Sequoia evergreen. Evergreen sequoia (Sequoia sempervirens)

Only one tree was awarded the name of the people's leader. So lucky was the “giant pine” that the Iroquois Indian tribe from North America, wanting to perpetuate the memory of its outstanding leader Sekwu, named him after him. The Iroquois leader Sekwu led the liberation struggle of the Iroquois against foreign enslavers, was the first popular educator, and invented the alphabet for the Cherokee tribe.

Numerous attempts have been made to rename this tree. So, immediately after the discovery of sequoia by Europeans, they called it California pine, and subsequently called mammoth tree for the resemblance of old sagging branches to mammoth tusks. Some time passed, and the English botanist Lindley, who first scientifically described this tree, gave it a new name - Wellingtonia in honor of the English commander Wellington, who distinguished himself in the battle with Napoleon's troops at Waterloo. The Americans also decided to do their part and hastened to christen the sequoia Washingtonia in memory of their first president, George Washington. But priority remained with the Iroquois.

Redwoods (Sequoideae) - a subfamily of plants in the Cypress family ( Cupressaceae), previously considered as an independent family.

The subfamily includes three genera:

Sequoia (Sequoia): the only one modern look- Sequoia evergreen ( Sequoia sempervirens).

Sequoiadendron (Sequoiadendron): the only modern species is the giant Sequoiadendron ( Sequoiadendron giganteum).

Metasequoia (Metasequoia): the only modern species is a relict Metasequoia glyptostroboides (Metasequoia glyptostroboides).

What is interesting about this tree? Sequoia is one of the most unusual and majestic trees. Numerous travelers have always enthusiastically described and describe the sequoia, endowing it with the most flattering epithets, admiring its extraordinary size, marveling at its longevity and monumentality. The largest sequoia trees are only a few meters inferior in height to the mighty representative flora- almond eucalyptus from Australia. And in terms of the volume of the trunk, reminiscent of a giant column, and longevity, the sequoia eclipsed all known trees. Crowned far into the sky with thick, wide crowns, these trees reach the height of the spire of the Peter and Paul Fortress, or the 56th floor of a modern building.

The trunk diameter of some sequoia trees is 20-23 meters, and the weight of the wood of one tree sometimes exceeds 1000 tons. One tree produces more than 2000 cubic meters of wood pulp. Only a train of 60 cars can transport such a giant. Americans, greedy for all sorts of sensations, have repeatedly surprised Europeans by demonstrating the size of this tree. Thus, at one of the exhibitions in Europe, two cross sections of old sequoia stumps were exhibited. On one of them a piano with an orchestra of musicians and an ensemble of dancers of 35 people was freely placed, on the other a printing house was built, where the newspaper “Bulletin of the Giant Tree” was published. On the eve of the opening of the International Paris Exhibition of 1900, among others American Wonders The largest board in the world was widely advertised, which was specially made from the trunk of a large sequoia tree. However, the Europeans were never able to see this board, since the length of the board exceeded 100 meters and not a single captain undertook to transport the oversized cargo across the ocean. This is how this advertising venture ended ingloriously, costing the life of a unique natural monument.

JFKCom

Interesting stories about sequoia have long been included in all popular publications about plants. They often recall how in the old hollow trunk of one giant sequoia an enterprising American built a restaurant with 50 seats, and in the trunk of another tree fallen by a storm - a garage for tourists' cars. A kind of tunnel in the trunk of the huge sequoia “Wawona Tree” growing in Yosemite National Park (California, USA) is also widely advertised. The tunnel was laid back in 1881, and during the construction of the modern highway expanded significantly. Now not only passenger cars, but also large buses can freely pass through it.

