Sequoia is a giant tree. Sequoia (sequoia) giant evergreen
Sequoia sempervirens (D. Don) Endl. - Sequoia evergreen, or Red sequoia.
Encyclopedic YouTube
1 / 1
✪ 10 tallest trees on the planet. Sequoia Evergreen.
Subtitles
Name
The generic name was proposed by the Austrian botanist Stefan Endlicher in 1847 for the tree formerly known as Taxodium sempervivens D.Don, Endlicher did not indicate its origin. In 1854, Asa Gray, who recognized the need to distinguish the genus, wrote about the new name as “meaningless and discordant.” In 1858, George Gordon published the etymology of the generic names of a number of genera coniferous plants, proposed by Endlicher, but did not find an explanation for the name “Sequoia”.
In 1868, California State Geologist Josiah Dwight Whitney's Guide to Yosemite The Yosemite Book indicated that the plant was named after Sequoia (George Hess) ( Sequoyah, OK. 1770 - approx. 1843) - chief of the Cherokee Indian tribe, inventor of the Cherokee syllabary (1826) and founder of a newspaper in the Cherokee language. According to Whitney, Endlicher learned about the Indian chief from an article in Country Gentleman, which caught his attention. From subsequent editions The Yosemite Book phrase about the article in Country Gentleman was removed due to its obvious inaccuracy. Endlicher published the title in 1847, died March 28, 1849, and the first issue Country Gentleman was published only on November 4, 1852. IN Country Gentleman It wasn't until January 24, 1856 that an article mentioning Sequoia actually appeared. This article described the tree Sequoia gigantea, and also for the first time it was assumed that it was named after an Indian chief.
In 1860 in the magazine The Gardener's Monthly two articles appeared, in the first of which a certain L. supported the justification of naming the genus of plants after an outstanding Indian leader, and in the second, the editor of the magazine, Thomas Meehan, reported that neither he nor L. no, but it seems quite likely to them.
George Gordon suggested in 1862 that Sequoia derived from lat. sequī - "to follow something", in his opinion, this genus "follows" the genus Taxodium, from which Endlicher isolated it. However, he also isolated the genus Glyptostrobus from the genus Taxodium, and named it completely differently.
It should be noted that in its natural distribution area, sequoia is better known as “redwood” (English Redwood, or Coastal Redwood, or California Redwood), in this area the Redwood and Muir Forest reserves are located; at the same time plants related species Sequoiadendrons are known as "giant sequoias". It is the latter that grow in Sequoia National Park.
Botanical description
Distribution and ecology
It grows in the USA along the Pacific coast on a strip about 750 km long and 8 to 75 km wide from California to southwestern Oregon, and is also grown in the Canadian province of British Columbia, in the southeastern USA from eastern Texas to Maryland, in Hawaii , in 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 highest and oldest trees grow in gorges and deep ravines, where all year round streams can reach humid air and where fogs occur regularly. Trees growing above the fog layer (above 700 m) are shorter and smaller due to drier, windier and cooler growing conditions.
The nature of our planet is amazing and amazingly diverse. This, for example, is clearly evidenced by the real giants of the world of flora - sequoias. Majestic trees grow over more than one millennium, reach a height of one hundred meters, and individual representatives even exceed this threshold. Simply amazing! Of course they are amazing plants You won’t find it at every step. So, we will talk about where giant sequoias grow.
Where does sequoia grow naturally?
Unfortunately, the earth North America- the only place where the sequoia tree grows. The evergreen giant grows on the Pacific coast on a narrow strip of land only up to 75 km wide and up to 750 km long.
They are suited to the warm, humid climate of Northern and Central California and Southern Oregon. In addition, sequoia can be found in ravines and gorges where there is fog. The most beautiful representatives Redwoods are found on the lands of Redwood National Park and Sequoia National Park.
Where are sequoia grown?
In addition to its natural growth, the natural giant is grown in the UK, Hawaii, Italy, New Zealand, and South Africa. As you can see, these are mainly countries that have access to the sea.
