Last edited Thu Dec 13, 2012, 01:54 AM - Edit history (1)
I agree that the project is a good thing but the clones including the Fieldbrook tree are from living materials.
We utilize a variety of propagation techniques to capture the genetic traits of the old growth trees we collect. Depending on the species we may try vegetative propagation, grafting, micropropagation or root cuttings. With each new species we are mapping the propagation process to be able to produce clones from the parent tree. This requires a lot of trial and error along with patience and tenacity on the part of our propagators. Most trees aren’t propagated when they are very old, so this presents a challenge to us. Propagating from juvenile material is typically much easier. We have a standing joke at our lab in Michigan that propagation is the art of not killing a plant the same way twice.
http://www.ancienttreearchive.org/our-activities/propagation/
Fieldbrook Redwood Stump | 32.15' dbh
This page is an off-shoot of Largest Coast Redwoods. Below is the Fieldbrook Stump from a coast redwood in Humboldt County. 9.8 meters wide 1.5 meters above the ground. 32.15 feet. In the book The Redwood Forest: History, Ecology, and Conservation of the Coast Redwood, Reed F. Noss wrote "some observers, however, believe this stump to be two". Michael Taylor, co-discoverer of Lost Monarch (largest coast redwood known today), said the Fieldbrook stump was one redwood. Lost Monarch is almost 26 feet wide. For comparison, the Fieldbrook redwood is over 5 feet wider. This redwood was wider than General Sherman, and if the trunk taper was minimal, could have dwarfed that Giant Sequioa. This Humboldt county redwood sprouted from roots. The sprouts will be genetically the same as the parent plant. Imagine how much lodging could have been framed from this 1 coast redwood. Apparently the Fieldbrook redwood was cut down to settle a bar bet. A businessman from Britain claimed he could find a single cross-cut section of timber that could seat 40 dinner guests at one time. And for that reason, was chopped down in the 1890s and a huge slice of trunk brought back overseas. See the main redwood page to find more about the 10 largest coast redwoods remaining today.
http://www.mdvaden.com/redwood_fieldbrook_stump.shtml
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