January:
Catharina from the Russian River area of Sonoma County shared with us this beautiful aerial chimeric redwood growing on a low branch. The mutation drapes down in a mosaic array of green and yellow. Based on the number of growth cycles the mutation exhibits, it appears this albino redwood formed sometime around 2014.
Amazingly this not the only albino redwood Catharina has found. To date, she has discovered three more aerial albino redwood sites throughout Western Sonoma County. Thanks again Catharina for reporting your latest finds to Chimera Redwoods!
June:
Executive Director Stan Dodson with Oakland Trails Org stands in front of an albino redwood nestled deep within the Oakland Hills. This small white giant stands about 30’ tall & was discovered by Stan in 2016. The tree is pure white and is the more common type of albino redwoods seen. As a steward to wildland trails, Mr. Dodson will add this tree to his list of unique features that can be found in the parks surrounding the Oakland Hills.
Thanks again Stan for reporting this beauty of a tree. You can find more about Oakland's wildland parks here at this link: Oakland Trails
September:
Ed from Central Mendocino County kneels beside a Non-Chimeric variegated albino redwood on his property. This particular albino redwood produces green tips that revert white over time. The sparsely growing mutation is small but makes up for its lack of size by the rarity of its color pattern.
Known by local ranchers from years past, this albino redwood remained forgotten in the woods until a gentleman named Randy came across the research done at Chimera Redwoods. He remembered an old rumor that a ghost redwood was hiding in his neighborhood. Randy reached out to the previous property owner named Bill to follow up on the tale. Bill confirmed the story was real and gladly showed Randy that the ghost tree was indeed fact, not fiction. Once the albino redwood was rediscovered, Ed was pleasantly surprised to find out that he had an albino treasure growing on his property.
Again, a big shout out to Randy, Ed, & Bill who made this rediscovery possible.
October:
Brad from Northern Oregon thought he had stumbled across an ordinary but rare albino redwood growing south of Portland. After being put in touch with Chimera Redwoods from friends at Crowfoot Nursery, a closer inspection revealed that this tree wasn’t any ordinary redwood. Exhibiting multiple mutations throughout its canopy, this sign could only mean one thing. Brad had discovered the 6th known grand chimera in existence. Sporting a diameter greater than 5’ and an estimated height of 129’, he had not only found an extraordinary tree but may have found the tallest one to date.
The discovery marks an interesting milestone as this is the second tree of this type to be found in Oregon. Considering how extremely rare these trees are to begin with and how few redwoods there are in Oregon when compared to California, it’s astounding to have two of these grand chimeras in that state. With that in mind, researchers will have to conduct more exploration trips to the Pacific Northwest.
Currently, Brad is working with the owners to inform them of this important discovery and hopes steps can be taken to protect its future. Thanks, Brad for the pictures & for sharing your amazing find!
Also a note of appreciation for Michael & Paulie at Crowfoot Nursery for putting us in touch with Brad. For more information about the tree, see the periclinal chimera section within the website here: Periclinal Chimera