Sequoiadendron giganteum (also known as thegiant sequoia,giant redwood,Sierra redwood orWellingtonia) is a species ofconiferoustree, classified in the familyCupressaceae in the subfamilySequoioideae. Giant sequoia specimens are the largest trees on Earth.[3] They are native to the groves on the western slopes of theSierra Nevada mountain range of California but have been introduced, planted, and grown around the world.
The giant sequoia is listed as anendangered species by theIUCN with fewer than 80,000 remaining in its native California.
The giant sequoia grow to an average height of 50–85 m (164–279 ft) with trunk diameters ranging from 6–8 m (20–26 ft). Record trees have been measured at 94.8 m (311 ft) tall. The specimen known to have the greatest diameter at breast height is theGeneral Grant tree at 8.8 m (29 ft). Giant sequoias are among the oldest living organisms on Earth. The oldest known giant sequoia is 3,200–3,266 years old.
Wood from mature giant sequoias is fibrous and brittle; trees would often shatter after they were felled. The wood is unsuitable for construction and instead is used for fence posts or match sticks. The giant sequoia is a very popularornamental tree in many parts of the world.
The etymology of the genus name was long presumed, initially inThe Yosemite Book byJosiah Whitney in 1868,[4] to be in honor ofSequoyah (1767–1843), who was the inventor of theCherokee syllabary.[5] An etymological study published in 2012 debunked that "American myth", concluding that AustrianStephen L. Endlicher derived the name from the Latin wordsequi (meaningto follow), because the number of seeds per cone in the newly classified genus aligned in mathematical sequence with the other four genera in the suborder.[6]
Giant sequoia specimens are the most massive individual trees in the world.[3] They grow to an average height of 50–85 m (164–279 ft) with trunk diameters ranging from 6–8 m (20–26 ft). Record trees have been measured at 94.8 m (311 ft) tall. Trunk diameters of 17 m (56 ft) have been claimed via research figures taken out of context.[7] The specimen known to have the greatestdiameter at breast height is theGeneral Grant Tree at 8.8 m (28.9 ft).[8] Between 2014 and 2016, it is claimed that specimens ofcoast redwood were found to have greater trunk diameters than all known giant sequoias – though this has not been independently verified or affirmed in any academic literature.[9] The trunks of coast redwoods taper at lower heights than those of giant sequoias which have more columnar trunks that maintain larger diameters to greater heights.
The oldest known giant sequoia is 3,200–3,266 years old based ondendrochronology.[10][11] That tree has been verified to have the fourth-largest lifespan of any tree, after individuals ofGreat Basin bristlecone pine andalerce.[12] Giant sequoia bark is fibrous, furrowed, and may be 90 cm (3 ft) thick at the base of the columnar trunk. The sap containstannic acid, which provides significant protection from fire damage.[13] The leaves areevergreen, awl-shaped, 3–6 mm (1⁄8–1⁄4 in) long, and arranged spirally on the shoots.
Mature cones and seed
The wood is famously resistant to decay. A "nearly complete"S. giganteum log has been discovered 800 m (0.50 mi) south of theNelder Grove which gave a radiocarbon-14 date of 10,000 years.[14][better source needed]
The giant sequoia regenerates byseed. The seedcones are4–7 cm (1+1⁄2–3 in) long and mature in 18–20 months, though they typically remain green and closed for as long as 20 years. Each cone has 30–50 spirally arranged scales, with several seeds on each scale, giving an average of 230 seeds per cone. Seeds are dark brown, 4–5 mm (0.16–0.20 in) long, and 1 mm (0.04 in) broad, with a 1-millimeter (0.04 in) wide, yellow-brown wing along each side. Some seeds shed when the cone scales shrink during hot weather in late summer, but most are liberated by insect damage or when the cone dries from the heat of fire. The trees do not begin to bear cones until they are 12 years old.
Trees may produce sprouts from their stumps subsequent to injury, until about 20 years old; however, shoots do not form on the stumps of more mature trees as they do on coast redwoods. Giant sequoias of all ages may sprout from theirboles when branches are lost to fire or breakage.
A large tree may have as many as 11,000 cones. Cone production is greatest in the upper portion of the canopy. A mature giant sequoia disperses an estimated 300,000–400,000 seeds annually. The winged seeds may fly as far as 180 m (590 ft) from the parent tree.
