redwood

/ˌrɛdˈwʊd/

/ˈrɛdwʊd/

Other forms: redwoods

Redwoods are a kind of large, ancient evergreen trees commonly found on the coast of California. Coastal redwoods are the tallest living things on Earth.

These magnificent trees are made up of three species, Sequoia and Sequoiadendron in California and Oregon, and China's Metasequoia. Redwoods have adapted over millions of years to be resistant to fire and infection, and they can reach heights of over 300 feet. Their name comes from the reddish-brown shade of their wood and bark. In 16th-century Scotland, the unrelated adjective redwood was used to mean "completely deranged."

Definitions of redwood

1. noun

   either of two huge coniferous California trees that reach a height of 300 feet; sometimes placed in the Taxodiaceae
   synonyms: sequoia

   types:

   California redwood, Sequoia sempervirens, coast redwood

   lofty evergreen of United States coastal foothills from Oregon to Big Sur; it flourishes in wet, rainy, foggy habitats

   Sequoia Wellingtonia, Sequoia gigantea, Sequoiadendron giganteum, Sierra redwood, big tree, giant sequoia

   extremely lofty evergreen of southern end of western foothills of Sierra Nevada in California; largest living organism

   type of:

   cypress

   wood of any of various cypress trees especially of the genus Cupressus
2. noun

   the soft reddish wood of either of two species of sequoia trees
   type of:

   wood

   the hard fibrous lignified substance under the bark of trees