Sequoia is the tallest tree in the world. This is a real giant that grows in height and width all its life. Sometimes it is called the mammoth tree. The message will tell you in detail about the plant.
A little history
Scientists have found that sequoia grew on Earth more than 100 million years ago! This is evidenced by the found fossils with remains of bark. So this is the tree is the same age as dinosaurs, it was able to survive the ice age!
The Spanish were the first to see giant trees in the mid-18th century during an expedition in the area of modern San Francisco, a city on the west coast of the United States. They were amazed by the giant tree, they called it “mammoth”.
The Austrian botanist S. Endlicher named the tree “sequoia” in honor of the leader of the Cherokee Indian tribe, whose name was George Guest Sequoia.
The giants were taken under protection in America in 1890.
This huge tree is a symbol of California, an American state on the Pacific Ocean.
Description
Sequoia is an evergreen coniferous tree from the cypress family. Grows in height up to 90 meters (35-storey building) and above, and in width (measured as the diameter of the log trunk at the base) up to 7 meters, weighs more than 1000 tons. To transport one such felled tree you will need a train of 60 cars. Giants live 2-2.5 thousand years and longer.
The trunk is straight and even, rising like a giant column. The crown has the shape of a wide cone, the branches grow horizontally to the ground or with a slight downward slope. The red rust-colored bark (for this reason, sequoia is sometimes called mahogany) is very thick - up to 30 cm, but light, fibrous, porous, so it absorbs moisture well. The needles grow in bunches, are up to 2.5-3 cm long, and can be of different colors - dark green, with a blue or silver tint. The cones are small, up to 3 cm long, oval in shape. Sequoia - monoecious plant, this means that male and female cones grow on the same tree.
Sequoia only tolerates cold poorly; at -20°C it can die, although it once survived the ice age...
Where does it grow
Scientists say that many millions of years ago, gigantic sequoias grew throughout the northern hemisphere of the Earth.
Today, in their natural form, these giants grow in a narrow strip 720 km long along the coast of the Pacific Ocean in North America, California.
Here, ideal conditions for them are high humidity, frequent fogs and the absence of sweltering heat. It's interesting that sequoia never goes far from the coast, You won’t find it further than 70 km from the coast.
This tree is grown artificially in Canada, Mexico, Great Britain, Portugal, Italy, South Africa, and New Zealand. In the Nikitsky Botanical Garden the oldest sequoia in Europe grows in Crimea, which is almost 170 years old.
Sequoia can also be found in the Caucasus, in the south of Central Asia, and in the Transcarpathian regions. Four sequoia trees grow in China, in the Sichuan province.
But wherever this tree is planted artificially, it does not reach such enormous sizes as in its natural homeland in North America.
How does it reproduce
Sequoia reproduces:
- vegetatively - shoots from old stumps;
- seeds.
Sequoia seeds are very light and very small - no more than 3 mm in length and only 0.5 mm in width. It’s amazing how such a huge tree grows from such a tiny seed.
The seeds are in cones that are very similar to ordinary pine cones. There are 150-200 seeds in one cone. They are pollinated by the wind at the end of winter, after 8 months they ripen, then the cone opens and the seeds fall out.
Application
Sequoia used in construction houses; telegraph poles, sleepers, and furniture are made from its wood. It has no smell, so it is used to make containers for tobacco, expensive cigars, and barrels for honey. Since sequoia wood does not rot at all, it is used in the construction of underwater structures and ships.
This gigantic, gigantic tree is planted in parks and gardens.
An interesting use was found for some sequoias in America: the trees were cut down and built on its huge stumps:
- on one - a cafe,
- on the other there is a dance floor,
- on the third - a printing house.
There is no tree on the planet taller than the sequoia that was given its name "Hyperion". It has grown 115 meters in height (this is higher than a 45-story building); it grows in the USA, in Redwood National Park near the city of San Francisco.
The widest tree on earth is the sequoia again! She was called "General Sherman".
It has grown “only” 83 meters in height (higher than a 33-story building), but its diameter is impressive - at the base it is 11 meters, in girth it is almost 32 meters, 15 people cannot hug it!
If this message was useful to you, I would be glad to see you
Together with the giant sequoiadendron, it is one of the tallest trees on the planet (reaching a height of over 100 m and a trunk diameter of 8.5-9 m. An evergreen coniferous tree of the Taxodiaceae family. A monotypic genus represented by a single species. Named in honor of Sequoia (1770 - 1843) - an Indian leader Cherokee tribe, inventor of the Cherokee syllabary.
The fossil evidence suggests that giant sequoias existed during the Jurassic period and were widespread throughout the northern hemisphere during the late Cretaceous and Tertiary periods. The remnants of forests with their participation, which once occupied vast spaces, are now preserved only in a limited area of western North America. One hundred and fifty million years ago, these trees grew throughout the continent.
