A redwood tree at Big Basin shows the burn scars from the CZU Lightning Complex fires. (Shmuel Thaler – Santa Cruz Sentinel)

Epicormic sprouting, the growth of new shoots and branches from dormant buds located just under the bark of a tree's trunk or branches, gives recovering redwoods at Big Basin a distinct “bottle brush” appearance. With much of the canopy gone and sunlight streaming in, the forest floor is filled with new growth at Big Basin Redwoods State Park five years after the devastating CZU Lightning Complex fires. Epicormic sprouting is the growth of new shoots and branches from dormant buds located just under the bark of a tree's trunk or branches. Epicormic sprouting is a plant's natural response to stress, such as damage from fire, pruning, storms, drought or disease, and i

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