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Sequoiadendron giganteum

Common name:	Big Tree	Family:	Taxodiaceae
Author:	(Lindley.)J.Buchholz.	Botanical references:	11, 71, 200
Synonyms:	Wellingtonia gigantea (Lindl.), Washingtonia californica (Winslow.), Taxodium washingtonium (Winslow.), Sequoia wellingtonia (Seem.), Sequoia washingtoniana ((Winslow.)Sudworth.), Sequoia gigantea ((Lindl.)Decne.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	South-western N. America - California.
Habitat:	Well-drained but moist soils with an annual precipitation of 110 - 155cm a year[229]. Found on the west side of the Sierra Nevada between 1500 and 2500 metres[82].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	0	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	0

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	S. gigantea[H] S. giganteum f. pendulum[G] Wellingtonia pendula[G]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Giant Redwood [H], Giant Sequoia [H,DEN1,P,FEIS], Giant-sequoia [B],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	giganteum = very large
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Pinales. Redwood family

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen tree growing to 90m by 20m at a fast rate. It is hardy to zone 7. It is in leaf all year, in flower from March to April, and the seeds ripen all year. The scented flowers are monoecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but both sexes can be found on the same plant) and are pollinated by Wind. We rate it 0/5 for edibility and 0/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires dry or moist soil and can tolerate drought. The plant can tolerates strong winds but not maritime exposure.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Canopy.

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

None known

Other Uses

Wood.

Wood - coarse-grained, very light, soft, very durable, rather brittle. Used for shingle, construction, fence posts etc[11, 46, 61, 82, 229].

Cultivation details

An easily cultivated, fast-growing tree[81], it prefers a deep rich soil and a sunny sheltered position[1, 11, 81]. Thrives in any soil, site or exposure[81] including a hot dry position. Tolerates light shade only when very young[200], older plants strongly dislike shade[11]. Does not thrive on shallow chalk[200]. Established plants are drought resistant[200]. Dislikes atmospheric pollution[200].
This species is the biggest (but not the tallest) tree in the world[81] and can weigh up to 2000 tonnes[185, 200]. It is also a very long-lived tree in the wild, specimens have been found that are 3500 years old[81]. Fairly fast growing in height in Britain, annual increases of 60cm for the first 50 years or more are common[185]. Increase in girth can be spectacular, 7 - 10cm a year being the average[185]. Trees appear to be long-lived in Britain[185].
Best planted into its permanent position when no more than 30 - 50 cm tall[200].
Trees are notably susceptible to honey fungus[81, 200].
The foliage is hard and harsh to the touch and readily emits a scent of aniseed[185].
Cones take 2 years to mature[82]. In its native habitat the cones are retained on the tree with viable seed for up to 30 years[185]. The cones open after the heat of a forest fire[200].

Propagation

Seed - sow early spring in a cold frame in light shade. Seed can also be sown as soon as it is ripe in a greenhouse. Germination rates are usually very low[11], two months cold stratification might help[113]. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots once they are large enough to handle and grow them on in a cold frame for their first winter, planting them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer. Plants will require some protection from cold and spring frosts for their first year or two outdoors[78].
If there are sufficient seeds, they can be sown in a lightly shaded outdoor bed in late March[78]. Grow them on for two years in the seed bed before planting them out into their permanent positions in late autumn or early spring.

Scent

Leaves: Crushed: The foliage is hard and harsh to the touch and readily emits a scent of aniseed.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[V] Images from the Vascular Plant Image Gallery of the Texas A& M Bioinformatics Working Group.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[C] Taxon data. from the CalFlora database.
Images from the CalPhoto database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database
[DEN] Data _ Photos (Good Identification info) from the Virginia Tech's Dendrology Deptarments' Tree Fact Sheets.
[FEIS] Data (Uses, Ecology, Fire Effects) from the USDA Forestry Service Fire Effects Information System.

References for Sequoiadendron gigantea (a possible synonym).

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database

References for the family Taxodiaceae.

[CHINA] Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[11] Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[71] Munz. A California Flora. University of California Press 1959
An excellent flora but no pictures. Not for the casual reader.

[78] Sheat. W. G. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. MacMillan and Co 1948
A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.

[81] Rushforth. K. Conifers. Christopher Helm 1987 ISBN 0-7470-2801-X
Deals with conifers that can be grown outdoors in Britain. Good notes on cultivation and a few bits about plant uses.

[82] Sargent. C. S. Manual of the Trees of N. America. Dover Publications Inc. New York. 1965 ISBN 0-486-20278-X
Two volumes, a comprehensive listing of N. American trees though a bit out of date now. Good details on habitats, some details on plant uses. Not really for the casual reader.

[113] Dirr. M. A. and Heuser. M. W. The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation. Athens Ga. Varsity Press 1987 ISBN 0942375009
A very detailed book on propagating trees. Not for the casual reader.

[185] Mitchell. A. F. Conifers in the British Isles. HMSO 1975 ISBN 0-11-710012-9
A bit out of date (first published in 1972), but an excellent guide to how well the various species of conifers grow in Britain giving locations of trees.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[229] Elias. T. The Complete Trees of N. America. Field Guide and Natural History. Van Nostrand Reinhold Co. 1980 ISBN 0442238622
A very good concise guide. Gives habitats, good descriptions, maps showing distribution and a few of the uses. It also includes the many shrubs that occasionally reach tree proportions.

[245] Genders. R. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale. London. 1994 ISBN 0-7090-5440-8
An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
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