Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email
Answers.com

sequoia

 
Dictionary: se·quoi·a   (sĭ-kwoi'ə) pronunciation
Home > Library > Literature & Language > Dictionary
n.
  1. See redwood (sense 1).
  2. Giant sequoia.

[New Latin Sequoia, genus name, after SEQUOYA.]


Search unanswered questions...

Enter a question here...
Search: All sources Community Q&A Reference topics

Sci-Tech Encyclopedia: Sequoia
Top
Home > Library > Science > Sci-Tech Encyclopedia

The giant sequoia or big tree (Sequoia gigantea) occupies a limited area in California and is said to be the oldest and most massive of all living things. The leaves are evergreen, scalelike, and overlapping on the branches. In height sequoia is a close second to the redwood (300–330 ft or 90–100 m) but the trunk is more massive. Sequoia trees may be 27–30 ft (8–9 m) in diameter 10 ft (3 m) from the ground. The stump of one tree showed 3400 annual rings. The red-brown bark is 1–2 ft (0.3– 0.6 m) thick and spongy. Vertical grooves in the trunk give it a fluted appearance. The heartwood is dull purplish-brown and lighter and more brittle than that of the redwood. The wood and bark contain much tannin, which is probably the cause of the great resistance to insect and fungus attack. The most magnificent trees are within the General Grant and Sequoia National Parks. See also Pinales; Redwood.

Word Origins: sequoia
Top
Home > Library > Literature & Language > International Word Origins

from Cherokee
This word originated in United States

When English speakers first encountered Cherokee Indians, the trees we now call sequoias were nowhere in sight. In fact, they were half a continent away, because the Cherokees lived in the southeastern part of what is now the United States, in North Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee. The sequoias, meanwhile, were standing tall along the Pacific coast, as yet unnamed in English.

What connected the Indians and the trees in the nineteenth century was not the forced displacement of most of the Cherokees to present-day Texas and Oklahoma in 1838 and 1839, known as the "Trail of Tears." That brought them halfway across the continent but still far from the cool coastal climate required by the redwoods.

Rather, the English and scientific name for the trees came from the fame and accomplishments of the Cherokee Chief Sequoya. A silversmith, trader, and U.S. Army soldier who lived in Cherokee County, Georgia, in the early nineteenth century, Sequoya became famous for devising a way of writing his native language. It was not an alphabet like ours, with vowels and consonants, but a syllabary, that is, a system with separate symbols for each of the eighty syllables of Cherokee. The syllabary made written communication possible among his people, including a newspaper he published himself. It was the only writing system devised specially for an American Indian language; many others have been written down, but they all use the English (or other European) alphabet.

And so in the 1860s, when it came time to give a formal name to the world's tallest (Sequoia sempervirens) and one of its oldest (Sequoia giganteum) trees, they were named in honor of the inventive Chief Sequoya. The tall trees that grow along the coast are commonly called redwoods, but the older trees in the mountains have sequoia as their common name.

Cherokee is a member of the Iroquoian language family, along with other eastern American Indian languages such as Mohawk and Seneca. Today Cherokee has some 20,000 speakers, mostly in Oklahoma and Texas. Thanks in part to Sequoya's well-established writing system, the language continues to flourish and the number of speakers is actually growing. But no other word from Cherokee has become part of the general English vocabulary.


US History Encyclopedia: Sequoia
Top
Home > Library > History, Politics & Society > US History Encyclopedia

Sequoia, a genus of coniferous trees, comprising the species Sequoia sempervirens (the redwood) and Sequoia-dendron giganteum (the giant sequoia), thought to be named for Sequoyah, the Cherokee Indian blacksmith and silversmith who invented the Cherokee alphabet about 1809. Both species average 275 feet in height, with trunks from 15 to 35 feet in diameter. Sequoias are the largest of all American forest trees, with the tallest redwoods attaining heights of more than 350 feet and the giant sequoia generally containing the largest total volume of wood. The redwood is found in the Pacific Coast region, from California to Oregon; the giant sequoia grows wild only on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada in California, generally between five thousand and seven thousand feet in elevation, where it finds a mix of mild temperatures and adequate rainfall. Sequoia wood is soft, light, and of a reddish color that darkens on exposure. Once believed to be the world's oldest living things—some are more than three thousand years old—sequoias have very thick bark that makes them highly resistant to insects, fire, and fungi. They have a very shallow root system, however, and rely on a straight trunk and well-balanced limbs to stay upright; most fall to their death.

