? Giant Sequoia Conservation status: Vulnerable
The "Grizzly Giant" tree in the Mariposa Grove, Yosemite National Park
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Pinophyta Class: Pinopsida Order: Pinales Family: Cupressaceae Genus: Sequoiadendron Species: S. giganteum
Binomial name
Sequoiadendron giganteum (Lindl.) J. Buchholz

The Giant Sequoia or Sierra Redwood (Sequoiadendron giganteum) is one of a number of species of coniferous trees known as redwoods, classified in the family Cupressaceae in the subfamily Sequoioideae together with Coast Redwood and Dawn Redwood. ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (1568x2896, 1652 KB) Grizzly Giant is one of the main attractions in Mariposa Grove in Yosemite National Park. ... Giant Sequoia in the Mariposa Grove, Yosemite Mariposa Grove is a sequoia grove located near Wawona, California in the southernmost part of Yosemite National Park, at 37°31′ N 119°36′ W. It is the largest grove of Giant Sequoias in the park, with several hundred mature examples of the... Yosemite redirects here. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. ... Divisions Land plants (embryophytes) Non-vascular plants (bryophytes) Marchantiophyta - liverworts Anthocerotophyta - hornworts Bryophyta - mosses Vascular plants (tracheophytes) Lycopodiophyta - clubmosses Equisetophyta - horsetails Pteridophyta - true ferns Psilotophyta - whisk ferns Ophioglossophyta - adderstongues Seed plants (spermatophytes) †Pteridospermatophyta - seed ferns Pinophyta - conifers Cycadophyta - cycads Ginkgophyta - ginkgo Gnetophyta - gnetae Magnoliophyta - flowering plants Adiantum pedatum (a fern... Orders & Families Cordaitales† Pinales   Pinaceae- Pine family   Araucariaceae- Araucaria family   Podocarpaceae- Yellow-wood family   Sciadopityaceae- Umbrella-pine family   Cupressaceae- Cypress family   Cephalotaxaceae- Plum-yew family   Taxaceae- Yew family Vojnovskyales† Voltziales† The conifers, division Pinophyta, are one of 13 or 14 division level taxa within the Kingdom Plantae. ... Orders & Families Cordaitales † Pinales   Pinaceae - Pine family   Araucariaceae - Araucaria family   Podocarpaceae - Yellow-wood family   Sciadopityaceae - Umbrella-pine family   Cupressaceae - Cypress family   Cephalotaxaceae - Plum-yew family   Taxaceae - Yew family Vojnovskyales † Voltziales † The conifers, division Pinophyta, are one of 13 or 14 division level taxa within the Kingdom Plantae. ... Families Pinaceae, pine family Araucariaceae, araucaria family Podocarpaceae, yellow-wood family Phyllocladaceae Sciadopityaceae, umbrella-pine family Cupressaceae, cypress family Cephalotaxaceae, plum-yew family Taxaceae, yew family The Order Pinales in the Division Pinophyta, Class Pinopsida comprises all the extant conifers. ... Genera Actinostrobus Athrotaxis Austrocedrus Callitris - Cypress-pine Callitropsis - Cypress * (Cupressus) Calocedrus - Incense-cedar Chamaecyparis - Cypress Cryptomeria - Sugi Cunninghamia - Cunninghamia Cupressus - Cypress Diselma - Diselma Fitzroya - Alerce Fokienia - Fujian Cypress Glyptostrobus - Chinese Swamp Cypress Juniperus - Juniper Libocedrus Metasequoia - Dawn Redwood Microbiota - Microbiota Neocallitropsis Papuacedrus * (Libocedrus) Pilgerodendron * (Libocedrus) Platycladus - Chinese Arborvitae Sequoia - Coast... In biology, binomial nomenclature is the formal method of naming species. ... John Lindley (February 8, 1799 - November 1, 1865) was an English botanist. ... Orders & Families Cordaitales † Pinales   Pinaceae - Pine family   Araucariaceae - Araucaria family   Podocarpaceae - Yellow-wood family   Sciadopityaceae - Umbrella-pine family   Cupressaceae - Cypress family   Cephalotaxaceae - Plum-yew family   Taxaceae - Yew family Vojnovskyales † Voltziales † The conifers, division Pinophyta, are one of 13 or 14 division level taxa within the Kingdom Plantae. ... The coniferous Coast Redwood, the tallest tree species on earth A tree can be defined as a large, perennial, woody plant. ... Redwood is a name used for several species of trees with red or reddish coloured wood; see each species for individual details. ... Genera Actinostrobus Athrotaxis Austrocedrus Callitris - Cypress-pine Callitropsis - Cypress * (Cupressus) Calocedrus - Incense-cedar Chamaecyparis - Cypress Cryptomeria - Sugi Cunninghamia - Cunninghamia Cupressus - Cypress Diselma - Diselma Fitzroya - Alerce Fokienia - Fujian Cypress Glyptostrobus - Chinese Swamp Cypress Juniperus - Juniper Libocedrus Metasequoia - Dawn Redwood Microbiota - Microbiota Neocallitropsis Papuacedrus * (Libocedrus) Pilgerodendron * (Libocedrus) Platycladus - Chinese Arborvitae Sequoia - Coast... Genera Actinostrobus Athrotaxis Austrocedrus Callitris - Cypress-pine Callitropsis - Cypress * (Cupressus) Calocedrus - Incense-cedar Chamaecyparis - Cypress Cryptomeria - Sugi Cunninghamia - Cunninghamia Cupressus - Cypress Diselma - Diselma Fitzroya - Alerce Fokienia - Fujian Cypress Glyptostrobus - Chinese Swamp Cypress Juniperus - Juniper Libocedrus Metasequoia - Dawn Redwood Microbiota - Microbiota Neocallitropsis Papuacedrus * (Libocedrus) Pilgerodendron * (Libocedrus) Platycladus - Chinese Arborvitae Sequoia - Coast... Binomial name Sequoia sempervirens (D. Don) Endl. ... Binomial name Metasequoia glyptostroboides The Dawn Redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides) is a fast growing tree in the conifer family Cupressaceae native to the Sichuan-Hubei region of China. ...