One enterprising businessman piece by piece removed the bark from a large sequoia up to a height of 25 meters. To do this, scaffolding was erected around the tree, as if building a multi-story building, and five people stripped the bark over the course of three months. The numbered pieces of bark were refolded in San Francisco and exhibited for viewing, for a fee, either outside or inside, for which purpose an entrance hole was left. At the same time, it was reported that the miracle tree, having lost its bark, seemed not to have suffered at all and continued to grow as before. The original building was furnished, a piano was placed in it, and up to 100 people gathered for concerts at a time.

Sequoia evergreen in the Palais Aux Loop park, Chatney-Malabry, France. ©Line1

Sequoia is certainly present in the stories of the mythical giant lumberjack, the hero of North American folklore, Paul Beneyan. In a sequoia cutting area, he, together with his blue bull Beibu, demonstrates extraordinary strength and amazing dexterity.

In ancient times prehistoric times sequoia grew all over to the globe. Sequoia forests also grew on the territory of our country. It was distributed throughout almost the entire northern hemisphere to the latitude of the island of Spitsbergen. Now only in California there are giant sequoia trees preserved on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada. After the predatory destruction of this tree in place of extensive mighty forests There are about 30 small groves left. The most valuable centers of sequoia, although with great delay, have been declared protected areas, and, like individual trees that have received personal names, are protected by law. Here you can meet the mighty “father of the forests”, and in his mate the tall sequoia “forest mother”, and the veteran “gray-haired giant”. Americans consider the 3,500-year-old “General Sherman” to be the oldest sequoia, rising almost 100 meters in the national park at the foot of the Sierra Nevada, its trunk diameter is about 15 meters. Practical Americans calculated that 30 six-room country houses could be built from the wood of this giant.

And one of these extraordinary representatives forest world The Iroquois recently appropriated a name equally dear to workers all over the world - the name of Lenin. The poet Andrei Voznesensky, who visited Sequoia Park while in California, wrote about this in his poem.

Joe Mabel

Much has already been said about the durability of sequoia. Numerous studies show that its age often reaches 6000 years. Some redwoods are many centuries older than the Egyptian pyramids.

It is important to note that the longevity of the sequoia is at the service of science. With these the most ancient representatives of the plant world, scientists were able to look into the depths of thousands of years and, from the growth rings on transverse sections of trunks, obtain reliable data on the climate of bygone times. Reacting to weather changes, trees, in strict accordance with the amount of precipitation each year, grew either thicker or thinner layers of wood - growth rings. Scientists have examined the trunks of over 540 of these giants, and these materials have made it possible to trace the weather for more than 2,000 years. It became known, for example, that 2000, 900 and 600 years ago there were periods very rich in precipitation, and periods 1200 and 1400 years distant from us were characterized by extremely long and severe droughts.

American scientists also determined the weather at a closer time using the described method. It turned out that the years 1900 and 1934 were marked by the most severe droughts in the last 1200 years for the North American continent.

Giant Sequoia Dendrons near the Hillsboro Courthouse, Oregon, USA. This is 5 of 8 Giant Sequoiadendrons planted by John Porter, a small farm owner, in 1880. Called Heritage, these trees are of great importance for the entire region as a memory left by their ancestors about the development of the region and its agriculture. © M.O. Stevens

Because of its reddish, carmine-soaked wood, sequoia is sometimes called mahogany. Its wood is valued not only for its original color, but also for its unusual physical properties: it is light, like aspen, and porous, like paulownia, it perfectly resists rotting in soil and water, and can easily be processed in any way.

Sequoia bark is much thicker than that of other tree species: 70-80 centimeters. Securely covering the trunk, it absorbs water like a sponge. Thanks to this structure of the bark, these trees are not afraid of fires.

Sequoia is different rapid growth and accumulates ten times more wood per year than our birch, which foresters consider a fast-growing species.