Lower branches die readily from being shaded, but trees younger than 100 years retain most of their dead branches. Trunks of mature trees in groves are generally free of branches to a height of 20–50 m (70–160 ft), but solitary trees retain lower branches.
The natural distribution of giant sequoias is restricted to a limited area of the westernSierra Nevada,California. As apaleoendemic species,[15] they occur in scattered groves, with a total of 81 groves (seelist of sequoia groves for a full inventory), comprising a total area of only 144.16 km2 (35,620 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 theAmerican River inPlacer County southward to theKings River, has only eight disjunct groves. The remaining southern groves are concentrated between the Kings River and the Deer Creek Grove in southernTulare County. Groves range in size from 12.4 km2 (3,100 acres) with 20,000 mature trees, to small groves with only six living trees. Many are protected inSequoia andKings Canyon National Parks andGiant Sequoia National Monument.
The giant sequoia is usually found in a humid climate characterized by dry summers andsnowy winters. Most giant sequoia groves are on granitic-based residual andalluvial soils. The elevation of the giant sequoia groves generally ranges from 1,400–2,000 m (4,600–6,600 ft) in the north, to 1,700–2,150 metres (5,580–7,050 ft) to the south. Giant sequoias generally occur on the south-facing sides of northern mountains, and on the northern faces of more southerly slopes.
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 sequoia groves are currently undergoing a gradual decline in density since European settlement.
While the present day distribution of this species is limited to a small area of California, it was once much more widely distributed in prehistoric times, and was a reasonably common species in North American and Eurasian coniferous forests until its range was greatly reduced by the lastice age. Older fossil specimens reliably identified as giant sequoia have been found inCretaceous era sediments from a number of sites in North America and Europe, and even as far afield as New Zealand[16] and Australia.[17]
Lake Fulmor, featuring a small grove of giant sequoia trees (top center)
In 1974, a group of giant sequoias was planted by theUnited States Forest Service in theSan Jacinto Mountains ofSouthern California in the immediate aftermath of a wildfire that left the landscape barren. The giant sequoias were rediscovered in 2008 by botanist Rudolf Schmidt and his daughter Mena Schmidt while hiking on Black Mountain Trail through Hall Canyon.Black Mountain Grove is home to over 150 giant sequoias, some of which stand over 6.1 m (20 ft) tall. This grove is not to be confused with theBlack Mountain Grove in the southern Sierra. NearbyLake Fulmor Grove is home to seven giant sequoias, the largest of which is 20 m (66 ft) tall. The two groves are located approximately 175 mi (282 km) southeast of the southernmost naturally occurring giant sequoia grove,Deer Creek Grove.[18][19]
It was later discovered that theUnited States Forest Service had planted giant sequoias across Southern California. However, the giant sequoias ofBlack Mountain Grove and nearbyLake Fulmor Grove are the only ones known to be reproducing and propagating free of human intervention. The conditions of theSan Jacinto Mountains mimic those of theSierra Nevada, allowing the trees to naturally propagate throughout the canyon.[20]
Two giant sequoias,Sequoia National Park. The right-hand tree bears a large fire scar at its base; fires do not typically kill the trees but do remove competing thin-barked species, and aid giant sequoia regeneration.
Giant sequoias are in many ways adapted to forest fires. Their bark is unusually fire resistant, and their cones will normally open immediately after a fire.[21] Giant sequoias are apioneer species,[22] and 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 full sun and in mineral-rich soils, free from competing vegetation. Although the seeds can germinate in moist needlehumus in the spring, these seedlings will die as theduff dries in the summer. They therefore require periodicwildfire 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. These trees require large amounts of water and are often concentrated near streams. Their growth is dependent on soil moisture.[23][24] Squirrels, chipmunks, finches and sparrows consume the freshly sprouted seedlings, preventing their growth.[25]
Fires also bring hot air high into the canopy viaconvection, which in turn dries and opens the cones. The subsequent release of large quantities of seeds coincides with the optimal postfireseedbed conditions. Loose ground ash may also act as a cover to protect the fallen seeds fromultraviolet radiation damage. 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 leads to ground fuel build-up and the dense growth of fire-sensitivewhite fir, which increases 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 keepingcarpenter ants in check.[26]In 1970, theNational 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, theWashington 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.