Sequoia sempervirens general view of a mature tree
Sequoia forests were first discovered by Europeans on the Pacific coast in 1769. By the time loggers arrived in the 19th century, they occupied an area of 8,000 sq. km. By the early 20th century, most of these forests had been cleared. Now they can only be found in California and Southern Oregon.
Description: The sequoia is probably the tallest tree on earth, with the exception of references to the unusually tall eucalyptus trees in Western Australia, and references to Douglas flea (Pseudotsuga menziesii) in historical times, reaching more than 120 m, which were higher than any redwood trees. It is likely that the tallest coast redwoods were the first victims of the axe, so it is difficult to say what the tallest tree of this species was in early historical times.
Sequoia sempervirens "Hyperion"
Today's tallest sequoia, named Hyperion, was discovered in the summer of 2006 in Redwood National Park north of San Francisco. The tree reached a height of 115.5 meters. Most trees are over 60 m in height, many are over 90 m with a trunk diameter of 3-4.6 m (maximum 9 m).
It ranks second in height after sequoia. Douglassia or Menzies's Pseudo-tsuga . The tallest living Pseudohemlock of Menzies reaches 99.4 m in height. A related species does not reach a height of more than 100 m, it is somewhat shorter and has a thicker trunk than the sequoia.
Sequoia sempervirens - young tree
The crown of the sequoia is dense and wide at a young age, later open, irregular, narrow-conical, formed by branches growing horizontally or with a slight downward slope. The root system consists of shallow, widely spreading lateral roots. The trunk is encased in a thick, fibrous, relatively soft, fire-resistant bark. When you touch it, your palm seems to sink into the wood, creating unusual sensations. The bark is hard-fibrous, deeply furrowed, red-brown in color, about 35 cm thick.
Young shoots grow slightly to the sides and upwards. The branches are thin, dark green. The leaves are biseriate, they are flat, strongly appressed, linear or linear-lanceolate, with obvious annual growth constrictions. The leaves are 15-25 mm long, elongated in young trees in the shady lower part of the crown, or scale-like 5-10 mm long in the upper crown of old trees.
Sequoia sempervirens - flowering cone
It becomes dusty at the end of winter, the seeds ripen after 8-9 months. Anthers almost spherical to ovoid, 2-5 mm are located singly on short terminal or axillary stems. Female cones are ovoid, oblong to spherical, 12-35 mm long, reddish-brown in color, composed of 15-25 spirally twisted woody scales, with many flat, are located singly at the ends of leaf branches. They are light brown, 3-6 mm long and 0.5 mm wide, flat, lens-shaped, with two narrow leathery wings, spilling out when the cone dries and opens. Shoots with 2 (rarely 4) cotyledons.
Sequoia sempervirens - young female cones
Ecology: It forms fairly extensive forest areas on a narrow strip of the Pacific coast in the United States, from Southwestern Oregon to the Santa Lucia Range in California (at an altitude of 600-900 m), on a strip about 750 km long and 8 to 75 km wide. Sometimes the 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, so its distribution is limited to coastal areas (within 60 km from the sea) in a zone of heavy fog.
Sequoia sempervirens - male cones
The breed has an increased ability to absorb moisture from the air. The tallest and oldest trees grow in gorges and deep ravines, where streams of moist air can reach all year round. Trees growing above the fog layer (above 700 m) are shorter and smaller in size due to drier, windier and cooler growing conditions. Prefers well-drained, fresh alluvial soils, where it forms pure stands or grows with Pseudotsuga menziesii,sitka spruce And (R. sitchensis And Chamaecyparis lawsoniana ).
Redwoods have impressive height growth, with young trees sometimes growing at a rate of more than 1 m per year. This property places strong competitive pressure on associated conifers. To keep up with growth, some of the tallest and narrowest individuals have formed in the redwood grove. Pseudotsuga menziesii And Sitka spruce (P.itchensis) , reaching heights of over 90 m. Per unit area, redwood forests have the highest biomass loads of any ecosystem on Earth.
Sequoia sempervirens - young shoots
In nature, this breed creates unique forest biocenoses with rather complex animal and plant communities. Young trees branch in all directions, but with age the lower branches fall off and a closed canopy forms at the top. It practically does not allow light to reach the ground; as a result, the undergrowth in the sequoia forest is rather poorly developed. Only ferns and other shade-loving plants can grow here, along with rare young sequoias.
Sequoia sempervirens - immature cones
A mature tree produces many seeds, but only a small portion of them germinate successfully, and those that do germinate must struggle with low light. Under natural conditions, such slow reproduction would be quite sufficient, since trees can live for 3,000 years, but with more active forest exploitation, young trees do not appear quickly enough to compensate for the felling. In such a forest 60 m from the ground, life is relatively impoverished.
