Mammoth tree - giant sequoia - sequoiadendron. Mammoth tree - giant sequoia - sequoiadendron Heat-loving guest of Alushta - sequoia

One of the tallest (up to 135 m) trees on the planet is the sequoia, or mammoth tree. In height it is second only to eucalyptus.[...]

The giant sequoiadendron was described in 1853. After the discovery of the mammoth tree by Europeans, its name changed several times. The giant sequoiadendron captured the imagination of the inhabitants of the Old World, and it was given names greatest people. Thus, the famous English botanist D.L.L.I., who first described this plant, calls it Wellingtonia in honor of the English Duke of Wellington, hero of the Battle of Waterloo. The Americans, in turn, proposed the name Washingtonia (or Washington sequoia), in honor of the first US President D. Washington, who led the liberation movement against the British. But since the names Washingtonia and Wellingtonia had already been previously assigned to other plants, in 1939 this genus received the name sec-voyadephdrone.[...]

Modern taxodiaceae include a number the most interesting plants. Among the first is the sequoiadendron or mammoth tree (Sequoiadendron giganteum) - one of the largest and longest-living plants in the world. Second in height only to the evergreen sequoia and one of the species of eucalyptus, in particular the willow eucalyptus (Eucalyptus salicifolia) from Australia, the sequoiadendron undoubtedly exceeds them in trunk thickness. [...]

The climate became more humid, and all the land was overgrown with abundant vegetation. The predecessors of today's cypresses, pines and mammoth trees appeared in the forests.[...]

The most famous representative of taxodia is undoubtedly the famous giant sequoiadendron (Sequoiadendron gigan-teum), also called the mammoth tree because of its gigantic size and the external resemblance of its huge hanging branches to the tusks of a mammoth. In terms of size and anatomical and morphological characteristics, the evergreen sequoia (Sequoia sempervirens) is close to it. Both of these plants were widespread throughout the northern hemisphere during the late Cretaceous and Tertiary periods. The remains of forests with their participation, which once occupied vast spaces, are now preserved only in a limited area of ​​the west North America. Sequoia evergreen still forms quite extensive forested areas on a narrow strip of the Pacific coast from Southwestern Oregon to the Santa Claus Ridge in California (at an altitude of 600-900 m). Giant sequoiadendron in separate small groves (about 30 of them) is found only on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada in California (at an altitude of 1500-2000 m).[...]

If eucalyptus trees are characterized by significant plasticity in adapting to soil conditions, then we can already expect a large variety in the development of eucalyptus stands and tree sizes. Indeed, on the one hand, we meet eucalyptus trees, which surpass in height all other tree species in the world, even sequoia and mammoth wood. On the other hand, in the mountains, on the border of forest vegetation and on poor soils, eucalyptus trees begin to sharply decrease in size and become gnarled, relatively low-growing trees.[...]

However, in Polkarpicho plants, the transition to the formation of reproductive organs does not directly accelerate the aging process, and they have the ability to continue! growth, and the duration of the stages of reproduction and old age is sometimes so long that plants live up to 2000 years (cypresses, yews and cedars) and even up to 5000 years (mammoth trees).[...]

Ontogenesis, or individual development, of plants begins from the moment of fertilization of the egg or the appearance of a rudimentary night in the reproductive organs and tissues of the mother plant and ends with the death of the plant. Thus, ontogeny is full cycle the life activity of a plant, includes all its life processes and manifestations and continues, depending on the type of plant, from 5-6 years for miniature ephemerals to 3-5 thousand years for the giants of the plant kingdom - mammoth trees, cedars and other species.[ .. .]

Ontogenesis (from Greek - existence and origin) - the individual development of an organism from the moment of formation to its natural completion life cycle(until death or cessation of existence in its former capacity). The term was introduced by E. Haeckel in 1866. Ontogenesis is the process of development and implementation hereditary information, embedded in germ cells. In plants in general it depends more on conditions natural environment than in animals. In representatives of different species of living organisms, the duration of ontogenesis varies (Table 21). Life expectancy intervals fluctuate especially sharply in plants, in particular, long-lived (age up to 4,000-5,000 years) are baobab, dragon tree, mammoth tree (sequoia), bristlecone pine of California, etc. Some arctic plants, despite extreme conditions, live relatively long: the maximum age of a dwarf birch is 80 years, polar willow - 200 years, blueberry - 93 years, etc.