Description

Giant Sequoia is the world's largest tree in terms of total volume. They grow to an average height of 50-85 m (150-280 ft) and 5-7 m (16-23 ft) in diameter. Record trees have been reported to be 93.6 m (307 ft) in height and 8.85 m (29 ft) in diameter. The oldest known Giant Sequoia based on ring count is 3,200 years old. Sequoia bark is fibrous, furrowed, and may be 60 cm (2 ft) thick at the base of the columnar trunk. It provides significant fire protection for the trees. The leaves are evergreen, awl-shaped, 3-6 mm long, and arranged spirally on the shoots. The seed cones are 4-7 cm long and mature in 18-20 months, though they typically remain green and closed for up to 20 years; each cone has 30-50 spirally arranged scales, with several seeds on each scale giving an average of 230 seeds per cone. The seed is dark brown, 4-5 mm long and 1 mm broad, with a 1 mm wide yellow-brown wing along each side. Some seed is shed when the cone scales shrink during hot weather in late summer, but most seeds are liberated when the cone dries out from fire heat and/or insect damage (see Ecology, below). The General Sherman tree, a Giant Sequoia, is generally considered to be the largest single living organism in the world The largest organism found on Earth can be measured using a variety of different methods. ... Volume, also called capacity, is a quantification of how much space an object occupies. ... Pinus taeda Cross section showing annual rings, Cheraw, South Carolina Pine stump showing growth rings Dendrochronology or tree-ring dating is the method of scientific dating based on the analysis of tree ring patterns. ... A Silver Fir shoot showing three successive years of retained leaves In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant which retains its leaves year-round, with each leaf persisting for more than 12 months. ... A cone (in formal botanical usage: strobilus, plural strobili) is an organ on plants in the division Pinophyta (conifers) that contains the reproductive structures. ... A seed is the ripened ovule of gymnosperm or angiosperm plants. ...