Sequoia sempervirens - old bud
This is largely a consequence of vegetative self-reproduction after fire damage. The tree can be completely destroyed by fire, after which it quickly regenerates from a clump of clonal stems. In some cases, a single tree can have more than a hundred of these stems, essentially creating a forest of one tree. The surfaces of the forks and pockets within this structure create water storage tanks and promote increased biological activity in the soil, as well as providing habitat for a variety of mammals, birds, amphibians and a huge variety of arthropods.
Among the list of “fun facts” is that young growth after a fire receives carbohydrates, water and nutrients from a common network of fused roots from trees not damaged by the fire, which allows the redwood to displace other conifers and regenerate even in deep shade under its own canopy. This also explains the appearance of so-called "white sequoias", which have no chlorophyll in their leaves and rely entirely on root connections to photosynthetic trees.
Sequoia trees have a unique combination of age, size and weight that makes these trees the largest and longest-lived creatures present on planet Earth today. The giant sequoia is second in life expectancy only to bristlecone pines, which are found in the arid Sierra Nevada mountains. Many trees live up to 2000 years - this is a long time. The oldest known tree cut has 2,267 growth rings.
The question arises: can redwood trees live forever? I guess, yes. There is little evidence to support the existence of senescence in these conifers, and all very old trees can live many times longer. In practice, there are longevity-determining environmental factors that age and kill trees. When a tree has resistance to these factors, or when the factors are weakly expressed, the tree can reach a venerable age of 3000 years or more. Environmental factors represent a statistical inevitability.
Sequoia sempervirens - old tree trunk
Old trees die mainly from the combined adverse effects of certain fungi, wind, fire or floods. The most common mortality in redwoods is due to stem or root rot, which leaves the tree vulnerable. Trees are susceptible to windfall due to the large windage of the crown with poorly developed or rot-damaged roots. The health of such trees never improves and, as a rule, worsens. The wind eventually breaks or uproots the tree during a big storm. This happens especially often in swampy soils, when, due to flooding, the friction between the roots and the soil decreases.
This is one of the few trees adapted to forest fires. A tree is not afraid of fire, but frequent fires can kill with repetition: one fire leaves a scar in the thick bark, the next one widens the opening, where fungi will subsequently settle, attacking the core, so that eventually the tree will fall. In culture, as a result of artificial plantings of the 19th and 20th centuries, there are small groves of Sequoia evergreen and its single specimens in Europe and Asia, usually in special botanical gardens and arboretums (for example in Belgium).
In Russia it is found in Western Transcaucasia, in Ukraine on the southern coast of Crimea. Three fruit-bearing trees at the limit of the cultural area grow in Transcarpathia (Mukachevo, Berezinka arboretum). Can be grown in USDA zones 7-10 (Freeze hardiness between -17.7°C and -12.1°C) Winter hardiness increases with age. Thus, the experiment of introduction into forest crops in Ukraine in Transcarpathia) showed the result of tolerance to lower winter temperatures. Mature 30 m trees in zone 6b/7a in forest conditions tolerate periodic short drops to -23.2°C without damage.
Sequoia sempervirens - underside of leaves
In BS im. Fomina in Kyiv grows as a wide, squat bush, periodically it freezes heavily but grows back. For successful introduction to more northern regions, it requires lateral lighting, the most protected locations with a favorable microclimate, moderately moist, well-drained, permeable soils and high air humidity. In general, it is not picky about soils; it does not tolerate soaking soils or dry calcareous soils. Dwarf varieties of this species with slow growth can be tested in amateur collections in zone 6 - in the Carpathian and Transcarpathian regions, in the southwest of Belarus, in Kaliningrad, on the coast of the Baltic countries.
Sequoia sempervirens - upper side of leaves
Reproduction and agricultural technology: This is one of the few vegetatively reproducing conifers that easily regenerates stump shoots after damage from fires. A peculiar consequence of this is the emergence of “white sequoias”, which are non-photosynthetic coppice trees that take carbohydrates from the photosynthetic associated roots with which the “white trees” are fused. White sequoias are found only in old-growth forests, where the amount of biomass of photosynthetic sequoias is colossal; they usually do not exceed 3 meters in height. However, there are rare white sequoias up to 20 m in height, dressed in fresh, snow-white needles. Propagation by cuttings and seeds is similar to that of and.
Application: Biostability and durability make sequoia wood an ideal material for the manufacture of wooden pipes, gutters and trays, tanks, vats, roofing shingles, and for the external cladding of buildings. It is also used on racks and profile products for interior decoration. The wood is used in the production of plywood. The thick bark serves as raw material for fiber boards and filter materials. The wood is valued for its beauty, strength, light weight and resistance to decay.