For those who saw a sequoia for the first time, it will seem like something magical, coming from a children's fairy tale. Scientific name - giant sequoiadendron (Sequoiadendron giganteum) or sequoia, but it also has another name - mammoth tree . It is truly insane in size, yes, and in appearance the branches of the tree are very similar to the tusks of a mammoth. The average diameter of a giant can reach up to 10 meters, and the height of some specimens exceeds 110 meters.

It seems that redwoods have a fairly long history of existence on Earth, and similar forests of mammoth trees already existed during the time of dinosaurs. Then they grew all over the planet, and today they are natural habitat limited to a strip of the foggy coast of Northern California (hence the name - evergreen sequoia, or Californian - Sequoia sempervirens) and an area in the Sierra Nevada mountains.

The average age of giant sequoias is difficult to say exactly; it is estimated to be 3-4 thousand years old, although some are 13 thousand years old!

After mammoth tree was discovered by Europeans, its name changed several times. Thus, the famous British botanist D. Lindley, who first spoke about this plant, called it Wellingtonia in honor of the Duke of Wellington, hero of the Battle of Waterloo. The Americans, in turn, proposed to name washingtonia(or Washington redwood), in honor of the first president D. Washington. But since the names Washingtonia and Wellingtonia had previously been assigned to other plants, in 1939 this species received the name Sequoiadendron.

Unusual facts:

A living redwood that has been felled will continue to try to grow using its shoots. If nothing prevents this, the shoots facing upward will turn into independent trees, and many groups of redwood trees got their start in this way. A “cathedral” or family of trees is precisely the trees that grew from the undead remains of the trunk of a fallen sequoia, and since they grew along the perimeter of the former stump, they form a circle. If you analyze the genetic material from the cells of these trees, you will find that it is the same in all of them and in the stump from which they grew.

Poplars are short-lived: on average, they live no more than 100 years. But in terms of growth speed, these are record holders among trees. So, black poplar, or sedge,...

The life of the inhabitants of the planet Pandora from the film Avatar directly depended on sacred tree. If it dies, they will die too. In Madagascar they are sure: how...

> > >

One of the natural attractions of Alushta is the mammoth tree, the giant sequoia, unfortunately, not all tourists who come here on vacation visit it. Although this amazing tree It’s clearly worth standing under its crown, admiring the unusual branches and picking up an elegant pine cone.

One of the miracles that amazed the first European settlers in North America were pines of simply unimaginable size - giant sequoia (sequoia, mammoth tree). They reach a height of 120 meters, a girth of 10-15 meters, and live more than 2000 years. How much more is unknown; it is assumed that 4 and 5 thousand are not the limit.

Once upon a time, such pines were common in the territory of what is now Eurasia, but the climate changed, and they were replaced by other species. Fortunately, groves of relicts have been preserved in California, and not all of them were cut down by shameless pale-faced aliens. Some giants were lucky to be in natural parks, where they are studied and protected.

The heat-loving guest of Alushta - sequoia

From North America, sequoiadendron seeds found their way into European botanical gardens, and from there they quickly began to spread throughout Eurasia. They are also present in Russia, but in small quantities - the climate of the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus suited the heat-loving giants and. But here they feel great and the specimens planted in the 19th century have long outstripped all the surrounding trees.

One of the largest sequoiadendrons in Crimea grows in Alushta on the territory of a small vineyard owned by a local winery. If you are in the city, be sure to visit this huge pine tree, which already has several girths in diameter.

But that’s why it was called a mammoth tree - the branches extending from the trunk clearly resemble mammoth tusks:

It is interesting that the huge sequoia, which, it would seem, should grow long needles and huge cones to match its size, has needles of normal sizes, and the cones are even smaller than ordinary pine or spruce.