Giant Sequoia cones. See also: Cone compared to Sugar Pine cone, Sugar Pine

Giant Sequoia regenerates primarily by seed, although occasionally it may reproduce naturally by vegetative methods; trees up to about 20 years old may produce stump sprouts subsequent to injury. Giant Sequoia of all ages may sprout from the bole when old branches are lost to fire or breakage, but (unlike Coast Redwood) mature trees do not sprout from cut stumps. Young trees start to bear cones at the age of 20 years. Giant Sequoia cones from the North Calaveras Grove, measured in centimeters. ... Giant Sequoia cones from the North Calaveras Grove, measured in centimeters. ... Image taken in May 2002 by Daniel Mayer. ... Binomial name Pinus lambertiana Douglas The Sugar Pine (Pinus lambertiana; family Pinaceae) is a species of pine that occurs in the mountains of Oregon and California in the western United States, and Baja California in northwestern Mexico; specifically the Sierra Nevada, the Cascade Range, the Coast Ranges, and the Sierra...

At any given time, a large tree may be expected to have approximately 11,000 cones. The upper part of the crown of any mature Giant Sequoia invariably produces a greater abundance of cones than its lower portions. A mature Giant Sequoia has been estimated to disperse from 300,000-400,000 seeds per year. The winged seeds may be carried up to 180m (600 ft) from the parent tree.

Lower branches die fairly readily from shading, but trees less than 100 years old retain most of their dead branches. Trunks of mature trees in groves are generally free of branches to a height of 20-50 m, but solitary trees will retain low branches.

Distribution

Giant Sequoia is usually found in a humid climate characterized by dry summers and snowy winters. Most Giant Sequoia groves are on granitic-based residual and alluvial soils. The elevation of the Giant Sequoia groves generally ranges from 1,400-2,000m (4,600-6,600 ft) in the north, and 1,700-2,150 m (5,600-7,000 ft) to the south. Giant Sequoia generally appears on southern slopes in its northern distribution and on more northerly slopes in the south. Snow is precipitation in the form of crystalline water ice, consisting of a multitude of snowflakes. ...

General Grant tree, Kings Canyon National Park

The natural distribution of Giant Sequoia is restricted to along a limited area of the western Sierra Nevada, California. It occurs in scattered groves, with a total of 65-76 groves (see list of sequoia groves for a full inventory), comprising a total area of only 14,416 ha (144.16 km² / 35,607 acres). Nowhere does it grow in pure stands, although in a few small areas stands do approach a pure condition. The northern two-thirds of its range, from the American River in Placer County southward to the Kings River, has only eight disjunct groves. The remaining southern groves are concentrated between the Kings River and the Deer Creek Grove in southern Tulare County. Groves range in size from 1,240ha (3,100 acres) with 20,000 mature trees, to small groves with only six living trees. Many are protected in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks and Giant Sequoia National Monument. General Grant tree from Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park. ... General Grant tree from Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park. ... General Grant tree from Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks The General Grant tree is the largest Giant Sequoia in the Grant Grove section of Kings Canyon National Park. ... This Article is about Kings Canyon National Park, USA. For Kings Canyon, Australia, see Kings Canyon, Northern Territory. ... The Sierra Nevada is a mountain range that is almost entirely in eastern California. ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 3rd 410,000 km² 402. ... Giant Sequoia in the Mariposa Grove, Yosemite The following is a list of Giant Sequoia groves. ... The American River, located in the US state of California, has a prominent place in American history for being the site of Sutters Mill, where gold was found in 1848, leading to the California Gold Rush. ... Placer County is a county located in California, USAs Sierra Nevada, in the Gold Country. ... The Kings River is a major river of California, USA. It arises in the Sierra Nevada, in three forks. ... Tulare County is a county located in U.S. state of Californias Central Valley, south of Fresno. ... Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks are two US national parks in the Southern Sierra Nevada, east of Fresno, California. ... The Giant Sequoia National Monument is a U.S. National Monument located in the southernmost end of the Sierra Nevada in central California. ...