In addition to fire, two animal agents also assist giant sequoia seed release. The more significant of the two is alonghorn beetle (Phymatodes nitidus) that lays eggs on the cones, into which the larvae then bore holes. Reduction of the vascular water supply to the cone scales allows 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 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 theDouglas 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.[27]
More than 30 identified species of bird have been observed living in giant sequoia groves.[28][29]
The genome of the giant sequoia was published in 2020. The size of the giant sequoia genome is 8.125 Gbp (8.125 billion base pairs) which were assembled into eleven chromosome-scale scaffolds, the largest of any organism at the time of publication.[30][31]
This is the first genome sequenced in the familyCupressaceae, and it provides insights into disease resistance and survival for this robust species on a genetic basis. The genome was found to contain over 900 complete or partial predictedNLR genes used by plants to prevent the spread of infection by microbial pathogens.
The giant sequoia first gained widespread attention in 1852 when grizzly hunter Augustus T. Dowd discovered theDiscovery Tree inCalaveras Grove, marking the species' first widely publicized discovery by non-natives.[33] The tree was cut down in 1853 andexhibited across the United States. The story of Dowd's discovery gained further notoriety following a 1859 feature inHutchings' Illustrated California Magazine, which promoted tourism to the grove.[34]
Before Augustus T. Dowd's well-known discovery in 1852, there were three earlier encounters with giant sequoias. The first known mention of the giant sequoia by aEuropean American was in 1833 byZenas Leonard, a member of theJoseph R. Walker Party, who recorded it in his diary. While Leonard did not specify a location, his travels likely took him throughCalaveras Grove, but this observation remained unnoticed.[33]
In 1850, John M. Wooster encountered a giant sequoia at Calaveras Grove and carved his initials into the bark of the "Hercules" tree.[35] A year later, in 1851,Robert Eccleston traveled throughNelder Grove with a small detachment of theMariposa Battalion during theMariposa War.[36] Similar to Leonard's experience, these encounters also received no publicity.
The first scientific naming of the species was byJohn Lindley in December 1853, who named itWellingtonia gigantea, without realizing this was an invalid name under thebotanical code as the nameWellingtonia had already been used earlier for another unrelated plant (Wellingtonia arnottiana in the familySabiaceae). The name "Wellingtonia" has persisted in England as a common name.[37] The following year,Joseph Decaisne transferred it to the same genus as the coast redwood, naming itSequoia gigantea, but this name was also invalid, having been applied earlier (in 1847, byEndlicher) to the coast redwood. The nameWashingtonia californica was also applied to it by Winslow in 1854; this name too is invalid, since it was already used for thepalm genusWashingtonia.
In 1907, it was placed byCarl Ernst Otto Kuntze in the otherwisefossil genusSteinhauera, but doubt as to whether the giant sequoia is related to the fossil originally so named makes this name invalid.
These nomenclatural oversights were corrected in 1939 byJohn Theodore Buchholz, who also pointed out the giant sequoia is distinct from the coast redwood at the genus level and coined the nameSequoiadendron giganteum for it.
The etymology of the genus name has been presumed—initially inThe Yosemite Book byJosiah Whitney in 1868[4]—to be in honor ofSequoyah (1767–1843), who was the inventor of theCherokee syllabary.[5] An etymological study published in 2012, however, concluded that the name was more likely to have originated from the Latinsequi (meaningto follow) since the number of seeds per cone in the newly classified genus fell in mathematical sequence with the other four genera in the suborder.[6]
"Do behold the King in his glory, King Sequoia! Behold! Behold! seems all I can say. Some time ago I left all for Sequoia and have been and am at his feet, fasting and praying for light, for is he not the greatest light in the woods, in the world? Where are such columns of sunshine, tangible, accessible, terrestrialized?'[38]
Wood from mature giant sequoias is highly resistant to decay, but due to being fibrous and brittle, it is generally unsuitable for construction. From the 1880s through the 1920s, logging took place in many groves in spite of marginal commercial returns. TheHume-Bennett Lumber Company was the last to harvest giant sequoia, going out of business in 1924.[40] 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, as little as 50% of the timber is estimated to have made it from groves to the mill. The wood was used mainly for shingles and fence posts, or even for matchsticks.
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 atBig Stump Grove nearGeneral Grant Grove. As late as the 1980s, some immature trees were logged inSequoia National Forest, publicity of which helped lead to the creation ofGiant Sequoia National Monument.[citation needed]
The wood from immature trees is less brittle, with recent tests on youngplantation-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 coast redwoods. In the northwestUnited States, some entrepreneurs have also begun growing giant sequoias forChristmas trees. Besides these attempts at tree farming, the principal economic uses for giant sequoia today aretourism andhorticulture.