Photo of Giant Sequoiadendron at the John J. Tyler Arboretum. The tree has been the largest tree in Pennsylvania since 1950. Planted in 1856. The central trunk was damaged in 1895, causing the tree to grow into several trunks. As of 2006, the height is 29m, the trunk circumference is 3.93m, and the crown spread is 10.9m. The tree might be the largest Giant Sequoiadendron in the eastern United States, but even taller trees exist in Bristol, Rhode Island. © Derek Ramsey

Like other trees, the giant sequoia has a number of original decorative forms, highly valued in green construction: with golden, silver, blue and even variegated needles, as well as with a narrow, almost columnar or weeping crown.

In its long life, sequoia has undergone many botanical changes. In the old days, for example, it numbered up to 15 species, but now there are only two: the giant sequoia, which was discussed here, and the very close to it, no less majestic evergreen sequoia. Botanists distinguish them only by a number of minor characteristics, and some attribute them to different genera altogether. Sequoia evergreen is often larger than giant sequoia. The largest (“founders tree”), growing in California near the city of Eureka, reaches a height of 132 meters.

A young Giant Sequoiadendron growing in Big Pine, California. Planted in 1913 to commemorate the opening of the transport route. During one of the most severe crises, the United States intensively built roads throughout the country to improve the economic condition of the country. © Dcrjsr

Currently, dendrologists and landscapers are great job on artificial breeding of sequoia. It is grown from the lightest and very small (up to 3 millimeters in diameter) seeds. 150-200 of them are contained in small cones, somewhat reminiscent of Scots pine cones. The efforts of our scientists to acclimatize sequoia did not immediately yield encouraging results. Only after many years of experiments did it begin to grow in many parks of the Crimea, the Caucasus, and in the south Central Asia and in Transcarpathia. In our conditions, it can tolerate frosts of no more than 18-20 degrees. The seeds obtained from the sequoias that had acclimatized with us germinated poorly at first, and only after the use of artificial pollination was it possible to increase their germination to 50-60 percent. Vegetative propagation of sequoia is now well mastered: by cuttings or grafting.

The pioneers of the acclimatization of giant trees in our country were botanists from the Nikitsky Botanical Garden. Sequoia has been grown here since 1850. In the Nikitsky Garden there is the oldest specimen of giant sequoia in Europe, in many parks of the Southern Crimea and Black Sea coast In the Caucasus, it has now become almost an obligatory tree. The height of its individual specimens (in the park of the village of Frunzenskoe in Crimea, in Batumi botanical garden on Cape Verde and other places) exceeds 50 meters.

Giant Sequoia Dendrons in Sequoia National Park (Extends from the southern Sierra Nevada to eastern California). The park was created on September 25, 1890. The park is famous for its giant Sequoia trees, including the General Sherman tree, one of the largest trees on Earth. The General Sherman grows in a giant forest that also contains five of the ten largest trees in the world. © Dcrjsr

You can also get acquainted with greenhouse sequoia plants in Leningrad, Moscow, Minsk, Kyiv and some other cities of the former USSR.

But many visitors to Jedediah Smith will never see the cluster giant sequoias, known as the "Grove of the Titans". Their locations are kept secret to protect the massive and ancient trees from humans. (40 photos)

These sequoias have a huge trunk diameter and almost unreal height. Like natural skyscrapers, they are taller than the iconic Statue of Liberty from the base of her pedestal to the tip of her torch. Some people who walk among these giants claim that such an adventure is so impressive that it is life-changing. As naturalist John Muir, known as the father of national parks, once said, “The most obvious way into the universe is through the wilderness.” Photo: m24instudio

The photographer wrote: “The morning we visited Muir Woods was rainy and foggy, all the plants and trees were covered in dew. The feeling was like tropical forest, and the height and density of the trees isolated us from the rest of the world.” The trees "range from 400 to 800 years old and reach 250 feet in height." Photo: Justin Brown

James Irvine Trail in Prairie Creek Park. The photographer noted that “like kids in a candy store, we got too excited and bit off more than we could chew; or, more precisely, we went on an excursion that could not fit into one daylight. In old, overgrown, dense forests, twilight falls several hours earlier than along the coast.” Photo: Justin Kern