High levels of reproduction are not necessary to maintain the present population levels. Few groves, however, have sufficient young trees to maintain the present density of mature Giant Sequoias for the future. The majority of Giant Sequoias are currently undergoing a gradual decline in density since the European settlement days.

Ecology

The Giant Sequoias are having difficulty reproducing in their original habitat (and very rarely reproduce in cultivation) due to the seeds only being able to grow successfully in mineral soils in full sunlight, free from competing vegetation. Although the seeds can germinate in moist needle humus in the spring, these seedlings will die as the duff dries in the summer. They therefore require periodic wildfire to clear competing vegetation and soil humus before successful regeneration can occur. Without fire, shade-loving species will crowd out young sequoia seedlings, and sequoia seeds will not germinate. When full grown, these trees typically require large amounts of water and are therefore often concentrated near streams. Soil is material capable of supporting plant life. ... For article about the oriental food, see Hummus. ... The Old Fire burning in the San Bernardino Mountains (image taken from the International Space Station) A wildfire, also known as a forest fire, vegetation fire, grass fire, brush fire, or bushfire (in Australasia), is an uncontrolled fire often occurring in wildland areas, but which can also consume houses or...

Fires also bring hot air high into the canopy via convection, which in turn dries and opens the cones. The subsequent release of large quantities of seeds coincides with the optimal post-fire seedbed conditions. Loose ground ash may also act as a cover to protect the fallen seeds from ultraviolet radiation damage. Convection is the transfer of heat by currents within a fluid. ...

Due to fire suppression efforts and livestock grazing during the early and mid 20th century, low-intensity fires no longer occurred naturally in many groves, and still do not occur in some groves today. The suppression of fires also led to ground fuel build-up and the dense growth of fire-sensitive White Fir. This increased the risk of more intense fires that can use the firs as ladders to threaten mature Giant Sequoia crowns. Natural fires may also be important in keeping carpenter ants in check. (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the... Binomial name Abies concolor (Gordon) Lindley ex Hildebrand White Fir (Abies concolor) is a fir native to the mountains of western North America, occurring at altitudes of 900-3,400 m. ... Species see text Carpenter ants are large, black ants (1/4 - 1) indigenous to large parts of the world. ...

In 1970 the National Park Service began controlled burns of its groves to correct these problems. Current policies also allow natural fires to burn. One of these untamed burns severely damaged the second-largest tree in the world, the Washington tree, in September 2003, 45 days after the fire started. This damage made it unable to withstand the snowstorm of January 2005, leading to the collapse of over half the trunk. 1970 (MCMLXX in Roman) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... The National Park Service (NPS) is the United States federal agency that manages all National Parks, many National Monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations. ... The Washington Tree is a Giant Sequoia in the Giant Forest grove. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In addition to fire, there are also two animal agents for Giant Sequoia seed release. The more significant of the two is a longhorn beetle (Phymatodes nitidus) that lays eggs on the cones, into which the larvae then bore holes. This cuts the vascular water supply to the cone scales, allowing the cones to dry and open for the seeds to fall. Cones damaged by the beetles during the summer will slowly open over the next several months. Some research indicates that many cones, particularly higher in the crowns, may need to be partially dried by beetle damage before fire can fully open them. The other agent is the Douglas Squirrel (Tamiasciurus douglasi) that gnaws on the fleshy green scales of younger cones. The squirrels are active year round, and some seeds are dislodged and dropped as the cone is eaten. Phyla Porifera (sponges) Ctenophora (comb jellies) Cnidaria (coral, jellyfish, anemones) Placozoa (trichoplax) Subregnum Bilateria (bilateral symmetry) Acoelomorpha (basal) Orthonectida (parasitic to flatworms, echinoderms, etc. ... Subfamilies Aseminae Cerambycinae Disteniinae Laminae Lepturinae Necydalinae Paradrinae Prioninae Spondylidinae etc. ... Binomial name Phymatodes nitidus LeConte, 1874 Phymatodes nitidus is a species of longhorn beetle. ... Binomial name Tamiasciurus douglasii (Bachman, 1839) The Douglas Squirrel, Tamiasciurus douglasii, is a pine squirrel found in the Pacific coastal states and provinces of North America. ...

