Humboldt State University Moon Trees
Arcata, California
Three coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) Moon Trees reside next to the theatre arts building
on the campus of Humboldt State University in Arcata, California.
(Now California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt.)
The seedlings were sent out from the Institute of Forest Genetics station in Placerville, California on
2 May 1976 for a dedication planting at the Pacific Southwest Research station in Arcata.
The exact date of the dedication ceremony is not known, presumably it was done shortly after they were
received in 1976. The picture above shows the group of trees including the three Moon Trees,
which are believed to be the three trees at the center of the group (trees 3, 4, and 5 going from left to right).
Picture was taken in September of 2013.
There are reports that there are many more Moon Tree coast redwoods planted on the campus
(for example, see
Humboldt NOW, 2009),
but no records confirming this have been found. However, it is known that most of the root cuttings
from the original seedlings are unaccounted for, so it is possible some of these were sent to Humboldt State.
Trees located at N 40 deg 52.561 min N, 124 deg 4.770 min W.
Picture courtesy T. Byron Miller
Article credit H.S.U. Lumberjack
HSU Trees are out of this world - Lumberjack, Fall, 1999
Unraveling the Moon Tree Mystery - Humboldt NOW, Oct. 8, 2009
California Gold - Moon Trees - Huell Howser, 2007 (Humboldt tree segment starts at 22:30)
History of the Moon Tree Coast Redwoods
Moon Tree Home Page
Author/Curator:
Dr. David R. Williams, dave.williams@nasa.gov
NSSDCA, Mail Code 690.1
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, MD 20771
+1-301-286-1258
NASA Official: Dave Williams, david.r.williams@nasa.gov
Last Updated: 14 August 2024, DRW