At the base of a giant sequoia tree in Jedediah Smith. The park was named after the explorer and first American to travel across the country from the Mississippi River to California in 1826. Photo: drainhook

The Last Monarch tree in Grove of the Titans, Jedediah Smith Redwoods Park. It was discovered in 1998. It reaches a diameter of 7.9 m and a height of 98 m. The exact location of the Lost Monarch is kept secret due to fears that its publication will lead to increased traffic and could disrupt the ecosystem or lead to vandalism. Photographer says: "The Last Monarch" is hiding in wet forest, where redwoods and ferns are perfectly combined.” Photo: Yinghai

Andrea T. said: “Exceptional and incredible. If you love trees, if you love solitude. If you like to feel the vibrations of the Earth, then come here.” This park occupies almost 53,000 hectares of land, of which more than 17 thousand are covered with untouched old redwoods. Photo: Steve Dunleavy

At Redwood State Park in March 2014. The park's brochure states: “California redwoods are among the tallest and oldest trees on Earth. Some grow up to 300 feet tall and reach up to 50 feet in circumference. Scientists estimate that their age may vary from 1,000 to 2,000 years.” Photo: Christian Arballo

A dense grove at Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park. According to Redwood Hikes: “Nothing compares to the pure and pristine beauty of this extraordinary grove on a sunny day.” Photo: Steve Dunleavy

National Park Redwood. The photographer writes: "This small pedestrian bridge in the park is over 300 feet in the air." Photo: Steve Dunleavy

Prairie Creek, the James Irwin Trail, a cluster of trees, and a man to help you visualize the size of a redwood tree. Trees of Mystery explains: “A knocked over redwood tree will try to continue to grow through its shoots. If the branches point upward, they can become independent trees. Groups of trees grow from the living remains of a fallen redwood tree stump. If you look at genetic information in the cell of each of them, you will find that they are identical to each other. These are clones! Photo: rachel_thecat

John Muir once said, “Everyone needs beauty as well as bread, an indoor place to play and pray, and nature to heal and give strength to soul and body.” Photo: Craig Goodwin

A bear in a foggy forest among sequoia trees. Although the giant redwood tree and the giant sequoiadendron appear very similar, they are actually two different types. Sequoiadendron lives up to 3,000 years, has bark up to 3 feet thick, branches grow up to 8 feet in diameter, and can only reproduce by seeds. By comparison, giant sequoias (redwood) grow for up to 2,000 years, have bark up to 12 inches thick, have branches up to 5 feet in diameter, and can reproduce either vegetatively or by seed. Photo: Linda Tanner

Magnificent green growth in the shade under a canopy of redwood trees. John Muir said, “If you pull one thing in nature, you find it attached to the rest of the world.” Photo: Justin Kern

Incredible canopy in Muir Forest. The ancestors of the redwood tree and the giant sequoiadendron grew in the United States 150 million years ago. By the early 20th century, most of these forests had been cleared. North of San Francisco Bay, a forest of old-growth coast redwood trees is known as the Muir Forest Preserve. Photo: Justin Kern

Large maple tree on the Mill Creek Trail in Jedediah Smith Redwood Park. Photo: Miguel Vieira

HDR panoramic shot of a Humboldt County redwood grove. Stout Grove is a majestic example of an ancient coastal redwood forest and is considered the heart of Jedediah Smith Redwood State Park. In 1929, Mrs. Clara Stout donated the 44-acre grove to the Redwood Saving League to preserve it and memorialize her husband, lumber magnate Frank D. Stout. Photo: Michael Holden

Lush redwood forest and ferns in February 2014. “My first visit to Muir Forest,” writes the photographer. “I was hoping for rain, fog, deserted people and got none of it. But this place has big potential" Photo: Beau Rogers

Alley in Muir Forest. The photographer wrote: “It was very crowded, only great patience helped me with this photo. I was just waiting for a gap between visitors.” Photo: Beau Rogers

