Friendly Plaza Moon Tree

This first-generation Moon Tree is located at the Friendly Plaza in Monterey, California, and can still be visited today. First generation Moon Trees are trees grown from seeds that orbited the Moon on Apollo 14.

This tree came from a seedling that was planted in 1976 at the Friendly Plaza in Monterey, California.

Coast redwood trees are native in the coastal area of central and northern California and parts of southwestern Oregon. These trees like to grow in humid environments that have wet winters and foggy summers.

Redwood trees are evergreen trees. Evergreen trees keep all of their leaves through the entire year. They have leaves that are needle-like, and they grow cones to store and protect their seeds. These trees are some of the world’s tallest trees, commonly growing over 200 feet tall. Coast redwood is also one of the most long-lived trees, with some being around 2,200 years old.

Redwood trees are one of the most valuable timber species on the west coast of the United States. These trees can be used to build furniture and shingles for houses. Redwood trees also provide habitat and shelter for many different animals.

1. Redwoods do not have taproots like other trees. Without a taproot, the other roots only go down 13–14 feet but spread out 60–100 feet, intertwining with their neighbors. Therefore, redwoods are resistant to strong winds knocking them over.
2. Redwoods rely heavily on the fog that is common in their habitat range. It is estimated that 40 percent of a redwood’s moisture intake comes from fog!
3. Redwoods can regenerate and create clones from stumps or downed trees’ root systems.