Also, these North American guests can be found in, in, on the slopes of Chatyr-Dag and in some other places in Crimea.

Probably very tall and with a very thick trunk, if that’s what it’s called, many of us will decide. Few Russian residents have seen it. After all, it grows far overseas, in Central America.

Indeed, the sequoia dendron, or mammoth tree, can be up to 100 meters high with a trunk diameter of up to 10 m. This is difficult to imagine. A tree that is taller than itself tall house! And how shocked the Europeans were when they saw such a forest! It was in 1762 in the south of North America, on the Pacific coast.

The tree was named sequoia by the Austrian botanist Stefan Endlicher in honor of the outstanding leader of the American Iroquois tribe Sequoia. Now botanists call it sequoia dendron.

This tree lives for a very long time. They say the age is both 3 and 4 thousand years. IN at different ages Sequoia dendron looks different. young tree, about a hundred years old, looks like a dark green pyramid. The translucent reddish trunk is covered with branches from the very ground to the top. Over time, the trunk becomes exposed and thick, and then becomes gigantic.

It is known that thirty people can easily fit on one stump of the Mammoth tree. And in one of the parks in America, a tunnel has been punched through its trunk, through which cars can freely pass.

Now there are only 500 of these trees left. They are protected, they are even given their own names, for example “Father of the Forests”, “General Grant”. Its red wood does not rot, and this was one of the reasons for the destruction of these trees.

Sequoia evergreen is a relative of Sequoia dendron, but is slightly smaller in size. Its wood is highly prized. It is also red and does not rot. Mahogany furniture is redwood furniture.

Sequoia grows very quickly, and forests of these beautiful trees are grown in America.

Sequoia dendron giant and sequoia evergreen differ from each other in the shape of their leaves and the size of their cones. Sequoia has narrow leaves and from a distance it seems like there are needles on the branches. Its branch is fluffier than that of the Mammoth tree, whose leaves are more like scales.

Evergreen sequoias have taken root on the shores of the Black Sea, in the Crimea and in the Caucasus.

In the autumn of 1912, near the village of Rhynie in Scotland, the country doctor W. Mackey, who also studied geology for his own pleasure, made a cut in the rock and suddenly saw perfectly preserved plant remains. On a bare, thin stem sat somewhat elongated balls with thick walls. As it turned out later, it was the oldest plant on Earth. It lived around...

There are seeds that germinate easily and quickly, such as maple, cereal, sunflower, lettuce, and weeds. But in almost all flowering plants the seeds are not able to germinate immediately. In order for them to sprout, they need to be placed in special conditions. Legumes and plants from arid areas simply need to be wetted before sowing, as they have a hard skin, and put...

In winter, larch looks like a dried spruce: bare branches, without needles, grayish bark covered with cracks. In spring, the branches of the tree are covered with green needles. Having touched them, you are surprised - they are soft, tender, not prickly at all. They turn golden yellow in the fall and fall off in the winter. This is the advantage of larch over others coniferous trees. After all, perennial needles become polluted, which makes it difficult for the plant to breathe and...

The bright yellow flowers of St. John's wort open in midsummer. It grows in damp places in meadows and swamps, and even just in shallow water near river banks, and in sand, and on rocky areas, and in bushes, and near roads. It can be found high in the mountains, on alpine meadows. Bright flowers, but devoid of nectar...

Mosses and bryophytes are a special division of the plant kingdom. This higher plants, however, they do not have roots, and we can only talk about leaves and stems conditionally. Most big class mosses are local-stem. They grow everywhere - from the Arctic to the Antarctic. The stems of these mosses are covered with leafy outgrowths various shapes. The leaf is sometimes wrapped and accumulates in this microscopic cavity...

Prickly raspberry bushes are so common that we notice them only at the end of July, when the berries are ripe. But pay attention to those shoots on which the raspberries ripen. They consist of two parts: a long red stem coming out of the ground, and short green branches with berries that grew on it. This red twig grew in the past...