If we talk about whether sequoia grows in Russia, then fortunately, we also have the opportunity to see this tree, beautiful in its gigantic growth. Since availability warm climate and sea moisture is possible only on the Black Sea coast, the place where sequoia grows in Russia is Krasnodar region. In the Sochi Arboretum there is a small area planted with not yet giant evergreen trees. But who knows, maybe in one or two thousand years the sharp peaks of hundred-meter sequoias will proudly rise above the surrounding area.
The giant sequoia once amazed the travelers who were the first to enter the North American continent. Majestic evergreen sequoia It has an impressive size and an unusual appearance. As you may have guessed, the main place where the giant sequoia grows is natural conditions- This is North America. In the state of California giant tree Sequoia is protected by law and it is prohibited to cut it down. In the mountains where the sequoia tree grows, there are often sharp changes temperature conditions, therefore the culture is adapted to frosts down to minus 25 degrees Celsius. This allows the tree to be successfully grown on all other continents. But it grows very slowly, so see the results hard work possible only after many decades.
Characteristics of the sequoia plant
Starting with the characteristics of sequoia, it is worth saying that the genus belongs to the Taxodiaceae family and contains only one species that grows naturally in western North America.
In their homeland, in California, sequoia plants grow on high mountains, and therefore they are not at all as sissy as eucalyptus trees: a short frost of 15 degrees, even 20 degrees, does not frighten them.
If you look at a sequoia, what we see is lush, from bottom to top. green tree about fifty years old; You will see quite a few of these trees, or slightly older ones, in warm areas. If we talk about beauty, then these “green youth” are much more beautiful than their gigantic thousand-year-old ancestors, with whom I am familiar only from pictures and from colossal sections that I have seen in museums and exhibitions. The giants have their special interest; We'll talk about them below.
Sequoias were discovered, although earlier than the greatest eucalyptus trees, but still relatively recently - less than 100 years ago. First these huge trees were called “California pines” or “mammoth trees”. The latter name is probably explained by the similarity of the bare crooked branches of old sequoias to the tusks of mammoths. But the newly discovered tree, in addition to a nickname, had to be given scientific name. The first botanist who studied them, the Englishman Lindley, wanted to immortalize the name of the then English hero, commander Wellington, the winner of Napoleon, in the name of the giant tree. The tree was named “Wellingtonia gigantea” in 1859. The Americans protested.
How! Our American tree- and suddenly it’s called by the name of an Englishman, and even a military general?
American botanists baptized a tree after its name national hero and gave it the name “Washingtonia gigantea”... However, it later turned out that both names were incorrect. The new tree was new look, but not a new genus: therefore, the specific name “gigantea” could be left (it was fully deserved and would not be offensive to anyone!), but the generic name should be taken the same one that had already been in place since 1847 famous tree of the same genus - Sequoia sempervirens (ever-living sequoia). By the way, this other sequoia is only slightly shorter than the “gigantea”, but surpasses it in longevity.
Thus, in the real scientific passport of the mammoth tree it is written: “sequoia gigantea”.
The word “sequoia” is simply the name of this tree in the Indian language, but this name (Sequoyah) was also borne by one of the Indian leaders of the Iroquois tribe. Consequently, instead of an Englishman or an American, the name of an Indian folk hero who fought against the European invasion of America was immortalized. Perhaps this is more correct not only from a botanical, but also from a social point of view.
Sequoia gigantea reaches 142 m in height. The height is huge! Place 10 of these trees on top of each other, and you will get a mast noticeably taller than its beauty Crimean mountains, graceful Ai-Petri. One of the thickest mammoth trees had a girth of 46 m at the bottom! Americans, lovers of everything spectacular, have many times brought huge sections from sequoia stumps to European exhibitions. On one such section there was a piano, four musicians were sitting and there was still room for 16 pairs of dancers; on another section, a house was placed that housed a printing house where “News of the Giant Tree” was printed. For the Paris Exhibition of 1900, the Americans prepared “the world’s greatest board” from sequoia. This board remained in America: not a single ship would undertake to transport it entirely to Europe!
Look at the giant sequoias in the photo, which shows the majestic species of conifers in nature:
Sequoia wood is light, not very hard, but durable and does not rot. It is highly valued as a material for ship plating.