Fifty men stand on the stump of theMark Twain Tree, a giant sequoia felled for exhibition in 1891.
Giant sequoias, native to California and discovered during the final phase of frontier expansion, hold a distinctive place in American culture. They embody the complex interplay of human ambition,environmental exploitation, and the emergence of the modernconservation movement.[41]
In the 19th century, sequoias such as theDiscovery Tree andForest King were cut down and transported to urban centers and world expositions asexhibition trees.[42] These displays highlighted the grandeur of theAmerican frontier while exposing humanity's capacity to exploit nature. The paradox of celebrating these giants' majesty while destroying them sparked debates that eventually led to the establishment ofSequoia andYosemite National Parks.[43]: 97–105
The creation oftunnel trees, including the iconicWawona Tree, further cemented the cultural legacy of the sequoias.[41] By carving pathways through their immense trunks, Americans celebrated their ability to master the wilderness, embodying the spirit of exploration and progress that defined the nation's expansion.[43] These trees became populartourist attractions during the rise of the automobile age, embodying thefrontier spirit of exploration and progress. However, as the weakened trees began to collapse, they came to symbolize the unintended consequences of human ambition. Today, the California Tunnel Tree, the last surviving tunnel tree, protected inMariposa Grove, stands as a relic of the past and a symbol of changing values.[44]
Americans have also imbued the giant sequoia withsacred meaning. TheGeneral Grant Tree, for example, was named the "Nation's Christmas Tree" byCalvin Coolidge in 1926 and later declared a national shrine byDwight Eisenhower to honor the country's war dead.[45][46] It remains the only living object designated as a national shrine.[47]
TheCastle Fire wiped out a significant portion of the giant sequoia population.
Giant sequoias, once primarily threatened by logging, now face their greatest danger from the absence of regular fires.Fire suppression, severe wildfires, and competition from shade-tolerant species have disrupted the natural cycle that once relied on periodic wildfires to release seeds and clear undergrowth.[48]
Natural wildfires historically played a key role in sequoia reproduction, releasing seeds from cones and clearing undergrowth to create the open, nutrient-rich conditions needed for seedlings. Fire suppression over the last century has disrupted this cycle, limiting reproduction in many groves. Without regular fires, the buildup of fuel and the excessive growth of more fire-sensitive trees, likewhite fir, have increased the risk of devastatingcrown fires, which have already destroyed significant portions of the sequoia population.[48]
Many destructive wildfires have hit giant sequoia groves in recent decades, including theMcNally Fire in 2002, theRough Fire in 2015, and theRailroad Fire in 2017. TheCastle Fire in 2020 is estimated to have wiped out 10–14% of the giant sequoia population, or about 7,500 to 10,600 mature trees, possibly including theKing Arthur Tree, one of the tallest known sequoias. In 2021, theKNP Complex andWindy Fire added to the damage, killing an estimated 3 to 5% more of the population.
Controlled burns have been effective in protecting giant sequoias. In the 2022Washburn Fire, officials credited prescribed burns inYosemite National Park with limiting the fire's intensity and sparingMariposa Grove from major harm.[49][50][51] Experts warn that to preserve healthy groves and prevent future destruction, the use ofprescribed burns must increase significantly—by about 30 times the current levels.[52][53][1][54]
Giant sequoia is a very popularornamental tree in many areas. It is successfully grown in most of western and southern Europe, the Pacific Northwest of North America, north to southwestBritish Columbia, the southern United States, southeast Australia, New Zealand and central-southernChile. It is also grown, though less successfully, in parts of eastern North America.
Trees can withstand temperatures of −31 °C (−25 °F) or colder for short periods of time, provided the ground around the roots is insulated with either heavy snow or mulch. Outside its natural range, the foliage can suffer from damaging windburn.
A wide range ofhorticultural varieties have been selected, especially in Europe, including blue, compact blue, powder blue, hazel smith, pendulum—or weeping—varieties, andgrafted cultivars.[55]
Sequoias in Eurodisney (near Paris) in 2009 and 2017
The tallest giant sequoia ever measured outside of the United States[56] is a specimen planted nearRibeauvillé inFrance in 1856 and measured in 2014 at a height between 57.7 m (189 ft)[57] and 58.1 m (191 ft)[58] at age 158 years.
