PINAGEAE 



Giant Sequoia. Bigtree 



Sequoia gigantea (Lindl.) Decne. {Sequoia washingtoniana 

 (Winsl.) Sudw.] {Sequoia wellingtoma Seem.) 



HABIT. The most massive and probably the oldest of all 

 living things; commonly reaching a height of 250-280 feet and 

 a diameter of 10-15 feet (max. 293 by 37 feet); crown scraggly 

 and open; bole clear with short thick branches. 



LEAVES. Spirally arranged; V^-Vi inch long; ovate to 

 lanceolate; appressed or spreading, but thickly clothing the 

 twig; rigid; sharp-pointed; decurrent at base; blue-green; 

 turning brown in 2 to 3 years, but persisting for several years. 



FLOWERS. Similar to redwood, but female with 25-40 

 scales. 



FRUIT. Woody, ovoid -oblong, pendent cones; 2-3 1/2 inches 

 long; red-brown; peltate, wrinkled scales; reaching full size 

 first year, but not maturing until second year; unique in that 

 seed may be retained in cone up to 20 years while peduncle 

 lives and grows and cone looks like young cone. Seed: |4 inch 

 long; light brown; laterally 2-winged with wings broader than 

 seed; 2-9 seeds on each scale. 



TWIG. Slender; leaf-covered. Winter buds: Small, naked. 



BARK. 12-24 inches thick; fibrous cinnamon-red; furrowed 

 between broad, rounded ridges. 



WOOD. Unimportant; similar to redwood, but brittle; 

 impractical to log because of size. 



SILVICAL CHARACTERS. Intermediate in tolerance; 

 growth rapid; probably the oldest living thing, attaining ages 

 of 4,000-5,000 years; reproduction sparse, mineral soil needed 

 for seed germination ; tree does not sprout ; wide-spreading lateral 

 root system; no natural enemies aside from lightning and fire 

 and no tree is known to have died from old age, insects, or fungal 

 attack. 



HABITAT. Native only in some 32 groves of varying extent 

 found along the western middle slopes of the Sierra Nevada 

 mountains of California; in former geologic periods this genus 

 was widely scattered through the forests of the Northern Hemis- 

 phere; generally associated with sugar, ponderosa, and Jeffery 

 pines, white and red fir, and incense-cedar. 



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