There are 10 monstrously huge trees in the Grove of the Titans that were "hidden" until 1998. How could this happen? Partly due to the fact that you need to get to this place through dense bushes taller than a man. "The Old Man of the North (also known as El Viejo del Norte), at 323 feet tall and at least 23 feet in diameter, is the fifth largest coastal redwood tree in the world." The photographer wrote that the Old Man of the North is his favorite tree in the Grove of the Titans. It is not just huge, it has a characteristic swell that makes it easy to recognize. Photo: Yinghai

A moss-covered tree trunk in Jedediah Smith Redwoods. The greenery in this place has spread to almost all available surfaces. Photo: Brian Hoffman

The Last Monarch is one of the 10 largest trees in Grove of the Titans, the largest coast redwood by volume with a height of 320 feet and a diameter of at least 26 feet. Photo: Matt Rowe

Walk through a deep ravine (9.1 to 15.2 m) known as Fern Canyon, which is located in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. As described by Michael S: “The unrivaled natural beauty of vertical walls covered in ferns. Unlike any other place on Earth. Imagine walking through a narrow canyon where the walls are completely covered with lush ferns, moss, raindrops and mini waterfalls. An unforgettable natural wonder with five species of giant ferns. Steven Spielberg chose Fern Canyon for the film "Park" Jurassic period: Lost World". Photo: Alex Green

The Boy Scout Trail at Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park takes you deep into the forest and into old growth trees. Photo: Miguel Vieira

Boy Scout tree on the Boy Scout trail. This double redwood tree was so named because it was discovered by a local Boy Scout troop leader. A 1931 article reported that it was the largest, 31 feet in diameter and 87 feet in circumference, and oval in shape. Apparently, at one time, two separate trees stood side by side, but then merged and grew together until they reached a height of 250 feet above the ground. Photo: NAParish

The sun's rays break through the coastal fog and the dense branches of giant trees. Photo: NPS

Delighted by the beautiful giant sequoias in California. Photo: Margaret Killjoy

Twilight rays of sunlight breaking through the redwoods. Photo: Fovea Centralis

Sequoia is a monotypic genus of woody plants of the Cypress family. Natural range genus - Pacific coast of North America. Individual specimens of sequoia reach a height of more than 110 m - these are the tallest trees on Earth. The maximum diameter of a sequoia trunk is 11.1 m (for a specimen with own name General Sherman, maximum age is more than three and a half thousand years.

Sequoia
Sequoia evergreen

The name of the genus was given in honor of Sequoyah (George Hess) (Sequoyah), an Indian chief of the Cherokee tribe, inventor of the Cherokee syllabary, and founder of a newspaper in the Cherokee language.
Distribution area
Trees over 60 m high are very common, many are higher than 90 m.

* The tallest tree is a sequoia discovered in the summer of 2006 by Chris Atkins and Michael Taylor in Redwood National Park, the height of “Hyperion”, as the tree was named, is 115.5 meters (379. 1 ft). Researchers said woodpecker damage to the tree at the top prevented the sequoia from reaching a height of 115.8 meters (380 feet).
* The previous record holder among those currently growing was the “Stratospheric Giant” in the California Humboldt Redwoods State Park, its height is 112.83 meters, the last measurement was in 2004 (in August 2000-112.34 m, in 2002-112.56 m) .
* Before Hyperion, the tallest tree of all time was the Dyerville Giant, also in Humboldt Redwoods, measured after its fall in March 1991 at 113.4 meters and estimated to be 1,600 years old.
* Of the growing trees, 15 are more than 110 m in height.
* 47 trees over 105 m in height.
* Some claim that the height of the tree, cut down in 1912, was 115.8 m.
* The tallest non-red tree has a height of 100.3 m - Douglas fir.

Botanical description of sequoia.

