Final answer:
All redwood trees share features of being vascular plants with woody trunks, needle-like or scale-like leaves, extensive secondary growth, tannin-rich wood, and specially adapted tracheids for water transport.
Step-by-step explanation:
Features that are shared by all redwood trees as members of the group known as conifers include:
- Being vascular plants: Redwoods, like other members of the group conifers, are vascular plants with tissues specialized for the transport of water and nutrients throughout their structure.
- Woody tree trunks: All redwoods have woody trunks specialized for strength and support, which enables them to grow very tall. For example, the tallest tree is a coast Redwood with a height of 115.55 m.
- Leaves: Coastal redwoods have needle-like leaves, while giant sequoias have small, scale-like leaves that overlap each other on the stems. The commonality here is that both leaf types are adaptations for the conifer's evergreen nature.
- Secondary growth: All redwoods exhibit extensive secondary growth, which contributes to the longevity and size of these trees.
- Tannin-rich wood: The wood produced by redwood trees is high in tannins, which lends to its durability and resistance to decay, a feature found in other members of the cedar family to which redwoods belong.
- Adaptations for water transport: The cells that conduct water, known as tracheids, have specific features that allow them to operate under extreme tensions needed to transport water to the tree's uppermost leaves, vital for these very tall plants.