Commercial lumber plantings now cover large areas of private land in northern California. Such plantings are especially economical because the tree is easily propagated vegetatively and immediately regenerates with roots after cutting. As recently as the beginning of the century before last, redwoods were the largest trees on earth, and almost all of them (more than 90% of the largest trees) were cut down in a frenzy of logging activity in just over a century. It all ended in the 1990s. The wood was used for construction, underwater structures, etc.
The most difficult times began in 1850 with commercial demand for construction timber mines, and continued into the 20th century. The cutting down of redwood forests was caused by the boom created by the California gold rush. Today, redwoods are among the most symbolically important tree species. They are revered by millions of people as an aesthetic symbol of the intangible values of the greatness and power of wild nature. Sequoia and ( Sequoia Sempervirens and Sequoiadendron giganteum ) is the state tree of California.
Today the species is well protected in the wild and can be easily seen in several National Parks in California: Redwood National Park and Muir Forest National Forest. If you have never seen a grove of ancient redwoods, you should do it at least once in your life. This view is one of the most beautiful sights anywhere on the planet.
Ld: The breed is suitable only for large parks and parks in warm-temperate humid climates. An excellent accent of the first order, planted singly or in small groups at the end of an alley or as a silhouette dominant in the background.
In contact with
SEQUOIA
(Sequoia), a genus of evergreen coniferous trees in the family Taxodiaceae (Taxodiaceae). The only species - evergreen sequoia (S. sempervirens) - is considered a symbol of California. These are the tallest trees in the world and are also famous for their beautiful, straight-grained, rot-resistant wood. Evergreen sequoia forests stretch in a narrow strip approx. 720 km along the Pacific coast of the United States from Monterey County in northern California to the Chetco River in southern Oregon. Evergreen sequoia needs a very humid climate, so it does not go further than 32-48 km from the coast, remaining in the zone influenced by sea fog. Sequoias, along with other representatives of taxodiaceae, were once common in many areas of the Northern Hemisphere, but the last glaciation preserved them only on the west coast of North America, along with the closely related species Sequoiadendron giganteum, also the only representative of its genus, called sometimes giant sequoia (S. gigantea). Sequoia evergreen is grown as an ornamental plant in the southeastern United States and in temperate European regions. The average height of the evergreen sequoia is about 90 m, and the record height is 117 m. It was recorded in the Redwood Creek tract in California. The diameter of the trunk often reaches 6-7.6 m and can increase by 2.5 cm per year. The maturity of the evergreen sequoia occurs at 400-500 years, and specimens over 1500 years old are not uncommon (the oldest known is about 2200 years old). The tree reproduces well by root suckers, stump shoots and seeds, which after germination produce rapidly growing seedlings. The crown is narrow, starting above the lower third of the trunk. Oval cones and short shoots with flat bluish-gray needles give it beauty and lushness. The bark is thick, reddish, deeply furrowed. The sapwood is pale yellow or white, and the heartwood is various shades of red. The root system is formed by lateral roots that go shallow into the soil. Metasequoia glyptostroboides, which is found in a very limited area in China, is close to the evergreen sequoia and the mammoth tree. There are two varieties of evergreen sequoia - pressed (var. adpressa), characterized by smaller sizes, and gray (var. glauca) - with bluish needles.
SEQUOIA EVERGREEN
MAMMOTH TREE
Collier's Encyclopedia. - Open Society. 2000 .
Synonyms:See what "SEQUOIA" is in other dictionaries:
- (Sequoia), a genus of evergreen coniferous trees of the family. taxodiaceae. Unity, species S. evergreen (S. sempervirens). It is one of the tallest trees (reaches a height of 110-112 m and a diameter of 6-10 m). St. lives 3000 years. Grows in the mountains of California and South. Oregon... ... Biological encyclopedic dictionary
Or WELLINGTONIA tree from this family. cypress, grows in the north. America: some reach 300 feet. height, trunk circumference 94 feet. Dictionary of foreign words included in the Russian language. Chudinov A.N., 1910. sequoia (named after the Indian leader... ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language
A genus of coniferous trees in the Taxodiaceae family. The only species of sequoia is evergreen, height St. 100 m, diameter 6 11 m. Natural plantings only in the mountains of California and the South. Oregon (USA). Cultivated for light and durable wood (used... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary
Sequoiadendron, Wellingtonia Dictionary of Russian synonyms. sequoia noun, number of synonyms: 3 wellingtonia (5) ... Synonym dictionary
SEQUOIA, and, female. A giant relict coniferous tree native to California. Ozhegov's explanatory dictionary. S.I. Ozhegov, N.Yu. Shvedova. 1949 1992 … Ozhegov's Explanatory Dictionary
A genus of coniferous plants from the family. Taxodiaceae. It is known in fossil form from the Late Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous; It develops widely in the Late Cretaceous and Cenozoic. Nowadays it is preserved only in California. Geological Dictionary: in 2 volumes. M.: Nedra. Under … Geological encyclopedia
Sequoia- (Sequoyah) (1760(70?) 1843), educator of the Cherokee people, who created an alphabet of 85 characters for the language of his tribe. The alphabet is also known as talking leaves. The date of its adoption is considered to be 1821. Later he took the name George Gist,... ... The World History
This term has other meanings, see Sequoia (meanings). ? Sequoia ... Wikipedia
Sequoia- Giant sequoia. Yosemite National Park, California, USA. SEQUOIA, a genus of coniferous trees (family Taxodiaceae). The only type of sequoia is evergreen, height over 100 m, diameter 6 11 m. It grows in the mountains along the west coast of the USA... ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary
- (Sequoia), nat. park in California (USA). Created in 1890 on the square. 163.1 thousand hectares for the protection of the unique landscapes of the Sierra Nevada mountains, incl. 32 groves of giant sequoia. More than 70 species of mammals and 120 birds live here. Forms a single protected... ... Geographical encyclopedia
Books
- Book: manual / operating instructions for the navigation system TOYOTA SEQUOIA (TOYOTA SEQUOIA) from 2008 release,. A detailed description of the navigation system of Toyota Sequoia cars, launched in 2008...
