

THE FLORA OF THE EARLY MESOZOIC. 



183 



a boij^ht of 5,000 to 7,000 feet above scu-lovol, and are 

 much S()U}j^ht after by tourists as one of the wonders of 

 the country. l{e|)orts came to Europe coneernin<j; tho 

 larfi;est of them wliieh were ((uite fabuh>UH, but we have 

 received accurate accounts of them from Prof. Whitney. 

 Tho tallest tree measured by him has a hei^dit of '^25 

 feet, and in tho case of one of the trees the number of tho 

 ring's of <,'rowth indicated an age of about 1,300 years. 

 Jt had a <,'irth of 60 to 00 feet. 



We know only two livini,' spreies of Sequoia, both of 

 which arc^ conlined to California. The oiu' (*S'. seniprr' 

 virvns) is (-lolhed with erect leaves, arran<jjed in two rows, 

 very much like our yew-tree, and bears snnill, round 

 cones ; the other (*S'. (/it/dH/vd) has smaller leaves, set 

 closely af]jainst the branches, ^ivin<r the tree more the ap- 

 l)earance of the cypress. The cones are epg-sha])ed, and 

 much lar<,a'r. These two types arc therefore sharply de- 

 lined. 



Both of these trees liave an interestiuf]: history. If wo 

 go back into the Tertiary, this same genus meets us witli 

 a long array of species. Two of these species (!orres[)otid 

 to those living at ])resent : the S. iMnt/sdorfu to the S, 

 Si nipervircns, and the S. Con ff sup to the S. f/ii/ftnica.* 

 liut, while the livirjg species are confined to California, in 

 the Tertiary they are spread over several (piarters of tho 

 globe. 



Let us first consider the Sequoia Lamisdorfii. This 

 was first discovered in the lignite of Wetterau, and was 

 described as Taxitos hifu/sdorjli. lleer f»)und it in the 

 up|u'r Rhone district, and there lay beside the twigs 

 the remains of a cone, which showed that the Ta.rites 

 L(iH(/s(/orJii of Hrongniart belonged to the Californian 

 genus Sequoia established by Endlieher. lie afterward 



* S. Cottttsia; has loaves like S. gujautea^ and coues like tlioso of H. 

 snnpervirais. 