Discovery and naming

A Giant Sequoia with a car for scale

The Giant Sequoia was well known to Native American tribes living in its area. Native American names for the species include Wawona, Toos-pung-ish and Hea-mi-withic, the latter two in the language of the Tule River Tribe. A Giant Sequoia. ... A Giant Sequoia. ... An Atsina named Assiniboin Boy Native Americans in the United States (also known as Indians, American Indians, First Americans, Indigenous Peoples, Aboriginal Peoples, Aboriginal Americans, Amerindians, Amerinds, or Original Americans) are the indigenous peoples within the territory that is now encompassed by the continental United States and their descendants in...

The first reference to the Giant Sequoia by Europeans is in 1833, in the diary of the explorer J. K. Leonard; the reference does not mention any locality, but his route would have taken him through the Calaveras Grove. This discovery was not publicised. The next European to see the species was John M. Wooster, who carved his initials in the bark of the 'Hercules' tree in the Calaveras Grove in 1850; again, this received no publicity. Much more publicity was given to the "discovery" by Augustus T. Dowd of the Calaveras Grove in 1852, and this is commonly, if incorrectly, cited as the species' discovery. The tree found by Dowd, christened the 'Discovery Tree', was felled in 1853. This article is about the continent. ... 1833 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Discovery Tree stump Calaveras Big Trees State Park, located 4 miles (6 km) northeast of Arnold, California in the middle altitudes of the Sierra Nevada in Calaveras County, became a State Park in 1931 to preserve the North Calaveras Grove of Giant Sequoias. ... 1850 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... 1852 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... 1853 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ...

The first scientific naming of the species was by John Lindley in 1853, who named it Wellingtonia gigantea, without realising this was an invalid name under the botanical code as the name Wellingtonia had already been used earlier for another unrelated plant (Wellingtonia arnottiana in the family Sabiaceae). The following year, Joseph Decaisne transferred it to the same genus as the Coast Redwood, naming it Sequoia gigantea, but again this name was invalid, having been applied earlier (in 1847, by Endlicher) to the Coast Redwood. The name Washingtonia californica was also applied to it by Winslow in 1854, though this too is invalid, belonging to the palm genus Washingtonia. John Lindley (February 8, 1799 - November 1, 1865) was an English botanist. ... 1853 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... The International Code of Botanical Nomenclature (ICBN) is the set of rules that governs plant nomenclature, i. ... Sabiaceae is a family of plants native to East Asia and Melanesia. ... Binomial name Sequoia sempervirens (D. Don) Endl. ... 1847 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Stephan Ladislaus Endlicher (24 June 1804 - 28 March 1849; botanical abbreviation Endl. ... Genera Many; see list of Arecaceae genera Arecaceae (also known as Palmae), the Palm Family, is a family of flowering plants, belonging to the monocot order, Arecales. ... Species Washingtonia filifera Washingtonia robusta Washingtonia is a genus of palms, native to the southwestern United States (in southern California, southwest Arizona) and northwest Mexico (in northern Baja California and Sonora). ...

In 1907 it was placed by Carl Ernst Otto Kuntze in the otherwise fossil genus Steinhauera, but doubt as to whether the Giant Sequoia is related to the fossil originally so named makes this name invalid. 1907 (MCMVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... A fossil Ammonite Fossils (from Latin fossus, literally having been dug up) are the mineralized or otherwise preserved remains or traces (such as footprints) of animals, plants, and other organisms. ...