- Book: manual/instructions for operation and maintenance of TOYOTA SEQUOIA (TOYOTA SEQUOIA) petrol from 2008 release. This manual has already become a handy book for many Toyota Sequoia owners, since it is addressed specifically to car enthusiasts. The publication does not contain repair instructions, but contains high-quality…
Sequoia is a hero tree, one of the tallest and most ancient trees on our planet. Its size is shocking and changes the idea of the trees we are used to in doll cities. This feeling of being tiny will not leave you for a long time. It clearly does not fit into the frame of perception of a modern person, which is usually equivalent to the size of a telephone - the eyes move in different directions, wanting to embrace 111 meters of living nature with a single glance and not go crazy.
The ability to see the world as a whole without tearing it into frames was probably the most common thing for people who once lived among such giants.
Where does the name come from?
Only one tree was awarded the name of the people's leader. This is what the Iroquois Indian tribe did in North America: wanting to perpetuate the memory of their outstanding leader Sekwu, they assigned his name to one of the most unusual and majestic trees. It was he, Sekwu, who invented Indian writing, led the liberation struggle of the Iroquois against foreign enslavers, and was the first popular educator.
However, numerous attempts have been made to rename the sequoia. So, immediately after the discovery of sequoia by Europeans, they named it California pine, and later called it a mammoth tree (for the resemblance of old drooping 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 decided not to be left behind and hastened to christen the sequoia Washingtonia, in memory of their first president George Washington.
How long does a tree live?
Numerous studies show that its age can reach 6000 years: this is more than the entire ancient, middle and modern history of mankind. Some redwoods are many centuries older than the Egyptian pyramids.
Where does Sequoia grow?
Experts from many countries claim that in distant geological periods, sequoias grew all over the earth.
Now the oldest giant sequoia grows in the United States along the Pacific coast on a strip about 750 km long and 8 to 75 km wide from California to southwestern Oregon. Sequoia is also grown in the Canadian province of British Columbia, in the southeastern United States from eastern Texas to Maryland, Hawaii, New Zealand, Great Britain, Italy, Portugal, South Africa and Mexico. 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 streams of moist air can reach all year round and where fogs regularly occur. Trees growing above the fog layer (above 700 m) are shorter and smaller due to drier, windier and cooler growing conditions.
Russian sequoia
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 the parks of Crimea, the Caucasus, the south of Central Asia and Transcarpathia. It has been established that in our conditions it can tolerate frosts of no more than 18-20 degrees.
The seeds obtained from our sequoias germinated poorly, and only after the use of artificial pollination, proposed by the Soviet Michurins, was it possible to increase their germination to 50 - 60%. Vegetative propagation of sequoias is also 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. It is in the Nikitsky Garden that the oldest specimen of giant sequoia in Europe is located, and in many parks of the Southern Crimea and the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus it has now become an almost obligatory tree. The height of some of its specimens (in the park of the village of Frunzenskoye, in Crimea, in the Batumi Botanical Garden on Cape Verde and in other places) exceeds 50 meters.
Why do scientists love sequoia?
The longevity of the sequoia is put at the service of science. With the help of these ancient inhabitants, scientists were able to look into the depths of thousands of years. Thanks to the growth rings on the cross sections of huge trunks, researchers obtained completely reliable data on the climate of bygone times. After all, sequoias, reacting to weather changes, regularly and according to the amount of precipitation each year grew thicker, then thinner layers of wood, or tree rings. Scientists have examined the trunks of over 450 of these giants. These materials made it possible to trace the weather for more than 2000 years. As a result, 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, with the help of sequoias, also learned the weather of a more recent time. Thus, it was possible to establish that the years 1900 and 1934 were marked by the most severe droughts in the last 1200 years for the North American continent.