The age limit for the giant sequoia is assumed to be four to five thousand years; for sequoia sempervirens this limit rises to six thousand years.
To appreciate the enormity of such longevity, let us take for example a sequoia tree of “average” age, 2700 years old. Our drawing clearly shows a diagram of the section of such a tree with the numbers of its years. To simplify and reduce the size of the drawing, it is assumed that the thickness of the annual increment is 1 millimeter. In fact, such growth occurs only in the oldest trees: when they are young, they grow faster, so the actual thickness of a 2,700-year-old sequoia would be more than twice as large (i.e., more than 40 times greater than in the figure).
Botanists have made very interesting observations with these giant trees, living witnesses to changes in nature over centuries and millennia. You, of course, know that by looking at the growth rings of trees you can calculate how old a felled tree is. But now special devices have even been designed - drills, using which you can remove a thin plate from the surface to the core of a tree, passing through all the growth rings and, thus, without cutting down the tree, calculate its age.
This is what they did with the redwoods in California. Data were obtained on 450 giant trees. Then their growth rings were carefully measured and studied. It is known, for example, that in humid climate the growth rings are wider and narrower when dry. The results obtained for 450 sequoias were carefully processed, and it turned out that about 2000, 900, 600 years ago there were periods rich in precipitation (thicker and wider tree rings), while periods about 1200-1400 years ago were characterized by aridity (more narrow growth rings).
Sequoias, in the process of their growth and formation of wood, recorded changes in climate quite well and turned out to be, aren’t they, good “nature’s recording instruments”?
It is curious that the ruins of old cities in some of the present deserts also testify to the high humidity that existed 2000 years ago. These cities were founded by man, of course, in places with river water and vegetation, but the climate changed, the rivers dried up, and man abandoned the cities he had created, and the desert winds buried them under a roiling sea of sand.
In addition to such climate fluctuations over hundreds and thousands of years, sequoias recorded fluctuations on their tree rings over more than short periods, for example, after 32–33 years.
This study of tree rings of our forest giants is very interesting.
The places where sequoias grow are declared protected areas in the United States. People began to protect these valuable plants from fires, but this measure led to poor regeneration of young sequoias; they stopped surviving where people placed fire barriers.
It turns out that sequoia wood is almost unaffected by fire. Not only can redwood trees survive forest fires, but, oddly enough, they need fire for the good development of young trees. The fact is that sequoias are very light-loving plants, their young shoots die in the dense spruce forest under the canopy of old trees, and the seeds cannot germinate through the thick forest floor, consisting of fallen pine needles and leaves. Forest fires, without causing serious harm to giant sequoias, burn out spruce trees and layers of forest litter, seeds begin to actively germinate, and, receiving streams of sunlight in forest clearings, young sequoia trees develop well.
This amazing feature was noticed by American foresters in the reserve - a sequoia grove in Mariposa (California). The last fire in this grove occurred in 1889. Since then, people, carefully protecting the valuable grove from fire, have established that young trees - sequoia seedlings - have almost stopped appearing. But the spruce and pine trees felt great, grew and developed.
Observed amazing phenomenon: In order for the natural regeneration of sequoia to occur, fires are necessary! Burning of layers of forest litter promotes the germination of sequoia seeds.
This is what can come of the actions of people who wanted to create best conditions for the growth and development of individual areas of nature, without knowing much about plant life.
Sequoia tree: description and photo
Starting the description of sequoia, it is worth noting that this is a genus of coniferous plants of the Taxodiaceae family, the only remaining species is evergreen or red sequoia.
Sequoia sempervirens- one of three types of trees called "mahogany". This evergreen, monoecious tree, living up to 2000 years, is considered the tallest tree in the world, reaching a height of 112 m and 7 m thick at the base. The sequoia tree is also the heaviest - it weighs more than 2000 tons. It is believed that the name “sequoia” was given in honor of the Cherokee Indian leader Sequoyah, but this is not known for sure.
Look what a sequoia tree looks like in the photo, which shows the types of wood, branches, leaves, etc.:
The crown is conical, the branches grow horizontally or with a slight downward slope.
Continuing the description of the sequoia tree, we can say that its 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”), darkens over time.
Root system consists of shallow, widely spreading lateral roots.