The nomenclatural oversights were finally corrected in 1939 by J. Buchholz, who also pointed out that the Giant Sequoia is distinct from the Coast Redwood at the genus level and coined the name Sequoiadendron giganteum for it. 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Other English vernacular names include Sierra Redwood, Giant Redwood, or simply Big Tree.

List of the ten largest Giant Sequoias

As of February 2005, the ten largest trees by volume are: 2005 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December- → Ongoing events • Iraqi legislative election • Bill C-38 (Canada gay marriage) • Tsunami relief Upcoming events • March 11: Red Nose Day 2005 in the UK. Deaths in February • 26 – Jef Raskin • 25 – Hugh Nibley • 25 – Peter Benenson • 21...

Source: United States National Park Service - [1]. Note that the volume figures have a low degree of accuracy, due to difficulties in measurement; stem diameter measurements are taken at a few set heights up the trunk, and assume that the trunk is circular in cross-section, and that taper between measurement points is even. The volume measurements also do not take cavities into account. The measurements are however trunk-only, and do not include the volume of wood in the branches or roots. General Sherman tree from Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks The General Sherman tree is a Giant Sequoia. ... General Grant tree from Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks The General Grant tree is the largest Giant Sequoia in the Grant Grove section of Kings Canyon National Park. ... The National Park Service (NPS) is the United States federal agency that manages all National Parks, many National Monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations. ...

The General Sherman tree is estimated to weigh about 2100 tonnes (Fry & White 1938). A tonne (symbol t), sometimes referred to as a metric tonne, is a measurement of weight. ...

Uses

Giant Sequoia in the Mariposa Grove, Yosemite National Park

Wood from mature Giant Sequoias is highly resistant to decay, but is fibrous and brittle, making it generally unsuitable for construction. From the 1880s through the 1920s logging took place in many groves in spite of marginal commercial returns. Due to their weight and brittleness trees would often shatter when they hit the ground, wasting much of the wood. Loggers attempted to cushion the impact by digging trenches and filling them with branches. Still, it is estimated that as little as 50 percent of the timber made it from groves to the mill. The wood was used mainly for shingles and fence posts, or even for matchsticks. Giant Sequoia, Mariposa Grove, 9-1992 File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Giant Sequoia, Mariposa Grove, 9-1992 File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Yosemite redirects here. ... A tree trunk as found at the Veluwe, The Netherlands Wood derives from woody plants, notably trees but also shrubs. ... // Events and Trends Technology Development and commercial production of electric lighting Development and commercial production of gasoline-powered automobile by Karl Benz, Gottlieb Daimler and Maybach First commercial production and sales of phonographs and phonograph recordings. ... The 1920s were a decade sometimes referred to as the Jazz Age or the Roaring Twenties, usually applied to America. ...

Pictures of the once majestic trees broken and abandoned in formerly pristine groves, and the thought of the giants put to such modest use, spurred the public outcry that caused most of the groves to be preserved as protected land. The public can visit an example of 1880s clear-cutting at Big Stump Grove near Grant Grove. As late as the 1980s some immature trees were logged in Sequoia National Forest, publicity of which helped lead to the creation of Giant Sequoia National Monument. // Events and Trends Technology Development and commercial production of electric lighting Development and commercial production of gasoline-powered automobile by Karl Benz, Gottlieb Daimler and Maybach First commercial production and sales of phonographs and phonograph recordings. ... Grant Grove is a sequoia grove located in Kings Canyon National Park in the Sierra Nevada in eastern California, at 36°45N 118°58W. It includes General Grant tree, one of the five largest Giant Sequoias in existence. ... The 1980s decade refers to the years from 1980 to 1989, inclusive. ... Sequoia National Park is a national park in the southern Sierra Nevada, east of Fresno, California. ... The Giant Sequoia National Monument is a U.S. National Monument located in the southernmost end of the Sierra Nevada in central California. ...