Sequoias probably first became known to the white man in 1833, when Captain Joseph Walker's expedition sighted them. A. T. Dowd is credited with discovering the Calaveras grove in 1852. In less than a decade, loggers began extensive cutting of the sequoia, and cutting continued into the twentieth century, although on a lesser scale. The Sequoia National Park in the Sierra Nevada was established on 25 September 1890 to protect the groves of giant sequoia. The General Sherman tree in the park is 272 feet high and one of the oldest living things in the world; another famous tree had a hole bored through its trunk, allowing automobiles to drive through.

Bibliography

Dilsaver, Lary M. Challenge of the Big Trees. Three Rivers, Calif.: Sequoia Natural History Association, 1990.

Orsi, Richard J., Alfred Runte, and Marlene Smith-Baranzini, eds. Yosemite and Sequoia: A Century of California National Parks. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1993.

 
Columbia Encyclopedia: sequoia
Top
Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Columbia Encyclopedia
sequoia (sĭkwoi'ə), name for the redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) and for the big tree, or giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum), both huge, coniferous evergreen trees of the bald cypress family, and for extinct related species. Sequoias probably originated over 100 million years ago. Once widespread in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, the trees were almost exterminated by the ice sheets of the glacial ages. Several species are known only by fossil remains; some such fossils have been found in the Petrified Forest in Arizona.

The two living species survive only in a narrow strip near the Pacific coast of the United States. The redwood occurs along the coast of California and S Oregon, often in easily lumbered, pure stands. Growing 100 to 385 ft (30-117 m) high, it is probably the tallest tree in the world; the tallest known tree is the redwood Hyperion (379.1 ft/115.5 m), in Redwood National Park. The redwood is able to obtain the abundant moisture needed to sustain its towering growth by capturing water from regularly occurring ocean fogs. The water then drips down from the leaves and branches to the soil, where it penetrates to be absorbed by the roots. The redwood's trunk is 20 to 25 ft (6.1-7.6 m) in diameter, and its needlelike leaves are usually bluish green. Some redwoods are believed to be over 2,000 years old. The big tree, 150 to 325 ft (46-99 m) tall and with a trunk 10 to 30 ft (3-9.1 m) in diameter, grows on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada in California. It reaches an even greater age than the redwood; some individuals are believed to be 3,000 to 4,000 years old. The leaves are small, overlapping scales. Both trees have deeply grooved, reddish bark and soft, straight-grained, reddish heartwood whose resistance to decay makes it especially valuable for outdoor building purposes, e.g., for shingles, siding, and flumes. Although the sequoias are protected in Kings Canyon, Redwood, Sequoia, and Yosemite national parks, Giant Sequoia National Monument, and several California state parks, their existence elsewhere is threatened by exploitation.

China's deciduous dawn redwood tree (Metasequoia) is believed to be a related species and is perhaps an ancestor of the California redwood. This genus was named and described from fossil remains a few years before the few living specimens were discovered during World War II. Some thousand trees were subsequently found, and they were on the verge of extinction by lumbering. The fast-growing dawn redwoods are now propagated elsewhere. The East Indian and South American redwoods are in the unrelated brazilwood genus.

The sequoia is classified in the division Pinophyta, class Pinopsida, order Coniferales, family Taxodiaceae.

Bibliography

See N. Taylor, The Ageless Relicts (1963); R. Silverberg, Vanishing Giants (1969).