- evergreen monoecious tree.
The crown is conical, the branches grow horizontally or with a slight downward slope. The bark is very thick, up to 30 cm thick, and relatively soft, fibrous, red-brown color immediately after its removal (from here English name redwood, “mahogany”), darkens over time. The root system consists of shallow, widely spreading lateral roots. The leaves are 15-25 mm long, elongated and flat in young trees, with arrowheads in the shady lower crown of old trees, and scale-like 5-10 mm long in the upper crown of old trees. Cones are ovoid, 15-32 mm in length, with 15-25 spirally twisted scales; pollination at the end of winter, ripening after 8-9 months. Each cone contains 3-7 seeds, each of which is 3-4 mm long and 0.5 mm wide. The seeds spill out when the cone dries and opens.

Distribution and ecology of sequoia.

Native to California along the coast Pacific Ocean on a strip with a length of about 750 km and a width of 8 to 75 km. Average heights are 30-750 m above sea level, sometimes trees grow close to the shore, sometimes they climb to a height of up to 920 m. Sequoia loves the humidity that sea air brings with it. The tallest and oldest trees grow in gorges and deep ravines, where all year round currents of moist air can reach and where fogs occur regularly. Trees growing above the fog layer (above 700 m) are lower and smaller due to drier, windier and cooler growing conditions. In 2004, Nature magazine wrote that the maximum theoretical height of a redwood tree (or any other tree) is limited to 122-130 meters, due to gravity and friction between the water and the pores of the wood through which it oozes.

The most voluminous tree is “Del Norte Titan”, its volume is estimated at 1044.7 m³; its height is 93.57 m, and its diameter is 7.22 m. Among the growing trees, only 15 giant sequoias are more massive than it; they are shorter, but have a thicker trunk. Thus, the volume of the largest giant sequoia, General Sherman, is 1487 cubic meters.
Classification

The genus Sequoia belongs to the subfamily Sequoioideae of the Cypress family (Cupressaceae), which also includes Sequoiadendron J.Buchholz and Metasequoia Miki ex Hu & W.C.Cheng.

Only view:
* Sequoia sempervirens (D.Don) Endl. - Sequoia evergreen, or red sequoia.
Synonym:
* Taxodium sempervirens D.Don - evergreen taxodium.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plants
Superdivision: Gymnosperms
Department: Conifers
Class: Conifers
Order: Pine
Family: Cypressaceae
Subfamily: Sequoioideae
Genus: Sequoia
Latin name
Sequoia Endl. (1847), nom. cons.
Kinds
Sequoia evergreen
Sequoia sempervirens (D.Don) Endl.

Materials used:
Dictionaries and encyclopedias on Academician
http://dic.academic.ru/

The giant sequoia or, as it is also called, the mammoth tree, has rightfully earned the title of the most tall tree in the world. It’s not for nothing that this long-liver is considered one of the wonders of the world. This plant belongs to the coniferous trees and can reach a height of up to 110 meters, while its trunk in girth can be more than 12 meters. And the lifespan of this miracle of nature is simply unthinkable. She can live up to 5 thousand years. This tree is the oldest on the planet.

How did the sequoia appear?

Currently, scientists have concluded that a tree appeared on the planet more than 100 million years ago. There is a lot of evidence for this conclusion: fossils found in different places on the planet, other geological deposits that make it possible to identify the approximate time of the appearance of this unusual natural phenomenon on the planet.

Even in ancient times, sequoia seeds spread across the territories that today are occupied by France, Japan and the New Siberian Islands. It is believed that the giant tree existed back in the time of dinosaurs, when entire forests with powerful trunks occupied vast areas throughout the northern hemisphere. As experts say, 50 million years ago there was glacial period, which affected not only the distribution area of the tree, but also its size. After the weather warmed up, the plant remained in its original form, however, it now settled in only one place. The mainland of North America is considered the birthplace of sequoia.