The wood from immature trees is less brittle, with recent tests on young plantation-grown trees showing it similar to Coast Redwood wood in quality. This is resulting in some interest in cultivating Giant Sequoia as a very high-yielding timber crop tree, both in California and also in parts of western Europe, where it may grow more efficiently than Redwoods. In the northwest United States some entrepreneurs have also begun growing Giant Sequoias for Christmas trees. Besides these attempts at tree farming, the principle economic uses for Giant Sequoia today are tourism and horticulture (see Cultivation, below). A plantation is an intentional planting of a crop, on a larger scale, usually for uses other than cereal production or pasture. ... Binomial name Sequoia sempervirens (D. Don) Endl. ... World map showing Europe Europe is conventionally considered one of the seven continents which, in this case, is more a cultural and political distinction than a physiogeographic one. ... A Christmas tree in a Danish home. ... Tourist redirects here; for the album by Athlete, see Tourist (album) Tourism is the act of travel for the purpose of recreation and business, and the provision of services for this act. ... The Latin words hortus (garden plant) and cultura (culture) together form horticulture, classically defined as the culture or growing of garden plants. ...

Giant Sequoia in cultivation

Sequoiadendron giganteum at Westonbirt Arboretum, Gloucestershire, England. Another, at Kenilworth Castle (large image)

Giant Sequoia is a popular ornamental tree in many areas. It was first brought into cultivation in 1853 by Scotsman John D. Matthew, who collected a small quantity in the Calaveras Grove, arriving with it in Scotland in August 1853 (Mitchell 1996). A much larger shipment of seed collected (also in the Calaveras Grove) by William Lobb, acting for the Veitch Nursery, arrived in England in December 1853. Download high resolution version (600x840, 96 KB)Sequoiadendron giganteum (Giant Sequoia) at Westonbirt Arboretum, Gloucestershire, England. ... Download high resolution version (600x840, 96 KB)Sequoiadendron giganteum (Giant Sequoia) at Westonbirt Arboretum, Gloucestershire, England. ... 1853 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Wiktionary has a definition of: Scot A Scot is a person from Scotland. ... Discovery Tree stump Calaveras Big Trees State Park, located 4 miles (6 km) northeast of Arnold, California in the middle altitudes of the Sierra Nevada in Calaveras County, became a State Park in 1931 to preserve the North Calaveras Grove of Giant Sequoias. ... Royal motto: Nemo me impune lacessit (English: No one provokes me with impunity) Scotlands location within the United Kingdom Languages English, Gaelic, Scots Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow First Minister Jack McConnell Area - Total - % water Ranked 2nd UK 78,782 km² 1. ... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location within the British Isles Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population – Total (mid-2004) – Total (2001 Census) – Density Ranked 1st UK...

Growth in Britain is very fast, with the tallest tree, at Benmore in southwest Scotland, reaching 54 m at age 150 years (Tree Register of the British Isles), and several others from 50-53 m tall; the stoutest is 3.55 m diameter, in Perthshire. Other areas where it is successfully grown include most of western and southern Europe, the Pacific Northwest of North America north to at least Vancouver, southeast Australia (the Ballarat Botanic Gardens contain a significant collection; many of them about 150 years old), New Zealand and central-southern Chile. Growth rates in some areas are remarkable; one young tree in Italy reached 22 m tall and 88 cm trunk diameter in 17 years. The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh is both a scientific institution and a tourist attraction. ... World map showing Europe Europe is conventionally considered one of the seven continents which, in this case, is more a cultural and political distinction than a physiogeographic one. ... World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ... Members of Parliament Libby Davies, Ujjal Dosanjh, David Emerson, Hedy Fry, Stephen Owen Members of the Legislative Assembly Gordon Campbell, David Chudnovsky, Adrian Dix, Colin Hansen, Jenny Kwan, Lorne Mayencourt, Wally Oppal, Gregor Robertson, Shane Simpson, Carole Taylor Mayor Sam Sullivan City Manager Judy Rogers Governing Body Vancouver City Council...