In Asia and the Mediterranean, the fig tree is the most common plant. It gives people the most valuable food product - figs. It is also called fig or wineberry. Figs contain a lot of sugar and also contain vitamins A, B1, B2, C. In the Bible, an ancient religious book, the fig tree is a symbol of fertility. From 20 to 100 kg of fruits are collected from one tree. Fig tree…

Look at the groundnut pod. It is very similar to a pea and bean pod. And groundnuts, or peanuts, belong to the same family - legumes. Both the bush and the peanut flowers remind us of a very familiar plant - the pea. But that's where the similarities end. A peanut flower on a long stalk emerges from the axil at the base of the leaf petiole, attached...

We know that there is such an aromatic variety of apples with a specific taste - anise, that there are anise liqueurs, liqueurs and anise caramel. But perhaps few people know what kind of plant this is – anise. Anise, or star anise, is a shrub or low tree with aromatic, fragrant, leathery leaves. Both the leaves and bark of star anise secrete a secretion that...

Laurel evergreen - this is what botanists call this low evergreen tree or bush. It has beautiful, fragrant leaves covered with a dense shiny skin. IN Ancient Greece laurel was considered a sacred plant and was planted near temples dedicated to the god Apollo. Laurel was sung by poets. Heroes, victorious warriors, poets, and emperors were crowned with a wreath of its leaves. An ancient Greek myth tells that the most beautiful of...

SEQUOIADENDRON GIANT(Sequoiadendron giganteum), also called the mammoth tree because of its gigantic size and the external resemblance of its huge hanging branches to the tusks of a mammoth, is undoubtedly the most famous representative.

Giant sequoiadendron occurs in separate small groves (about 30 of them) only on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada in California (at an altitude of 1500-2000 m). The giant sequoiadendron was described in 1853. After the discovery of the Mammoth tree by Europeans, its name changed several times.


The giant sequoiadendron captured the imagination of the inhabitants of the Old World, and it is given the names of the greatest people. Thus, the famous English botanist D. Lindley, who first described this plant, calls it Wellingtonia in honor of the Englishman Duke of Wellington, hero of the Battle of Waterloo.

The Americans, in turn, proposed the name Washingtonia (or Washington sequoia), in honor of the first US President D. Washington. But since the names Washingtonia and Wellingtonia had already been previously assigned to other plants, in 1939 this genus received the name Sequoiadendron.

Giant sequoiadendron is an unusually majestic and monumental tree, reaching a height of 80-100 m, with a trunk up to 10 m in diameter, different amazing longevity. The question of the maximum age of sequoiadendron still remains unresolved: they call it 3 and 4 thousand years.
Because of their durable, rot-resistant wood, sequoiadendrons in their homeland have been rapaciously exterminated since the time of the first explorers and gold seekers. The remaining trees to date, and there are only about 500 of them, have been declared protected.

The largest sequoiadendrons have their own names: “Father of Forests”, “General Sherman”, “General Grant” and others. The first of them, now no longer existing, reached, as is clear from its descriptions, a height of 135 m with a trunk diameter at the base of 12 m.


It is estimated that the Sequoiadendron, known as General Sherman, contains about 1500 m3 of wood, with a height of 83 m and a trunk diameter at the base of the tree of 11 m.

To transport it would require a train of 20-25 wagons. An orchestra and three dozen dancers can easily fit on the cut of another tree. Tunnels made in the lower parts of trunks are also known (for example, such a tunnel has existed in Yosemite Park since 1881). Cars pass through it freely.


Sequoiadendron as ornamental plant bred 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, sequoiadendron 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 Nikitsky botanical garden, then - to Black Sea coast Caucasus and 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”), Sequoiadendron is also called “Sierra redwood.”
(c) http://www.floranimal.ru/pages/flora/s/5581.html

Because of their durable, rot-resistant wood, sequoiadendrons in their homeland have been rapaciously exterminated since the time of the first explorers and gold seekers.


The remaining trees to date, and there are only about 500 of them, have been declared protected. The largest sequoiadendrons have their own names: “Father of Forests”, “General Sherman”, “General Grant” and others.