The proposed description of the sequoia tree and the photo clearly illustrate the majesty of the coniferous plant:
The leaves are 15–25 mm long, elongated and flat on young trees, with arrows in the shady lower crown of old trees and scale-like 5–10 mm long at the top of the crown of old trees.
Seeds are ovoid, 15–32 mm in length, with 15–25 spirally twisted scales; pollination occurs at the end of winter, maturation after 8–9 months. Each fruit contains 3–7 seeds, each of which is 3–4 mm long and 0.5 mm wide. The seeds fall out when the fruit dries and opens.
The cones are almost spherical or oval, red-brown, 2–3 cm long, 1.5–2 cm wide, ripen in the first year, open and remain on the tree.
A photo illustrating the description of sequoia and its characteristics allows us to understand how different this plant is from the conifers we are used to:
What does a sequoia coniferous tree look like?
The sequoia coniferous tree grows in California along the coast Pacific Ocean. Average heights are 30–750 m above sea level, sometimes growing close to the shore, sometimes climbing 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 fog regularly occurs. Trees growing above the fog layer, above 700 m, are shorter and smaller due to drier, windier and cooler growing conditions.
Grows together with Douglas fir, .
Cultivation. In Europe, in plantings from the middle of the 19th century, in Russia it first appeared in St. Petersburg. Bred in countries with a maritime climate. Promising for the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus south of Sochi.
Reproduction. Seeds, cuttings, root shoots.
Growing conditions. Grows best in deep, fresh, light soils, in a humid maritime climate with frequent fogs.
Usage. Single, group, alley plantings. Durable, rot-resistant, beautiful wood is used in underwater structures, various types of buildings, and home decoration. Decorative forms: with bluish leaves 'Glauca', with hanging shoots 'Pendula', etc.
See what a sequoia looks like in the illustrations presented on this page:
Interesting facts: the largest sequoia trees in the world (with photos)
Interesting facts about sequoia can begin to be listed with the fact that fossil samples indicate that these giant trees existed already in Jurassic period, between 208 and 144 million years ago, and then occupied large areas in the northern hemisphere. Now they grow in a relatively small region stretching 450 km from south end Sierra Nevada in California north to the Klamath Mountains in Southern Oregon. The size of these forests has now been greatly reduced as a result of active exploitation. Currently, redwoods are primarily found in two protected areas. Humboldt Redwoods National Park declared natural heritage, occupies a space of 425 sq. km, and Sequoia National Park and Biosphere Reserve - 1629 sq. km.
The most big tree sequoias in the world from those currently growing - Stratospheric Giant in the Humboldt Redwoods National Park, its height is 112.83 m - last time measured in 2004 (in August 2000 - 112.34 m, in 2002 - 112.56 m).
The most tall tree of all times - Giant Dyerville- also located in the Humboldt Redwoods, its height was measured after its fall in March 1991 to be 113.4 m, and its age was estimated to be 1600 years.
Of the growing trees, 15 are more than 110 m in height. 47 trees - more than 105 m in height. It is said that the height of the tree, cut down in 1912, was 115.8 m.
The most voluminous tree - Sequoia General Sherman; its volume is 1487 cubic meters. m. They say that the sequoia, cut down in 1926, had a volume of 1794 cubic meters. m, but this fact not verified.
The tallest non-red tree - 100.3 m in height - dugnas spruce.
Look at the largest sequoias in the photo, where interesting specimens are presented that demonstrate the growth capabilities of this crop:
Is there a limit to the height of trees?
In 2004, the journal Nature wrote that the maximum theoretical height of the California sequoia (and any other tree) is limited by gravity and is equal to 122–130 m. American botanists came to the conclusion that not a single tree can overcome this mark. He simply does not have the strength to pump out enough moisture from the soil and deliver it to the top through the capillaries. It is known that the branches at the top of the tallest trees experience a constant lack of moisture and are not able to fully develop, and the leaves at the very top are always much smaller than those located in the thick of the crown.
Sequoia dendron is grown as an ornamental plant in many countries around the world. It is especially good at the age of 80-100 years with a dark green, regularly pyramidal crown starting from the ground and a translucent reddish trunk. With age, the correctness of the crown is disrupted, the trunk becomes bare and thickens, and the tree takes on a monumental appearance.