In the northeastern USA there has been some limited success in growing the species, but growth is much slower there, and it is prone to Cercospora and Kabatina fungal diseases due to the humid summer climate there. The tallest reported in the east is one about 35 m tall, at Blithewold Gardens, in Bristol, Rhode Island. Specimens also grow in the Arnold Arboretum in Boston, Massachusetts (planted 1972, 18 m tall in 1998), in Lima, Pennsylvania, at the Longwood Gardens near Wilmington, Delaware, and in the Finger Lakes region of New York for many years. Private plantings of Giant Sequoias around the Middle Atlantic States are not uncommon. A cold-tolerant cultivar 'Hazel Smith' selected in about 1960 is proving more successful in that area. This clone was the sole survivor of several hundred seedlings grown at a nursery in New Jersey. Water Garden, Blithewold Mansion. ... Nickname: Motto: Official website: http://www. ... The Arnold Arboretum is one of the worlds finest research arboretums. ... Nickname: City on a Hill, Beantown, The Hub (of the Solar System), Athens of America Motto: Official website: www. ... Lima is a census-designated place located in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. ... One of the premiere botanical gardens in the United States, Longwood Gardens consists of 1,050 acres (4. ... Motto: A Place To Be Somebody Nickname: Map Political Statistics Founded 1638 Incorporated 1832 New Castle County Mayor James M. Baker (Dem) Geographic Statistics Area  - Total  - Land  - Water 44. ... New Yorks Finger Lakes The Finger Lakes are glacially formed lakes in upstate New York, mainly linear in shape, each lake oriented on a north-south axis. ... Official language(s) None, English de facto Capital Albany Largest city New York City Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 27th 141,205 km² 455 km 530 km 13. ... Official language(s) None defined, English de facto Capital Trenton Largest city Newark Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 47th 22,608 km² 110 km 240 km 14. ...

The limit of winter cold tolerance is generally down to about −30 °C, but with a few individuals known to have tolerated lower temperatures, particularly where they benefit from deep snow cover over the roots. One in Poland has purportedly survived temperatures down to −37 °C with heavy snow cover, and, since 2000, a small experimental planting has been underway in the Lake Champlain valley of Vermont where winter temperatures can reach −37 °C with variable snowcover. Snow is precipitation in the form of crystalline water ice, consisting of a multitude of snowflakes. ... Landsat photo Lake Champlain, named for the French explorer Samuel de Champlain, who encountered it 1609, is a large lake in North America, mostly within the borders of the United States (states of Vermont and New York) but partially situated across the US-Canada border in Quebec. ... Official language(s) None Capital Montpelier Largest city Burlington Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 43rd 24,923 km² 130 km 260 km 3. ...

References

• Aune, P. S. (ed.) 1994. Proceedings of the Symposium on Giant Sequoias. US Dept. of Agriculture Forest Service (Pacific Southwest Research Station) General Technical Report PSW-GTR-151.
• Fry, W. & White, J.B. (1938). Big Trees. Stanford University Press.
• Mitchell, A. F. 1996. Alan Mitchell's Trees of Britain. HarperCollins ISBN 0-00-219972-6.
• Thomas, H. H., Shellhammer, H. S., and Stecker, R. E. 1980. Giant sequoia ecology. U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Scientific Monograph Series 12. Washington, DC. 182 p.
• Kilgore, B. 1970. Restoring Fire to the Sequoias. National Parks and Conservation Magazine 44 (277): 16-22.

External links

• Gymnosperm Database - Sequoiadendron giganteum
• Arboretum de Villardebelle - photos of cones & shoots with phenology notes
• Forest Service database entry on Sequoiadendron giganteum
• Giant Sequoia Fire History in Mariposa Grove, Yosemite National Park (.pdf file!)