Wikipedia: Sequoia
Top
Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
This article is about the species commonly called "Coast Redwood". For the species commonly called "Giant Sequoia", see Sequoiadendron. For other uses, see Sequoia (disambiguation).
Sequoia sempervirens
Del Norte Titan, the third largest coast redwood.
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Pinophyta
Class: Pinopsida
Order: Pinales
Family: Cupressaceae
Subfamily: Sequoioideae
Genus: Sequoia
Species: S. sempervirens
Binomial name
Sequoia sempervirens
(D. Don) Endl.

Sequoia sempervirens (pronounced /sɨˈkwɔɪ.ə ˌsɛmpərˈvaɪrənz/, latin pronuntiation /sɛkwɔɪ.ə ˌsɛmpərˈvɪrənz/)[1] is the sole living species of the genus Sequoia in the cypress family Cupressaceae (formerly treated in Taxodiaceae). Common names include Coast Redwood and California Redwood (it is one of three species of trees known as redwoods, but "redwood" per se normally refers to this species). It is an evergreen, long-lived, monoecious tree living for up to 2,200 years, and this species includes the tallest trees on Earth, reaching up to 115.5 m (379.1 ft) in height and 8 m (26 ft) diameter at breast height. It is native to coastal California and the southwestern corner of Oregon within the United States.

The name sequoia is sometimes used as a general term for the subfamily Sequoioideae in which this genus is classified, together with Sequoiadendron (Giant Sequoia) and Metasequoia (Dawn Redwood); as a common name, it usually refers to Sequoiadendron.

Contents

Description

Detail: bark

Coast redwoods have a conical crown, with horizontal to slightly drooping branches. The bark is very thick, up to 30 cm (12 in), and quite soft, fibrous with a bright red-brown when freshly exposed (hence the name 'redwood'), weathering darker. The root system is composed of shallow, wide-spreading lateral roots. The leaves are variable, being 15–25 mm long and flat on young trees and shaded shoots in the lower crown of old trees, and scale-like, 5–10 mm long on shoots in full sun in the upper crown of older trees; there is a full range of transition between the two extremes. They are dark green above, and with two blue-white stomatal bands below. Leaf arrangement is spiral, but the larger shade leaves are twisted at the base to lie in a flat plane for maximum light capture. The seed cones are ovoid, 15–32 mm long, with 15-25 spirally arranged scales; pollination is in late winter with maturation about 8–9 months after. Each cone scale bears 3-7 seeds, each seed 3–4 mm long and 0.5 mm broad, with two wings 1 mm wide. The seeds are released when the cone scales dry out and open at maturity. The pollen cones are oval, 4–6 mm long. The species is monoecious, with pollen and seed cones on the same plant.

Its genetic makeup is unusual among conifers, being a hexaploid (6n) and possibly allopolyploid (AAAABB).[2] The mitochondrial genome is (unlike other conifers) paternally inherited.[3].

Range and ecology

Sunlight shining through redwoods in Muir Woods

Coast Redwoods occupy a narrow strip of land approximately 750 km (470 miles) in length and 8–75 km (5–47 miles) in width along the Pacific coast of North America; the elevation range is mostly from 30–750 m, occasionally down to sea level and up to 920 m (about 3,000 feet) (Farjon 2005). They usually grow in the mountains where there is more precipitation from the incoming moisture off the ocean. The tallest and oldest trees are found in deep valleys and gullies, where year-round streams can flow, and fog drip is regular. The trees above the fog layer, above about 700 m, are shorter and smaller due to the drier, windier, and colder conditions. In addition, tanoak, pine and Douglas-fir often crowd out redwoods at these elevations. Few redwoods grow close to the ocean, due to intense salt spray, sand and wind.

Fog is of major importance in Coast Redwood ecology. Redwood National Park.

The northern boundary of its range is marked by two groves on the Chetco River on the western fringe of the Klamath Mountains, 25 km (15 miles) north of the California-Oregon border. The largest (and tallest) populations are in Redwood National and State Parks (Del Norte and Humboldt Counties) and Humboldt Redwoods State Park (Humboldt County, California). The southern boundary of its range is somewhere in the Santa Lucia Mountains of the Big Sur area of Monterey County, California.

