More from the Oakland Museum of California. Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens (D.Don) Endl.) leaf on the left is a 50 million year old fossil. Sample on the right shows what the leaves currently look like. I guess once you settle on something that works you stick with it. [NOTE: There is a Gymnosperm, i.e. conifer, "needle" thing versus an Angiosperm, i.e. flowering plant, "leaf" thing dichotomy at play here - but I'm not going there. Museum signage says "Redwood Leaves"].