Sequoia sempervirens (Don in Lambert, 1824) - redwood (public display, Cincinnati Museum of Natural History & Science, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA)

The study of tree rings is dendrochronology. It can be used to date geologic events (such as volcanic eruptions), with a limit of about 12,000 years. Dendrochronology is also used to obtain information about climate and paleoclimates. Tree rings are preserved in many pieces of fossil wood - some samples have no tree rings at all, indicating the plants lived in non-seasonal environments (i.e., tropics).

From exhibit signage:

This cross section of a redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) from Scotia, California, was donated to our museum in 1938 by Leland Banning. The piece was purchased for about $35 and shipped here for about the same amount.

This slice came from a section about midway up the tree. Since the tree germinated around 528 A.D. and was cut down in the early 1930s, there are approximately 1400 annual rings.

Classification: Plantae, Pinophyta, Pinopsida Pinales, Cupressaceae

Locality: at or near the town of Scotia, Humboldt, northwestern California, USA

See info. at: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dendrochronology" rel="noreferrer nofollow">en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dendrochronology</a> and