This native area provides a unique environment with heavy seasonal rains (of up to 2,500 mm or 100 inch annually). Cool coastal air and fog keep this forest consistently damp year round. Several factors, including the heavy rainfall, create a soil with fewer nutrients than the trees need, causing the trees to depend heavily on the entire biotic community of the forest, and complete recycling of the trees when dead. This forest community includes Coast Douglas-fir, Western Hemlock, Tanoak, Pacific Madrone, and other trees along with a wide variety of ferns, Redwood sorrel, mosses and mushrooms. Redwood forests provide habitat for a variety of mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians. Old growth redwood stands provide habitat for the federally threatened Spotted Owl and the California-endangered Marbled Murrelet.

The thick, tannin-rich bark, combined with foliage that starts high above the ground provides good protection from both fire and insect damage, contributing to the Coast Redwood's longevity. The oldest known Coast Redwood is about 2,200 years old [4]; many others in the wild exceed 600 years. The numerous claims of older trees are incorrect.[4] Interestingly enough, Coast Redwoods because of their seemingly timeless lifespan were deemed the "everlasting redwood" at the turn of the century; in Latin, "sempervirens" means "ever green" or "everlasting," a coincidence unbeknown to those who named these giants.

The prehistoric fossil range of the genus is considerably greater, with a subcosmopolitan distribution including Europe and Asia until about 5 million years ago.

Reproduction

Coast Redwood reproduces both sexually and asexually. Seed production begins at 10–15 years of age, and large seed crops occur frequently, but viability of the seed is low, typically well below 15%.[5] The low viability may be an adaptation to discourage seed predators, which do not want to waste time sorting chaff (empty seeds) from edible seeds. The winged seeds are small and light, weighing 3.3–5 mg (200-300 seeds/g; 5,600-8,500/ounce). The wings are not effective for wide dispersal, and seeds are dispersed by wind an average of only 60–120 m (200–400 feet) from the parent tree. Growth of seedlings is very fast, with young trees known to reach 20 m (65 feet) tall in 20 years. Coast Redwoods can also reproduce asexually by layering or sprouting from the root crown, stump, or even fallen branches; if a tree falls over, it will regenerate a row of new trees along the trunk. This is the reason for many trees naturally growing in a straight line. Sprouts originate from dormant or adventitious buds at or under the surface of the bark. The dormant sprouts are stimulated when the main adult stem gets damaged or starts to die. Many sprouts spontaneously erupt and develop around the circumference of the tree trunk. Within a short period after sprouting, each sprout will develop its own root system, with the dominant sprouts forming a ring of trees around the parent root crown or stump. This ring of trees is called a "fairy ring". Sprouts can achieve heights of 2.3 m (8 feet) in a single growing season.

Redwoods may also reproduce using burls. A burl is a woody lignotuber that commonly appears on a redwood tree below the soil line, though when above, usually within 3 m of the soil. Burls are capable of sprouting into new trees when detached from the parent tree, though exactly how this happens is yet to be studied. Shoot clones commonly sprout from burls and are often turned into decorative hedges when found in suburbia.

The species is very tolerant of flooding and flood deposits, the roots rapidly growing into thick silt deposits after floods.

A ring of Sequoia trees as seen from below.

Cultivation and uses

Coast Redwood is one of the most valuable timber species in California, with 899,000 acres (364,000 ha) of redwood forest, all second growth, managed for timber production.[6] Coast Redwood lumber is highly valued for its beauty, light weight, and resistance to decay. Its lack of resin makes it resistant to fire.

P. H. Shaughnessy, Chief Engineer of the San Francisco Fire Department wrote:

In the recent great fire of San Francisco, that began April 18th, 1906, we succeeded in finally stopping it in nearly all directions where the unburned buildings were almost entirely of frame construction and if the exterior finish of these buildings had not been of redwood lumber, I am satisfied that the area of the burned district would have been greatly extended.