For the first time, giant sequoias were discovered by the Spaniards back in 1769, when they went on an expedition to the area of present San Francisco. They received the nickname “Mammoth trees” from the botanist Endlifer, who was the first in the world to call them “red trees”. And at first no one could even imagine what to do with these huge trunks. For a long time, trees were not used at all, because neither a saw nor an ax can take them, due to the very hard bark and wood. And sequoia wood is not suitable for construction, like the material of other conifers.

Due to their uselessness, the giant sequoia forests were even completely destroyed in 1848. But people are very contradictory. By the time almost half of the trees were destroyed, environmentalists and US authorities began to protect the sequoia. After all, these giants natural world should have survived to posterity in its original form.

Present time

Currently sequoia, Wikipedia speaks about this unequivocally, it grows only on the Pacific coast of California, although it is the property of all mankind, unique tree flora. In addition to this place, sequoia also grows on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountains. These are the only two places where you can still see giant trees in full beauty and power. The reserve occupies huge areas of the coast and mountain slopes, which gives tourists the opportunity to visit these places and admire the beauty of the forest.

The tree cannot grow high in the mountains because it requires very high humidity. But nevertheless, the mammoth tree tolerates low temperatures well, which allowed it to survive in the Ice Age.

Every year, the United States is visited by many tourists who are eager to take pictures at the foot of the giants, and the Americans themselves respect these trees. One of them even has a name - he was named after the American commander. This giant is protected by law as a cultural monument and is considered the property of all of America. Scientists are showing remarkable interest in sequoia, but it is not cut down under any pretext.

General Sherman

The tree named "General Sherman" grows in the Sierra Nevada and is considered the most amazing plant on the planet. The height of the trunk is more than 83 meters, and its girth is more than 148 meters. The age of the tree, according to approximate calculations, is as much as 2700 years, which is quite a lot for a plant. But the sequoia constantly continues to grow, which is also quite unique fact. Sequoia annually grows as much wood on its trunk as an 18-meter tree can grow. Scientists are still studying this unique plant, which has seen almost the entire history of mankind.

No less famous representative

Another representative of the coniferous species is sequoia is a sequoiadendron tree. The place where this sequoia was cut down still preserves the base of the giant in its original form. It, like the General Sherman, is honored to become one of the symbols of America. The tree was cut down in 1930 after 1930 years. Very symbolic! Annual rings are painted on its trunk and signed:

What is sequoia

Externally the tree is a huge trunk covered with thick bark. Its thickness reaches 60 cm. The sap of the tree completely lacks oils that are found in other conifers, but there is a huge amount of tannin, which prevents the tree from burning. Even after a severe fire, the sequoia will survive and continue to grow, while other conifers die. The wood of this plant is not at all affected by fungi, rot or small bugs. Its roots are so deep in the ground that the wind is unable to knock down this tree. The growth rate of sequoia reaches 3-4 meters per year, the maximum height is 110 meters, the tree’s greater height was discovered quite recently in one of the national parks, its height is 115.5 meters.

Sequoia wood has a bright pink color that changes to red closer to the center. It is very durable, which allows it to serve for a long time. Although sequoia is not used in construction or other purposes on the farm.

Reproduction

The northern giant is a gymnosperm tree and produces a huge number of seeds, but only a small fraction of them can successfully germinate. But even those who were able to break through the ground are fighting for life long time. young tree branches along its entire length, but the older and more majestic it becomes, the fewer lower branches are preserved. This helps the sequoia to form a reliable and durable dome, which prevents light rays from penetrating down to the ground. And a young tree cannot live without light.

But nothing grows under the arches of majestic plants. This is why it is very difficult to say that a tree reproduces naturally. It's much more common planted with small seedlings, whose age does not exceed a year. And they are planted away from the main planting. But growing sequoia artificially will only be necessary if the wood begins to be actively used in construction. After all, then the plant may simply disappear.

Places of growth

Today sequoia grows in:

Great Britain;
Spain;
New Zealand.