The first of them, now defunct, reached, as is clear from its descriptions, a height of 135 m with a trunk diameter at the base of 12 m. It is estimated that the Sequoiadendron, known as "General Sherman", contains about 1500 m3 of wood, with height 83 m and trunk diameter at the base of the tree equal to 11 m. To transport it would require a train of 20-25 cars.

John Muir and Theodore Roosevelt in the National Park

Sequoia- second oldest national natural parks USA. It was established on September 25, 1890 to protect redwood trees in Giant Forest(Giant Forest), including the General Sherman Tree, currently the largest tree in the world. Redwoods are also native to Mineral King Valley and Mt. Whitney - the most high mountains USA outside of Alaska.

A small portion of what is now Kings Canyon National Park was called General Grant National Park in 1890. In 1940, the park's boundaries expanded significantly to include the South Fork of the Kings River and more than 456,000 acres of wilderness.


Overall size The national park, including Sequoia Park, now reaches just under 900 thousand acres.

People appeared in the forests of giant seiquoias soon after the end civil war. The General Grant Tree was discovered in 1862 by Joseph Hardin Thomas, and its name was coined in 1867 by a certain Lucretia Baker.

Five years later, on March 1, 1872, Ulysses Simpson Grant, the eighteenth President of the United States, approved legislation establishing Yellowstone as the world's first national park. The grove of giant (mammoth) seiquois named after Grant, as well as Yosemite Park, were approved by the same law.

From the history of the park


Captain Charles Young, Military Chief, National Park Sequoia, 1903
by Wm. C. Tweed


The new military leader arrived in Sequoia National Park in the summer of 1903 and immediately encountered many difficulties. Born in Kentucky during the Civil War, Charles Young was black, which was not welcomed in those parts.


He was the first African American to graduate high school for whites in Ripley, Ohio, and took part in a serious competition, as a result of which he was able to enter the famous Military school at West Point in 1884.


He was courageous and strong man and became the third black person to be educated at this prestigious educational institution. The conditions of this training were so harsh that he later wrote about it being the greatest test of his life.


In May 1903, National Park Sequoia was already thirteen years old, but he was still underdeveloped and difficult to reach. Since 1891, the management and development of the park was placed under the responsibility of the US Army, but due to lack of funding by Congress, almost nothing was done and much was stolen. The main thing is that there were no roads, the construction of which began only in 1900. But the work was carried out so slowly that in three years of work only 5 miles were laid.


Young immediately began to build new roads and widen old ones that even small wagons could not travel on. Soon the road ran to Moro Rock.
In 1904, Young was sent as a military attaché to Haiti. He later served in the same capacity in Liberia.
Young took part in the Expedition to Mexico in 1916. He died in 1923 and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery with full honors.


Although Colonel Charles Young served in the Park for only one working season, his efforts were not forgotten. He is remembered for his energy, tenacity and dignity. Expensive ones, built under his leadership, improved only a little, still serve today.

Walter Fry: Famous Man
Malinee Crapsey
(This article first appeared in The Sequoia Bark magazine in the summer of 1994)


"When I first met Judge Frye, under his own grand old trees, I knew I had met a rare man..."


In 1888, Walter Fry first encountered giant sequoias as a lumberjack and was shocked. Having spent more than five days with a team of lumberjacks cutting down and felling a single tree, he counted the growth layers on the trunk of the fallen giant.

He had to count several days and the answer was surprising: 3266 rings, that is, 3266 years of life.

Two years later local residents petitioned the US government to take the great seiquois under state protection. The third signature on the petition was that of Walter Frye.

President Grant

The Park Authority moved the Fry family over the course of several years from the San Joaquin Valley to Trois-Rivieres. Fry served as traffic controller, and in 1905 he became park ranger. By 1910, Fry had become chief of the Rangers, managing parks for military leadership.
In 1914, the Army finally relinquished control of the Park and Fpay was appointed its official civilian leader.

Mr. Fry's contribution to the development and improvement of the Park was so significant that in 1994 the Lodgepole Nature Center was named after him.