Not afraid of fires
The bark of an adult sequoia is about half a meter thick and absorbs water like a sponge. Thanks to this structure, these trees are not at all afraid of fires, which are not uncommon in coniferous forests - young trees with thin bark die, old trees have not been destroyed by fire, and this is after thousands of years of constant attempts.
Lightning's Favorite
Sequoia pays a high price for its greatness. Proudly towering above the other trees, it attracts lightning like a magnetized rod. Despite the deadly blows, many trees manage to survive by shedding their scorched branches.
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryotes
Kingdom: Plants
Department: Conifers
Class: Conifers (Pinopsida Burnett, 1835)
Order: Pine
Family: Cypressaceae
Subfamily: Sequoiaceae
Genus: Sequoia
International scientific name
Sequoia Endl. (1847), nom. cons.
Child taxa
Sequoia evergreen
Sequoia sempervirens (D.Don) Endl.
Security status
VU from English. Vulnerable species - vulnerable species. Conservation status assigned to biological species that are at risk of becoming endangered
Botanical description
Sequoia is an evergreen monoecious tree.
In monoecious plants, female and male flowers (in the broad sense - male and female generative organs) are located on the same individual (“in the same house”). Monoecy is more common in wind-pollinated plants. Monoecious plants include: watermelon, birch, beech, walnut, oak, corn, hazel, cucumber, alder, pumpkin and other cucurbits, and breadfruit. When understanding monoecy in a broad sense, monoecious plants also include spruce, pine, as well as many mosses and algae.
The crown is conical in shape, 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 in color immediately after it is removed (hence the name “mahogany”), and darkens over time. The root system consists of shallow, widely spreading lateral roots. The leaves of young trees are elongated and flat, 15-25 mm long, in the upper part of the crown of old trees they are scale-like, 5 to 10 mm long.
The very thick (compared to other tree species) sequoia bark, which, like a sponge, absorbs water well, is also useful for its qualities. Thanks to this structure of the bark, these trees are not at all afraid of fires.
Cones are ovoid, 15-32 mm long, with 15-25 spirally twisted scales; pollination occurs at the end of winter, maturation occurs 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.
The sequoia genome (at 31,500 megabases) is one of the largest among conifers, and it is the only hexaploid known to date among gymnosperms.
How to grow Sequoia at home
Initially, sequoia did not grow in our climate, but thanks to the efforts of landscapers and dendrologists, species resistant to cool climates appeared. It is better to find the place where these trees grow closest to you. Having received sequoia seeds, they should be prepared for planting. It is better to do this in early spring, so that by the onset of next winter the small sequoias have time to get stronger. To begin with, the seeds should be “overwintered” in the refrigerator for about a week. At the same time, you shouldn’t put them in the freezer; a temperature of about +6 C is enough. Then you need to give them a “thaw” by soaking them in melt water at room temperature for a couple of days. Seeds should be planted in sandy-clayey, well-moistened soil, sprinkled with 1-2 mm of soil, and it is important that the seeds receive sunlight. At this time, they can be covered with cling film or a transparent cap.
The crops need to be ventilated and sprayed a couple of times a day. It is very important to keep the soil moist, but not wet, since sprouts often die from waterlogging. To avoid this, sprouts should be sprayed with a spray bottle rather than watered with a watering can. The germination rate of sequoias is low; in the best case, 15-25% of the seeds will germinate. The first shoots may appear in 2 days, or even after 2 months.
As soon as sprouts appear, the film or cap must be removed immediately. Without free air circulation, the sprouts quickly die. A couple of days after pipping, the sprout sheds the dry skin of the seed. If he has difficulty with this, you can gently help him. Young sprouts love the sun, but they should be shaded from direct sunlight. Small sequoias should not be kept close to heating appliances. Dry air is harmful to them. In 5 months you will already have a miniature Christmas tree. Sequoia under 3 years of age should be kept in a pot and watered regularly. Dry periods are stressful for sequoia, as a result of which it greatly slows down its growth. Biennial plants can be kept outside in warm weather. The tree should be brought indoors for the winter. From spring it can be kept outside in a well-lit place. A tree 1-1.5 m high can already be planted in open ground. In European climatic conditions, sequoia can withstand frosts down to -18 C.
Loggers hunt sequoia
Because of its reddish, carmine-soaked wood, sequoia is sometimes also called mahogany. Its wood is valued not only because of its original color, but also because of 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.
Data
The tallest sequoia, named Hyperion, was discovered in the summer of 2006 by Chris Atkins and Michael Taylor in Redwood National Park north of San Francisco. The height of the tree is 115.61 meters. Researchers said woodpecker damage to the tree at the top prevented the sequoia from reaching a height of 115.8 meters (380 feet).