Having been brought to Europe back in 1853, the sequoia dendron has taken root well in the parks and gardens of its southwestern part. Its seeds came to our country in 1858. The first trees were planted in the Nikitsky Botanical Garden, then on the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus and in Central Asia. And although they grow slower under these conditions than in their homeland, they nevertheless reach quite impressive sizes. Thus, seventy-year-old specimens grow to a height of 30 m or more (with a diameter of over 1 m).
Unlike sequoia (“redwood”), sequoia dendron is also called “Sierra redwood.” Its wood, which does not rot, is used in construction work, for the manufacture of tiles and fences. Thick sequoia dendron bark (30-60 cm) is used as linings in fruit containers.
Sequoia has the most valuable wood among the taxodiaceae, with red heartwood and yellowish-white sapwood. It is interesting to note that the quality of wood varies not only depending on the location of growth, but also within the same trunk.
Light, dense, rot-resistant sequoia wood is widely used as a building and carpentry material, used in the manufacture of furniture, sleepers, telegraph poles and railway cars, paper and tiles. The absence of odor allows it to be used in the tobacco and food industries. It is used to make boxes and crates for cigars and tobacco, barrels for storing honey and molasses.
Because of the fine wood and rapid growth sequoia is grown not only as ornamental plant in gardens and parks, but also in forestry. Surprising is its ability to produce abundant growth, which does not differ in growth rate and life expectancy from seedlings grown from seeds. Redwood forests in America mostly consist of trees that arose in this way. Up to two new generations can be found around one old tree.
The discovery of a living representative of the Metasequoia genus is called the sensation of the century. Indeed, the fate of this plant is extraordinary. The genus Metasequoia was first described in 1941 by the Japanese paleobotanist S. Miki on the basis of fossil remains - cones and imprints of leafy shoots, long time attributed to two extinct species of the genus Sequoia:
sequoia two-row (S. disticha) And Japanese sequoia (S. japonica).
He was the first to notice that these two species differ perfectly from other types of sequoia by long-legged cones with a cross-shaped arrangement of scales and shoots with opposite leaves. The closeness of the new genus to the sequoia was nevertheless obvious, and Miki called it metasequoia (from the Greek meta - among, between).
Sequoia (lat. Sequoia) is one of the largest and most ancient trees on Earth. These woody plants The Cypress family can grow up to 76 meters (25-story building), and individual sequoia specimens reach a height of more than 110 m. Maximum age- more than three and a half thousand years. Their diameter at the level of the human chest is 9 meters.
The General Sherman tree in Sequoia National Park measures 1,478 m³, which is almost the height and weight of 21,800 68-pound people!
The name of the genus was given in honor of Sequoia (George Hess) ( Sequoyah, OK. 1770 - approx. 1843) - Indian chief of the Cherokee tribe, inventor of the Cherokee syllabary, founder of a newspaper in the Cherokee language.
Redwood tree (sequoia) in Mariposa Grove in Yosemite National Park.
Sequoia in the fog in King Canyon National Park. (Photo henryalien)
Moreau Rock is an excellent vantage point for admiring the redwood trees in Sequoia National Park in California. It is located in the center of the park. There are steps leading up to the rock so visitors can climb up. The view from there is simply mesmerizing. (Eero Siimson)
Baribals still live in the Sierra Mountains. A male baribal is much smaller than a grizzly bear and rarely weighs more than 180 kg. Females can reach 112.5 kg. Even though baribals are called black bears, they can be brown or even light-colored. (Eero Siimson)
Baribal crosses a road in Sequoia National Park. (Eero Siimson)
A tree that washed ashore on La Push Beach, Washington. (Phillip Lachman)
The same tree on La Push beach.
Sequoia, redwood tree in California national park. (Eero Siimson)
Squirrels are everywhere in Sequoia National Park.
