we know today but somewhat of an oddity at the time of its publication. Chapter 10 discusses sequoias from their discovery by Gaspar de Portola in 1769 to the reintroduction of Metasequoia in North America by Prof. Chaney in 1948. It noted how the particular topography of Szechwan Province, China provided a natural refuge for Metasequoia while it died out elsewhere in the world.

You can find this book cheap on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Dragons-Amber-Adventures-Romantic-Naturalist/dp/0670281891/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1304295379&sr=1-1

I'm going to start a thread about it elsewhere on the forum and provide a review of the whole book.

[neofelix]

Thank you all.... so very helpful!

...any places, left, where an individual can collect sequoia fossils?-- legally... or find reputable sellers?