15 currently growing trees have a height of more than 110 m, and 47 trees have a height of more than 105 m.
Some claim that the height of the sequoia tree felled in 1912 was 115.8 m.
The second place in height after sequoia is occupied by Douglassia (Pseudotsuga Menzies). Menzies's tallest living pseudohemlock, 'Doerner Fir' (formerly known as 'Brummit fir'), is 99.4 m tall.
In 2004, a study by Northern Arizona University was published in the journal Nature, according to which the maximum theoretical height of a sequoia (or any other tree) is limited to 122-130 meters due to gravity and friction between water and the pores of the wood through which it oozes.
The most voluminous tree among redwoods is Titan Del Norte. The volume of this sequoia is estimated at 1044.7 m³, height - 93.57 m, and diameter - 7.22 m. Among all Of the trees growing on Earth, only 15 giant sequoias (sequoiadendrons) are more massive than him. Sequoias (English: giant sequoia) are somewhat shorter, but they have a thicker trunk than sequoias. Thus, the volume of the largest specimen of the General Sherman sequoiadendron is 1487 m³.
Sequoia National Park
Sequoia National Park is a national park in the United States, located in the southern Sierra Nevada, east of the city of Visalia in California. The park was founded in 1890, the third after Yellowstone (since 1872) and Mackinac National Parks (1875-1895). The area of the park is 1635 km². The park has mountainous terrain, rising from an altitude of about 400 meters above sea level in the foothills to the highest point in the contiguous 48 states - the summit of Mount Whitney (4421.1 m). The park borders Kings Canyon National Park; Since 1943, both parks have been managed by the US National Park Service as a single unit - Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks.
The park is best known for its giant sequoias, including a specimen called General Sherman, the largest tree by wood volume on Earth. In 2009, the volume of wood from this tree was just under 1,500 cubic meters. General Sherman grows in the Giant Forest, which contains five of the ten largest trees by timber volume in the world. The giant forest is connected by the Generals Highway to Grant Grove in Kings Canyon National Park, where, among other redwoods, the General Grant tree grows - the second largest tree in the world.
Other attractions include Moro Rock, which can be climbed using a staircase specially built in the 1930s to view the surrounding area from a height of 75 meters above the ground.
I just want to draw a couple of dinosaurs here.
How Sequoia was photographed
Sequoias occupy a special place in the world, including several genera of truly unique trees, the only representatives of which are Sequoia sempervirens and Sequoiadendron.
Giant sequoias, as they are also called, in ancient times were common throughout the Northern Hemisphere; today in our country several specimens of trees are planted in parks on the Black Sea coast; they are also grown in greenhouses or botanical gardens. But the only place where their natural habitat has been preserved is a relatively small area of the Pacific coast of North America: Redwood National Park and the Muir Forest Reserve in California, approximately 800 km long and about 80 km wide, a small part of eastern Texas and Maryland, the eastern coast Canada.
Description of the species
There has been much debate about the origin of the name “sequoia”, given to it by the Austrian biologist Stefan Endliger. Opinions have been expressed that this is an empty set of sounds, a designation of the sequential order of the location of seeds in cones, and, finally, the name of the famous leader of the Cherokee tribe. The last option is considered the most likely.
These trees prefer a humid maritime climate, which is explained by their concentration on the ocean. It’s not for nothing that they are called giants - the height of sequoia is rarely below 60 m, but taller specimens are more often found - up to 100–115 m. The width of the trunks corresponds to gigantic sizes - the giants reach 18 m in diameter, and 6-meter trees are quite an average scale for a sequoia . At the same time, certain species differences can be traced: the giant sequoiadendron is lower - about 70–90 m, but it has a thicker trunk, reaching up to 37 m in girth, while the “thin-trunked” 6-meter evergreen sequoia, or redwood, grows to 100 m and above . The weight of one plant exceeds 1000 kg. People look like Lilliputians against the backdrop of these heroic trees.
The genus Metasequoia glyptostroboides is a glyptostroboid metasequoia growing in China, an evergreen coniferous tree. It is also part of the subfamily, but does not have cyclopean dimensions, being a rather medium-sized tree that belongs to an endangered species.
The size of the plants is impressive, but their age is amazing: to rise to the height of a skyscraper and grow as thick as a house, giant pines sometimes take more than 1000 years. Some unique individuals live longer - up to 2000 and 3500 years. But this is not the limit: there is information about trees 6000 years old. Scientists determine from the layers of wood of these relics the weather conditions - the amount of precipitation, the temperature of the surrounding air in the area - that were hundreds of years ago.
