Three species. One reliable read.
All three redwoods share a family resemblance — reddish bark, tall form, coniferous habit — but each has a distinct character in the field. Bark texture, foliage arrangement, cone shape, and winter behaviour together make confident identification straightforward once you know the cues.
This guide is a practical companion to the species overview. It focuses on how to tell them apart, not on their biography. If you want background on each species, start with the species guide.
Giant Sequoia
Sequoiadendron giganteumThe most physically imposing of the three. In Britain, mature specimens stand out from a distance — a massive trunk, large descending branches that curve back upward at the tips, and that unmistakable reddish bulk at the base. The bark alone is usually enough for a confident ID.
No other tree in Britain combines that thickness, that sponginess, and that orange-red colour. If you can reach the bark, press it. You will feel it push back.
Field identification
- Bark
- Very thick and deeply furrowed. Distinctively spongy — pushes back if pressed, like compressed foam. Bright orange-red when wet, darker red-brown when dry. Usually the strongest ID feature at distance.
- Foliage
- Scale-like, awl-shaped, blue-green. Arranged spirally along the shoot — the branchlet looks bristled in all directions rather than flat. Prickly to handle.
- Cones
- Egg-shaped, 4–8cm, with thick woody scales. Remarkably small for such a large tree. Persist on branches for up to 20 years, often appearing in clusters.
- Silhouette
- Conical when young, becoming irregular and massive with age. Large branches sweep outward and downward then curve up at the tips. Usually a single dominant trunk.
- Base
- Broad flared buttress, often covered in dense fibrous bark. Significantly wider than the trunk above. On mature trees the base can appear almost column-like.
- Winter
- Evergreen — keeps all foliage year-round. Identifiable in winter by bark texture and form alone.
Coast Redwood
Sequoia sempervirensTall and narrow in the UK canopy. Often found with multiple stems rising from the base — particularly trees that were coppiced or storm-damaged. The flat, fern-like foliage spray is the most reliable field feature.
Bark is similar in colour to giant sequoia but noticeably thinner and less spongy. If you can reach a low branch, the foliage arrangement will confirm the ID.
Field identification
- Bark
- Reddish-brown, fibrous, with long parallel furrows. Firmer and thinner than giant sequoia — less spongy when pressed. Can reach 15cm thickness on very old trees, usually much less.
- Foliage
- Flat, needle-like leaves in two horizontal ranks, making the branchlet look like a fern frond. Dark green above, pale stripe below. This flat two-ranked spray is the key diagnostic.
- Cones
- Very small — 1.5–3cm, rounded, with thin scales. Abundant on mature trees. Fall when ripe, unlike giant sequoia which retains cones on the branch for years.
- Silhouette
- Tall and narrow, with densely branched crown. Lower branches often drooping. Frequently multi-stemmed at base in UK specimens.
- Base
- Commonly produces basal sprouts and epicormic growth. A ring of smaller stems around the main trunk is normal. Less dramatically buttressed than giant sequoia.
- Winter
- Evergreen. Needles may partially brown in hard winters but are retained. Identifiable year-round by foliage and bark.
Dawn Redwood
Metasequoia glyptostroboidesThe only deciduous redwood — and the easiest of the three to identify in autumn and winter. Bare from November while the other two remain fully leafed. In summer, the soft opposite foliage and strongly conical form distinguish it clearly.
Most UK specimens are post-1950 plantings, so they tend to be smaller than the Victorian-era sequoias. The base often shows distinctive fluted buttressing even on younger trees.
Field identification
- Bark
- Reddish-brown, shaggy and fibrous. The base frequently shows deep orange-red fluting and buttress ridges — more pronounced and more orange than coast redwood.
- Foliage
- Soft, feathery needles in opposite pairs along the shoot — not alternate as in coast redwood. Bright lime-green in spring, darker in summer, rusty orange-brown in autumn before drop.
- Cones
- Small (1.5–2.5cm), globular, on distinctive long pendulous stalks. The long stalks are unusual and diagnostic — no other common UK conifer has this combination.
- Silhouette
- Strongly conical, upright, with neat angled branching. Narrower than giant sequoia at the same height. Stays tidy in form.
- Base
- Often deeply fluted with dramatic ridging at ground level, even on younger trees. More pronounced than coast redwood, less massive than giant sequoia.
- Winter
- Fully deciduous — bare from November to March. Silhouette is skeletal and neat. Turns warm rusty orange-brown before leaf drop. The single most reliable feature of the three species across the year.
Common confusion points
Giant sequoia vs coast redwood — bark
Both have reddish-brown, fibrous, deeply furrowed bark. Press it if you can reach it: giant sequoia is unmistakably spongy, pushing back under pressure; coast redwood is firmer and noticeably thinner. At distance, giant sequoia bark reads more orange-red; coast redwood tends more greyish-brown. Check the foliage to confirm — scale-like bristled shoots on giant sequoia versus flat two-ranked needles on coast redwood.
Coast redwood vs dawn redwood — foliage in summer
Both have feathery needle-like foliage that looks similar at first glance. The diagnostic difference is arrangement: coast redwood needles alternate along the shoot; dawn redwood needles are in strict opposite pairs. Hold a branchlet flat and look at the base of each needle pair. Dawn redwood also has softer, slightly lighter-green needles and a more obviously neat conical silhouette.
Dawn redwood vs larch — bare in winter
Dawn redwood is the only redwood that drops its needles — but European larch and Japanese larch are also bare in winter and are common across UK plantations. Compare the form: dawn redwood holds a strongly conical, symmetrical silhouette; larches are broader and more irregular. Dawn redwood cones hang on obvious long stalks; larch cones are small and stalkless. In autumn, dawn redwood turns orange-brown; larches turn yellow.
Giant sequoia vs coast redwood — young trees
On trees under 20 years old, or when you can only see the canopy from below, bark alone may not settle it. Focus on the foliage: giant sequoia shoots are three-dimensional and bristly, the leaves wrapping spirally around the shoot in all directions; coast redwood shoots are flat and two-ranked, lying in one plane like a comb. Run your fingers along a shoot — giant sequoia feels prickly in every direction; coast redwood has a flat, fern-like feel.