The well-known giant sequoiaavenue planted in 1863 atBenmore Botanic Garden, Scotland. These trees are all over 50 metres (160 ft) tall
The giant sequoia was first brought into cultivation in Britain in 1853 by the horticulturistPatrick Matthew ofPerthshire from seeds sent by his botanist son John in California.[59] A much larger shipment of seed collected from theCalaveras Grove byWilliam Lobb, acting for theVeitch Nursery nearExeter, arrived in England in December 1853;[60] seed from this batch was widely distributed throughout Europe.
Growth in Britain is very fast, with the tallest tree, atBenmore in southwest Scotland, reaching 56.4 m (185 ft) in 2014 at age 150 years,[61] and several others from 50–53 m (164–174 ft) tall; the stoutest is around 12 m (39 ft) in girth and 4 m (13 ft) in diameter, in Perthshire. TheRoyal Botanic Gardens atKew, and in their second campus at Wakehurst, contain multiple large specimens of the species.Biddulph Grange Garden inStaffordshire holds a fine collection of bothSequoiadendron giganteum andSequoia sempervirens (coast redwood). The appropriately 2,500 year-old General Sherman of California has a volume of 1,489 m3 (52,600 cu ft); by way of comparison, the largest giant sequoias in Great Britain have volumes no greater than 90–100 m3 (3,200–3,500 cu ft), one example being the 90 m3 (3,200 cu ft) specimen in theNew Forest.
Anavenue of 218 giant sequoias was planted in 1865 near the town ofCamberley,Surrey, England. The trees have since been surrounded by modern real estate development.[64]
In 2024, there were 4,949 notable sequoias in the UK. There is uncertainty if this is an undercount or overcount of the trees.[65][66] In addition there are an estimated 500,000 youngerSequoiadendron giganteum andSequoia sempervirens. Growing conditions are generally more conducive for these trees than in their native range in the US.[67][68]
Probably the oldest sequoia in Germany and possibly of continental Europe was planted in 1852 as a gift of the British Royal Family to the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt in a park near Bensheim. In 2015 it reached a height of 44.35 meters (145.5 ft) and a circumference of 5.94 meters (19.5 ft) and is praised for its beauty. It is also the largest sequoia in Germany.
King William I of Württemberg (1816–1864) imported seeds shortly before his death. In the greenhouses of the Wilhelma in Stuttgart grew between 5000 and 8000 seedlings. Thirty-five of those trees are still present in the Wilhelma. The seedlings got distributed to the whole country of Württemberg and elsewhere and planted on different soils, under various conditions and elevations for a long-time evaluation to find out if they are suitable for forestry. At least 135 of them still can be traced back to these seedlings.
Since then the tree is well established as ornamental tree in public parks and cemeteries, but also on private properties and can be found planted in small groups in the woods.
Two members of the German Dendrology Society, E. J. Martin and Illa Martin, introduced the giant sequoia into German forestry at theSequoiafarm Kaldenkirchen in 1952.[69]
Numerous giant sequoia were planted inItaly from 1860 through 1905. Several regions contain specimens that range from 40 to 48 metres (131 to 157 ft) in height. The largest tree is inRoccavione, in thePiedmont, with a basal circumference of 16 metres (52 ft). One notable tree survived a 200-metre (660 ft) tall flood wave in 1963 that was caused by a landslide atVajont Dam. There are numerous giant sequoia in parks and reserves.[citation needed]
Growth rates in some areas of Europe are remarkable. One young tree inItaly reached 22 m (72 ft) tall and 88 cm (2.89 ft) trunk diameter in 17 years.[70]
Growth further northeast in Europe is limited by winter cold. InDenmark, where extreme winters can reach −32 °C (−26 °F), the largest tree was 35 m (115 ft) tall and 1.7 m (5.6 ft) diameter in 1976 and is bigger today. One inPoland has purportedly survived temperatures down to −37 °C (−35 °F) with heavy snow cover.
Twenty-nine giant sequoias, measuring around 30 m (98 ft) in height, grow inBelgrade's municipality ofLazarevac inSerbia.[71]
The oldestSequoiadendron in theCzech Republic, at 44 m (144 ft), grows inRatměřice u Votic castle garden.