Because of its impressive resistance to decay, redwood was extensively used for railroad ties and trestles throughout California. Many of the old ties have been recycled for use in gardens as borders, steps, etc. Redwood burls are used in the production of table tops, veneers, and turned goods.

The Coast Redwood is locally naturalized in New Zealand, notably at Rotorua. Other areas of successful cultivation outside of the native range include Great Britain, Italy, Portugal,[7] the Queen Charlotte Islands, middle elevations of Hawaii, a small area in central Mexico (Jilotepec) and the southeastern United States from eastern Texas to Maryland. Coast Redwood trees were used in a display at Rockefeller Center and then given to Longhouse Reserve in East Hampton, Long Island, New York and these have now been living there for over 16 years (2009) and survived 2°F (-17°C)[8].

Statistics

Dried resin of a redwood tree
An example of a bonsai redwood, from the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.

Trees over 60 m (200 feet) are common, and many are over 90 m (300 feet).

  • The current tallest tree is Hyperion, measuring at 115.55 m (379.1 feet).[4] The tree was discovered in Redwood National Park during Summer 2006 by Chris Atkins and Michael Taylor and has been measured as the world's tallest living organism. The previous record holder was the Stratosphere Giant in the Humboldt Redwoods State Park, at 112.83 m, last measured in 2004 (was 112.34 m in Aug 2000 and 112.56 m in 2002). Until it fell in March 1991, the "Dyerville Giant" was the record holder. It too stood in Humboldt Redwoods State Park; it was 113.4 metres high and estimated to be 1,600 years old.
  • There are 33 measured living trees more than 110 m (361 feet) tall.[9]
  • There are 137 measured trees that are more than 106.7 m (350 feet) tall.[9] Preliminary analysis of LiDAR data indicates there are hundreds of additional trees in excess of 106 m (348 ft) previously unknown.[10]
  • A tree claimed to be 115.8 m (380 feet) was cut down in 1912.
An "albino" Sequoia sempervirens exhibiting lack of chlorophyll

The theoretical maximum potential height of Coast Redwoods (or any other tree) is limited to between 122 and 130 m (between 400 and 425 feet), due to gravity and the friction between water and the vessels through which it flows.[11]

The largest Coast Redwood in volume is the "Lost Monarch", with an estimated volume of 42,500 cubic feet; it is 320 feet tall with a diameter of 26 feet at breast high (DBH). It is located in the Grove of Titans. Among current living trees there are only 6 known Giant Sequoias that are larger; these are shorter, but have thicker trunks overall, giving the largest Giant Sequoia, General Sherman, a volume of 1,487 cubic metres (52,510 cubic feet), making it the world's largest known tree. A redwood cut down in 1926 had a claimed volume of 1,794 m³ (63,350 cubic feet), but this is not verified.

About fifty 'albino' redwoods (mutant individuals that cannot manufacture chlorophyll) are known to exist, reaching heights of up to 20 m.[12] These trees survive as parasites, obtaining food by grafting their root systems with those of normal trees. While similar mutations occur sporadically in other conifers, no cases are known of such individuals surviving to maturity in any other conifer species.

Largest trees

The six largest coast redwoods by total wood volume in the main trunk and stems combined as of 2008.

Tree Name Location Height Diameter (b.h) Volume Source
    (m) (ft) (m) (ft) (m³) (ft³)  
Lost Monarch JSRSP 98.0 321.5 7.9 26.0 1203.5 42,500 [9]
Fusion Giant, aka Melkor RNP 106.3 348.8 6.8 22.4 1107.2 39,100 [9][13]
Iluvatar PCRSP 91.5 300.2 6.25 20.5 1061.9 37,500 [9]
Del Norte Titan JSRSP 93.6 306.8 7.3 23.7 1053.4 37,200 [9]
El Viejo Del Norte JSRSP 98.7 323.8 7.1 23.0 1002.4 35,400 [9]
Howland Hill Giant JSRSP 100.6 330 5.85 19.1 950.9 33,580 [14]
Sir Isaac Newton PCRSP 7.01 22.01 940 [14]

The order of largest and tallest can change at any time due to new discoveries, loss of stem and foliage, growth, and new measurements. One of the better known internet databases for large conifers is [4], but its data can be different from other resources due to differences in standards.

