But redwood trunks remain relatively slender. Although redwoods live 500 years on average, they can reach up to 1,800 years of age. Redwood forests typically have a well-developed understory, usually dominated by large and colorful Pacific rhododendrons and western azaleas. Other shrubs, especially salal and California huckleberry, are usually present. Many ferns and flowers grow in the cool shade, such as western sword fern and redwood sorrel.
Headlands tend to be dry, and their outer ends are covered with fescue-oatgrass grasslands.
Along the coast in a narrow, patchy belt lies pine-cypress forest. Inland, the southfacing mountain slopes are covered by mixed forest, including tanoak, coast live oak, madrone, and Douglas-fir. Oaks in the area of coastal forest tend to form distinct patches of oak woodland. Mammals include both Douglas and western gray squirrels, as well as two chipmunk species. Birds include Anna's hummingbird and Wilson's warbler.