“General Sherman”, “Stratospheric Giant” and other, the most famous specimens of sequoia, are unique natural monuments, which thousands of tourists come to admire in the Californian national parks of the USA. Driving along the highway laid through the groves of giants can be considered a real journey through the fairy-tale world of grandiose giants. Along the way there are tunnels for cars, made in fallen trees, huge stumps, on the surface of which it is possible to place an entire parking lot, set up a dance floor or an open-air cafe.
Sequoias are monoecious trees, most of them straight-trunked. Their bark is extremely thick and soft, from 30 to 80 cm in width, and peels off quite easily. In young plants it has a bright red color, for which they are often called American. In old-timers, the shade of the bark becomes darker. Loose, like a sponge, it is able to accumulate a lot of moisture necessary for growth and serves to protect the trunk from unfavorable external conditions and even forest fires. The root system is widely branched and located relatively shallow. Sequoia branches grow horizontally in relation to the trunk; in sequoiedendrons they often hang down like mammoth tusks, for which they are nicknamed mammoth trees. The crowns are very dense, pyramidal in shape, the needles are 10 to 20 mm long, scaly, flat. The cones are round, 3–3.5 cm in size, and consist of spirally twisted scales. Sequoia seeds are small - up to 3–4 mm, ripen in October, and there are from 3 to 7 of them in one cone.
Pests do not damage giant pines - like all conifers, sequoias contain many phytoncides that are destructive to insects and pathogens.
An important property of trees is the ability to quickly recover from mechanical damage - even removing the bark does not become an obstacle to further growth, and in place of completely felled specimens, new young growth quickly rises.
Sequoias are relatively frost-resistant, able to withstand cold temperatures down to -20°C, which makes it possible to plant them in the southern and temperate regions of Russia. It propagates not only by seeds, but also by cuttings, as well as by grafting, making it possible to develop new, including decorative varieties of various sizes, shapes and colors, perfect for landscaping.
Characteristics of wood
The wood of evergreen sequoia and giant sequoia dendron is recognized in the world as one of the best coniferous species. It is similar in quality to, but with greater resistance to fungal attack.
California redwood, as the sequoia is called, has earned considerable popularity. It grows 10 times faster, and the mass of one log can reach 2500 kg. Sequoia is a soft wood type. The sapwood is thin, light creamy in color, looser than the central part. The heartwood is of great value, it is light cherry, carmine or light brown in color with uniform pith rays and vertical rows of resin cells. It has a pronounced contrasting pattern formed by darker growth rings. Young layers are less dense compared to older ones. The fibers of the lumber are straight, and there are almost no curls.
During the pre-processing process, freshly cut material practically does not crack or warp; shrinkage due to the lack of internal stress in sequoia is insignificant, despite its high natural strength. Dry wood has about 450 kg/cu.m. m, durable, well resistant to compression and twisting, quite lightweight, resistant to mold, insect damage, and rotting. Its service life is more than 40 years, in contact with soil - about 25.
Varieties used
The best grade is recognized as the so-called pure heartwood, free of knots and other defects, uniform in density, with an impeccable texture and regular geometric pattern. It is dried naturally and is not exposed to high temperatures. This material is used exclusively for the production of top-class products and finishing.
The following types of wood are considered to be of lower quality, but quite practical and durable: simply pure and sound wood. They can undergo pre-drying in ovens, contain a small amount of sapwood, and contain knots and other defects. These types are used for the manufacture of various outdoor structures, support structures, flooring of terraces, and installation of fences.
In addition, there is a gradation within the less valuable varieties:
- construction (deck) sound - includes fragments with a large number of knots, intended for beams, decking, installation of supports;
- ordinary construction - a mixture of sapwood and core, used for various ground structures: gazebos, verandas, flooring, fences;
- commercial soundwood is a type of pure, but cheaper wood, the composition includes various defects: cracks, knots, processing defects. It is used for outdoor work, where decorative qualities are not important, but high strength and resistance to adverse factors are required;
- commercial - the lowest grade, which requires the presence of sapwood, is used only for external work: building fences, formwork of supporting walls.
Sequoia easily lends itself to any type of processing: sawing, grinding, cutting with mechanical and hand tools. Holds screws, nails and staples well, can be etched with stains, sanded and polished, glued and painted.
Application
High performance characteristics and beautiful appearance allow this wood to be used anywhere: for external and internal work, in construction, furniture, turning industry, for the manufacture of cladding and decorative cladding. At home, it is used to make poles and sleepers, various supporting parts, street benches, stairs, finishing panels, window frames, jambs, doors, interior lining of trailers, carriages, yacht cabins, wooden tiles, and paper.
Sequoia is odorless, so it can come into contact with food, and in addition, it is excellent for making cigar cases and boxes, barrels for storing honey, and boxes for spices.
Fire walls and exits have been made from redwood trees historically due to the wood's high resistance to fire.
Loading...