The tree requires high humidity, and therefore all existing reserves are located near the sea. But you can meet this giant in Russia. We also have access to the sea and wet air With warm climate. This place is located in Krasnodar region, and therefore sequoia grows there. In the Sochi arboretum there is a planting of this evergreen, but not yet a giant. But within a few thousand years, huge trunks with branched crowns will rise there, which will amaze the imagination of tourists and residents of this glorious place.

Here is the definition of this tree can be found on Wikipedia:

General Sherman- a specimen of giant sequoiadendron ( Sequoiadendron giganteum), growing in the "Giant Forest" of Sequoia National Park in California, USA. In terms of volume, it is the largest tree on Earth. The height of the General Sherman tree is 83.8 m, the trunk volume is estimated at 1487 m³, the weight is 1900 tons, and the age is 2300-2700 years.

The General Sherman tree is the largest and heaviest living organism on our planet. However, it is not the most tall sequoia(this record belongs to the Hyperion tree, which belongs to the evergreen sequoia species), nor the tallest representative of the sequoiadendrons (specimens with a height of 95 m are known, but they have a smaller volume). It is also known that the Crannell Creek Giant tree, which was felled in the mid-1940s. Crannell Creek Giant) species of evergreen sequoia, growing near the city of Trinidad, had approximately 15-25% greater volume than General Sherman

Let's take a closer look at it...

Photo 2.

In the nineteenth century, explorer John Muir called the area where the famous tree grows the “Giant Forest” when he discovered giant sequoias. The name of this part of the park, "Giant Forest", remains to this day. Many tourists describe the General Sherman tree, which is striking in its size, as a red-orange “rock”, the top of which is impossible to see.

Tourists specially come to the park to see the General Sherman tree, named after the hero civil war General William Sherman, and take a photo. Next to the sequoia they seem so fragile and small.

Photo 3.

For a long time it was believed that the General Sherman tree was over three thousand years old, but recent research has determined its exact age - exactly two thousand years. This means that this is not the oldest tree in the world.

The oldest tree in the world, special type The California pine was 4,484 years old when it was cut down in 1965. Sequoia trees that were about 3,000 years old were also cut down. It is believed that 5,000 trees still exist on Earth.

In the winter of 2006, General Sherman's tree lost part of its crown, the largest branch of the tree fell off, the diameter of which was about two meters and the length was about 30 meters.

Photo 4.

Scientists are worried: is the tree really dying? However, we came to the conclusion that this incident does not indicate any problems in the condition of the tree, but could only be natural defense mechanism from adverse weather conditions.

When the branches fell to the ground, the fence around the tree and the road leading to it were destroyed. Even after this, General Sherman's tree did not lose its status largest tree on the planet.

There is a special path leading to General Sherman's tree, and even people with disabilities can see this miracle. At the end of the path, brick tiles are laid out, which show where the roots of the tree reach.

Photo 5.

Every year the trunk diameter of the giant tree grows almost 1.5 cm. The General Sherman tree is still growing and, according to the website National Park State of California, annually adds enough wood to fill a five or six-room house.

One of the secrets to the longevity of giant sequoias is their thick, durable, fire-resistant bark. But sometimes, during the frequent fires in southern California, a tree burns out completely.

Photo 7.

No one can say how long a sequoia can live (or, scientifically, a giant sequoiadendron), but researchers have encountered trees here that are estimated to be 3 thousand years old! (Around this period in Eurasia, humanity learned to process copper and bronze).

Photo 8.

Have you ever wondered how much oxygen such a tree can produce? About 120 kg per year - this will be enough for a family of three to four people!

Photo 9.

A few numbers. The circumference of the trunk near the ground is 31.3 m. The span of the crown is 39.6 meters. total weight tree - 1910 tons, trunk weight - 1121 tons.

General Sherman is found in literature: in the fairy tale “The Gnomobil - Gnousual Gnoves about Gnomes” by Upton Sinclair, as well as in Ilf and Petrov’s book “One-Storey America”.

Photo 10.