InSlatina, Croatia, 32.5 m (107 ft) tall giant sequoia grows in city park. Presumably seeded in 1890 and proclaimed as nature monument in 1967, now stands as a centerpiece in town's educational, presentational and informational center with tourist facilities available.[72]
Above the city ofKyustendil, Bulgaria, there are around 100 giant sequoias, oldest being around 100 years old.[73]
The giant sequoia tree in downtown Seattle, located adjacent to the historicThe Bon Marché building, is unique for its urban setting.
Giant sequoias are grown successfully in the Pacific Northwest and southern US, and less successfully in eastern North America. Giant sequoia cultivation is very successful in thePacific Northwest from westernOregon north to southwestBritish Columbia, with fast growth rates. InWashington and Oregon, it is common to find giant sequoias that have been successfully planted in both urban and rural areas. There are hundreds of sequoias planted on the Olympic Peninsula over the last 100 years and farms that have 50 or more planted 40 years ago or longer.
A cold-tolerant cultivar 'Hazel Smith' selected in about 1960 is proving more successful in the northeastern US. This clone was the sole survivor of several hundred seedlings grown at a nursery inNew Jersey. The U.S. National Arboretum has a specimen grown from a cutting in 1970 that can be seen in the Gotelli Conifer Collection.
Since its last assessment as an endangered species in 2011, it was estimated that another 13–19% of the population (or 9,761–13,637 mature trees) were destroyed during theCastle Fire of 2020 and theKNP Complex &Windy Fire in 2021, events attributed tofire suppression anddrought. Prescribed burns to reduce available fuel load may be crucial for saving the species.[52][1]
As of 2021, there are approximately 60,000 living in its native California.[84]
TheBallarat Botanical Gardens contain a significant collection, many of them about 150 years old. Jubilee Park and the Hepburn Mineral Springs Reserve inDaylesford, Cook Park inOrange, New South Wales and Carisbrook's Deep Creek park in Victoria both have specimens. Jamieson Township in the Victorian high country has two specimens which were planted in the early 1860s.[citation needed]
In Tasmania, specimens can be seen in private and public gardens, as sequoias were popular in the mid-Victorian era. The Westbury Village Green has specimens with more in Deloraine.[citation needed]The Tasmanian Arboretum contains bothSequoiadendron giganteum andSequoia sempervirens specimens.[85]
Several impressive specimens of Sequoiadendron giganteum can be found in theSouth Island of New Zealand. Notable examples include a set of trees in a public park ofPicton, as well as robust specimens in the public and botanical parks ofChristchurch andQueenstown. There are also several in private gardens inWānaka. Other locations in Christchurch and nearby include a number of trees at theRiccarton Park Racecourse, three large trees on the roadside bordering private properties on Clyde Road, near Wai-Iti Terrace—these are at least 150 years old. The suburb of 'Redwood' is named after a 160 years old Giant Redwood tree in the grounds of a local hotel. At St James Church,Harewood, is a protected very large specimen believed to be about 160 years old. A grove of about sixteen Redwood trees of varying ages is in Sheldon Park in theBelfast, New Zealand suburb. Some of these trees are in poor condition because of indifferent care. There is also a very large tree atRangiora High School, which was planted forQueen Victoria's Golden Jubilee and is thus over 130 years old.[88]
The General Sherman tree is estimated to weigh about 2100tonnes.[91]
TheWashington Tree was previously arguably the second largest tree with a volume of 47,850 cubic feet (1,355 m3) (although the upper half of its trunk was hollow, making the calculated volume debatable), but after losing the hollow upper half of its trunk in January 2005 following a fire, it is no longer of great size.
The largest giant sequoia ever recorded was the Father of the Forest from Calaveras Grove, an exceedingly massive tree which fell many centuries ago in the North Grove. Reportedly, the tree was once over 435 ft tall, and 110 ft in circumference, with a minimum height of 365 feet.[92][93] Now, what is left of the tree is a popular tourist attraction.
^The volume figures have a low degree of accuracy (at best about ±14 cubic metres or 490 cubic feet), 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 aretrunk-only, and do not include the volume of wood in the branches or roots.
^abcdThis table presents giant sequoias sorted by the volume of theirtrunks. In December 2012,Stephen Sillett announced a measurement ofThe President tree with a total of 54,000 cubic feet (1,500 m3) of wood and 9,000 cubic feet (250 m3) of wood in the branches.[89][90] Ranked according to the total amount of wood in the tree, the General Sherman tree is first, The President tree is second, and the General Grant tree is third.[89][90] General Sherman has 2,000 cubic feet (57 m3) more wood than the President tree.[89]
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