The roots of a fallen sequoia tree are simply amazing. The root system consists of shallow, widely spreading lateral roots. (Eero Siimson)
And in this fallen sequoia tree they made a tunnel. (Eero Siimson)
Man against the background of a sequoia tree. (Veneranda DeLuca)
The base of the General Sherman tree, a true giant of the redwoods in the heart of Sequoia National Park. This is the largest tree in the world. (Eero Siimson)
The General Sherman tree is the largest tree in the world. Its height is 83.8 meters. In 2002, the volume of wood was 1487 m³. The tree grows in California's Sequoia National Park. It is believed to be 2300-2700 years old. (Eero Siimson)
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.
Interesting facts about Sequoia:
- Trees over 60 m high are very common, many are higher than 90 m.
- The most tall 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 tree is 115.5 meters (379.1 ft) tall. Researchers said woodpecker damage to the tree at the top prevented the sequoia from reaching a height of 115.8 meters (380 feet).
- The previous record holder of a currently growing tree was "Stratospheric Giant", growing in the Humboldt Redwoods Park in California. In August 2000, the tree's height was 112.34 m, previously in 2002 it was 112.56 m, and as of 2010 its height is 113.11 m (371.1 ft).
- Before Hyperion, the tallest tree of all time was the Dyerville Giant, also in Humboldt Redwoods Park. The height was measured after its fall in March 1991 and was 113.4 meters. The age was estimated to be about 1600 years.
- 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 Douglas fir (Menzies pseudo-tsuga). Menzies's tallest living pseudohemlock, 'Doerner Fir' (formerly known as 'Brummit fir'), is 99.4 m tall.
- In 2004, the journal Nature wrote that the maximum theoretical height of a redwood tree (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 volumetric tree among the red woods - "Del Norte Titan" (English) Russian. The volume of this sequoia is estimated at 1044.7 m³, height - 93.57 m, and diameter - 7.22 m. Among all trees growing on Earth only 15 giant sequoias(sequoiadendrons) are more massive than it. Sequoiadendrons (English: sequoia) are somewhat shorter, but they have a thicker trunk than redwoods. Thus, the volume of the largest specimen of the General Sherman sequoiadendron is 1487 m³.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plants
Superdepartment: Gymnosperms
Department: Conifers
Class: Conifers
Order: Pine
Family: Cypress
Subfamily:Sequoioideae
Genus: Sequoia (lat. Sequoia)
- Application
- Characteristics of wood
- Varieties used
Sequoiaceae occupy a special place in the cypress family, including several genera unique trees, the only representatives of which are Sequoia sempervirens - evergreen or red sequoia (Redwood) and Sequoiadendron - giant sequoiadendron.
Gigantic pine trees, as sequoias are also called, in ancient times they were distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere; today in our country several specimens of trees are planted in parks Black Sea coast, they are also grown in greenhouses or botanical gardens. But the only place where it was preserved natural habitat their habitat 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, not most eastern Texas and Maryland, east 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. Last option considered the most likely.
These trees prefer moist 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 common - up to 100–115 m. The width of the trunks corresponds 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.
Genus Metasequoia glyptostroboides - metasequoia glyptostroboides, growing in China, evergreen conifer. 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 these relics by the layers of wood weather conditions- amount of precipitation, ambient air temperature in the area - hundreds of years ago.
"General Sherman", "Hyperion", "Stratospheric Giant" and other, the most famous specimens of sequoia, are unique natural monuments, which you can admire in California national parks Thousands of tourists arrive in the US. Driving along the highway, laid through the groves of giants, can be considered a real journey through fairy tale world 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 redwood. 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 new young growth quickly rises in place of completely felled specimens.
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 spruce, but with greater resistance to fungal attack.
California redwood, as the sequoia is called, has earned considerable popularity. It grows 10 times faster than birch, 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. Has a pronounced contrasting pattern formed by darker tree 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 the high natural humidity. Dry wood has density 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 in natural conditions, 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 are capable of undergoing pre-drying in ovens, including small quantity sapwood, 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 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, mechanical cutting and hand tools. Holds screws, nails and staples well, can be etched with stains, sanded and polished, glued and painted.
Application
High performance and beautiful appearance allow you to use this wood anywhere: for exterior and interior work, in construction, furniture, turning industry, for the manufacture of facing 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 has no odor, so it can come into contact with food products, 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.