Tallest trees

Trees over 112 m (367.5 ft) as of 2009

Tree Name Height Location
  (m) (ft)  
Hyperion 115.61 379.3 RNSP
Helios 114.58 375.9 RNSP
Icarus 113.14 371.2 RNSP
Stratosphere Giant 113.05 370.9 HRSP
National Geographic 112.71 369.8 RNSP
Orion 112.63 369.5 RNSP
Federation Giant 112.62 369.5 HRSP
Paradox 112.51 369.1 HRSP
Mendocino 112.32 368.5 MWSR

See also

References

  1. ^ Sunset Western Garden Book, 1995:606–607
    "sempervirent". Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. 2nd ed. 1989.
  2. ^ Ahuja, M.R.; Neale, D.B. (2002). "Origins of Polyploidy in Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) and Relationship of Coast Redwood to other Genera of Taxodiaceae". Silvae Genetica 51 (2-3): 93-100. 
  3. ^ Neale, D. B.; Marshall, K. A.; Sederoff, R. R. (1989). "Chloroplast and Mitochondrial DNA are Paternally Inherited in Sequoia sempervirens." (PDF). Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 86 (23): 9347–9349. http://www.pnas.org/cgi/reprint/86/23/9347. Retrieved 2009-08-19. 
  4. ^ a b c d "Sequoia sempervirens". The Gymnosperm Database. http://www.conifers.org/cu/se/index.htm. Retrieved 2008-08-23. 
  5. ^ "Botanical Garden Logistics" (PDF). UC Berkeley – Biology 1B – Plants & Their Environments (p. 13). Department of Integrative Biology, University of California-Berkeley. http://ib.berkeley.edu/courses/bio1b/labschedfall07/labexercises/PlantsEnvironments3_4_3.pdf. Retrieved 2008-08-23. 
  6. ^ "IUCN Red List of Threatened Species". Species Survival Commission. http://www.iucnredlist.org/search/details.php/34051/all. Retrieved 2008-08-23. 
  7. ^ "Distribution within Europe". http://193.62.154.38/cgi-bin/nph-readbtree.pl/feout?FAMILY_XREF=&GENUS_XREF=Sequoia&SPECIES_XREF=sempervirens&TAXON_NAME_XREF=&RANK=. Retrieved 2008-08-23. 
  8. ^ "Longhouse". http://Longhouse.org. 
  9. ^ a b c d e f g Prof Stephen Sillett's webpage
  10. ^ Tree Climbers International - Re: The world's second tallest tree found in Tasmania
  11. ^ Koch, G.W., Sillett, S.C., Jennings, G.M., and Davis, S.D. 2004. The limits to tree height. In Nature 428: 851-854.
  12. ^ Stienstra, T. (2007-10-11). "It's no snow job - handful of redwoods are rare albinos". San Francisco Chronicle. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/10/11/SPK4SI0PM.DTL. Retrieved 2007-10-14. 
  13. ^ Vaden, M. D. (2008). Grove of Titans & Atlas Grove. Website Documentary Page.
  14. ^ a b Van Pelt, R. (2001). Forest Giants of the Pacific Coast. Global Forest. ISBN 0-295-98140-7.

External links

Further reading

Search Wikimedia Commons Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Sequoia sempervirens

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 

 

Copyrights:

Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Sci-Tech Encyclopedia. McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology. Copyright © 2005 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Word Origins. The World in So Many Words, by Allan A. Metcalf. Copyright © 1999 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
US History Encyclopedia. © 2006 through a partnership of Answers Corporation. All rights reserved.  Read more
Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Sequoia".  Read more