Conservationists plant a ‘super grove’ of redwood trees cloned from ancient stumps

The clones come from trees that were larger than any alive today.

Russell McLendon

About a quarter of the new saplings were cloned from the Fieldbrook stump (pictured), a redwood that was roughly 400 feet tall and more than 3,000 years old when it was cut down in 1890. (Photo: Archangel Ancient Tree Archive)

A new “super grove” of endangered coast redwood trees has arisen in California, thanks to a nonprofit group that planted 75 saplings at a park in San Francisco.

Since their species is endangered, any new community of coast redwoods would be welcome news. Yet these 75 saplings are also newsworthy for another reason: They’re all clones, born of DNA that conservationists retrieved from ancient redwood stumps. Now growing together at the Presidio of San Francisco, they carry on a valuable genetic legacy that dates back thousands of years…