Giant Sequoia

In the world, sequoias grow naturally only on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountains, most often at elevations between 5,000 and 7,000 feet.


There are no more than 75 groves in total.
General Sherman's tree is between 2300 and 2700 years old. Its largest branch is almost seven feet in diameter.

Sequoias grow from seeds so small and light that they resemble oat flakes.

Take a closer look - there are tiny little people on the branches of the giant.

Translated independently from the page http://www.sequoia.national-park.com/info.htm#tree

Ten biggest giants:

Tree.................................... .......Location..... .........Height(ft) Circum(ft)
1. General Sherman.............Giant Forest........274.9........102.6
2. Washington .....................Giant Forest........254.7.......101.1
3. General Grant ....................Grant Grove ........268.1.......107.6
4. President ...........................Giant Forest .......240.9......... 93.0
5. Lincoln .....................Giant Forest .......255.8..... ....98.3
6. Stagg ...................................Alder Creek ........243.0. .......109.0
7. Genesis.........................Mountain Home..257.1......85.3
8. Boole..................................Conver se Basin..268.8....... .113.0
9. Ishi...................................Gi ant Kennedy.....248.1 .......105.1
10. Franklin.........................Giant Forest........223.8........ 94.8

From pre-park history:

To this day, there is debate among historians as to who was the first European to see Yosemite Valley. In the fall of 1833, Joseph Reddeford Walker may have been the first to see the valley - in his subsequent entries, he said that he led a group of hunters who crossed the Sierra Nevada and came close to the edge of the valley, which went down "more than a mile." His party was also the first to enter the Tuolomni Sequoiadendron grove, thus becoming the first non-natives to see these giant trees.

The part of the Sierra Nevada where the park is located for a long time was considered the border of settlements of Europeans, traders, hunters and travelers. However, this status changed in 1848 with the discovery of gold deposits at the foot of the mountains in the west. From this point on, trading activity in this territory increased sharply, resulting in the California Gold Rush. The newcomers began to destroy Natural resources, at the expense of which the Indian tribes lived.


The first reliably known white man to see the valley should be considered William P. Abrams, who on October 18, 1849 with his detachment carefully described some landmarks of the valley, but it is not known for sure whether he or anyone from his detachment entered the this land. However, there is no doubt that in 1850 Joseph Screech actually descended into the Hetch Hetchy Valley and, moreover, settled here.

The first systematic survey of the park was carried out in 1855 by the team of Allexey W. Von Schmidt as part of the state land survey program “Public Land Survey System”.

Mariposa Wars

Before the first Europeans appeared in this territory, the Sierra Miwok and Paiute Indian tribes lived here. By the time the first settlers arrived here, a group of Indians called themselves the Ahwahnechee lived in the Yosemite Valley.


As a result of the sharp increase in the flow of immigrants during the gold rush, armed conflicts began to arise with local tribes. To put an end to the constant skirmishes, in 1851, government troops were sent to the valley - the Mariposa Battalion under the command of Major James Savage with the aim of pursuing about 200 Avanichi Indians led by Chief Tenaya. In particular, the doctor Lafayette Bunnell was attached to the detachment, who later colorfully described his impressions of what he saw in the book “The Discovery of the Yosemite”. Bunnell is also credited with naming the valley after speaking with Chief Tenaya.


Bunnell wrote in his book that Chief Tenaya was the founder of the Pai-Ute colony of the Ah-wah-ne tribe. The neighboring Sierra Miwok Indians (like most of the white inhabitants who settled there) described the Awanichee Indians as a warlike tribe with whom they had constant territorial disputes; the tribe's name "yohhe'meti" literally meant "they are killers." Correspondence and notes written by the battalion's soldiers helped popularize the valley and its surrounding area.

Tenaya and the remnants of Avanichi were captured and their settlement burned. The tribe was forcibly transferred to a reservation near Fresno, California. Some were subsequently allowed to return to the valley, but after eight miners were attacked in 1852, they fled to the neighboring Mono tribe, who broke their hospitality and killed them.
(c) Weinheim