No. 8.] HEER — GIANT TREES OF CALIFORNIA. 467 



longed to the Californiaa genus Sequoia established by Endlicher. 

 I afterwards found much better preserved cones, together with 

 seeds, under the plants of Samland and Greenland which fully 

 confirmed the determination. At Atanekerdzuk in Greenland 

 (about 70*^ N. Lat.) this tree is very common. I have received 

 from this Dlace hundreds of twiss with the leaves, and also the 

 flowers and numerous cones, which leave no doubt that this tree 

 stands very nenr to the Redwood. It differs from it, however, 

 in havino- a much larger number of scales in the cone. The 

 tree is also found in Spitzbergen at nearly 78° north latitude, 

 where Nordenskiold has collected, at Cape Lyell, wonderfully 

 preserved branches. From this high latitude the species can be 

 followed down through the whole of Europe as far as the middle 

 of Italy (at Senegaglia, Gulf of Spezia). In Asia also we can 

 follow it to the steppes of Kirghisen, to Possiet, and to the coast 

 of the Sea of Japan, and across to Alaska and Sitka. It is thus 

 known in Europe, Asia and America, from 43° to 78° north 

 latitude, whilst its most nearly related living species, perhaps 

 even descended from it, is now confined to California. 



With this S. Lcmgsdorjil, three other Miocene species are 

 nearly related : (^S. hrevifolla, Hr., S. disticha, Hr., and Nor- 

 denskioldi, Hr.) These have been met with in Greenland and 

 Spitzbergen. and one of them has lately been found in the 

 United States. Three other species, in addition to these, have 

 been described by Lesquereux, which appear to belong to the 

 group of the S. Langsdorjii^ viz., S. longifoUa, Lesq., JS. angusti- 

 folia and S. acuminata^ Lesq. 



These species thus answer to the living Sequoia sempervirens ; 



but we can also point to a Tertiary representative (in the Miocene) 



of the S. gigantea. It is the Sequoia Sternhei-gii, (^Araucarites 



Sternberg ii, Goepp.). The leaves are stiff and sharp-pointed, are 



thinly set round the branches, and lie forward in the same way : 



the egg-shaped cones have the same size. The species was first 



found in Austria, and was classed with the Araucaria ; but the 



cones found by Massalongo show it to belong to Sequoia. I have 



specimens of the species from Oeningen, and also from Iceland 



and Greenland. The twisfs are abundant in Surturbrand;* and 

 the opinion may be expressed that the stumps and roots which 



Prof. Steenstrup has met with in the basaltic beds of Iceland 



belong to this tree, 



* Brown Coal. 



