View source for Sequoiadendron giganteum

{{Short description|Species of tree native to North America}}
{{More footnotes needed|date=November 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2025}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Grizzly Giant Mariposa Grove.jpg
| image_caption = The "[[Grizzly Giant]]" in the [[Mariposa Grove]], [[Yosemite National Park]]
| status = EN
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name="iucn">{{cite iucn |title=''Sequoiadendron giganteum'' |name-list-style=amp |author1=Schmid, R. |author2=Farjon, A.|article-number=e.T34023A2840676 |year=2013}}</ref>
| status2 = G3
| status2_system = TNC
| status2_ref = <ref>{{cite web|year=2020|title=''Sequoiadendron giganteum'', Giant Sequoia|publisher=NatureServe|location=Arlington, Virginia|url=https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.130747/Sequoiadendron_giganteum|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211111091233/https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.130747/Sequoiadendron_giganteum |archive-date=November 11, 2021|access-date=November 11, 2021}}</ref>
| genus = Sequoiadendron
| species = giganteum
| authority = ([[John Lindley|Lindl.]]) [[John Theodore Buchholz|J.Buchh.]], 1939
| range_map = Sequoia Sequoiadendron range map.png
| range_map_caption = Natural range of the California members of the subfamily [[Sequoioideae]]
<div style="background-color:#ee9090">red – '''''Sequoiadendron giganteum'''''</div>
<div style="background-color:#90ee90">green – ''[[Sequoia sempervirens]]''</div>
}}

'''''Sequoiadendron giganteum''''' (also known as the '''giant sequoia''', '''giant redwood''', '''Sierra redwood''' or '''Wellingtonia)''' is a species of [[conifer]]ous [[tree]], classified in the family [[Cupressaceae]] in the subfamily [[Sequoioideae]]. Giant sequoia specimens are the largest trees on Earth.<ref name=usda>{{cite web|title=The Giant Sequoia National Monument|url=http://www.fs.usda.gov/r05/sequoia |website=usda.gov |publisher=United States Department of Agriculture – Forest service |access-date=December 6, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181119182124/https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/sequoia/home/?cid=stelprdb5394941 |archive-date=November 19, 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> They are native to the groves on the western slopes of the [[Sierra Nevada (U.S.)|Sierra Nevada]] mountain range of California but have been introduced, planted, and grown around the world.

The giant sequoia is listed as an [[endangered species]] by the [[International Union for Conservation of Nature|IUCN]] with fewer than 80,000 remaining in its native California.

The giant sequoia grow to an average height of {{Cvt|50–85|m}} with trunk diameters ranging from {{Cvt|6–8|m}}. Record trees have been measured at {{Cvt|94.8|m}} tall. The specimen known to have the greatest diameter at breast height is the [[General Grant (tree)|General Grant tree]] at {{Cvt|8.8|m}}. Giant sequoias are among the oldest living organisms on Earth. The oldest known giant sequoia is 3,200–3,266 years old.

Wood from mature giant sequoias is fibrous and brittle; trees would often shatter after they were felled. The wood is unsuitable for construction and instead is used for fence posts or match sticks. The giant sequoia is a very popular [[ornamental tree]] in many parts of the world.

==Etymology==
The etymology of the genus name was long presumed, initially in ''The Yosemite Book'' by [[Josiah Whitney]] in 1868,<ref name=cnps1>{{cite web |url=http://www.cnps.org/cnps/publications/fremontia/FremontiaV40.1_40.2.pdf |title=Endlicher's Sequence: The Naming of the Genus Sequoia |year=2012 |page=27 |website=cnps.org |publisher=California Native Plant Society |last=Lowe |first=Gary D. |access-date=January 15, 2017 |quote=Whitney states, 'The genus was named in honor of Sequoia* or Sequoyah, a Cherokee Indian'. |archive-date=August 9, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130809033608/http://www.cnps.org/cnps/publications/fremontia/FremontiaV40.1_40.2.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> to be in honor of [[Sequoyah]] (1767–1843), who was the inventor of the [[Cherokee syllabary]].<ref name=natcomp>{{cite book|title=Sierra Nevada – The Naturalist's Companion|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5-8gddnuk-gC&pg=PA55|date=June 1, 2000|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-92549-6|page=55}}</ref> An etymological study published in 2012 debunked that "American myth", concluding that Austrian [[Stephan Endlicher|Stephen L. Endlicher]] derived the name from the Latin word ''sequi'' (meaning ''to follow''), because the number of seeds per cone in the newly classified genus aligned in mathematical sequence with the other four genera in the suborder.<ref name=cnps2>{{cite web|url=http://www.cnps.org/cnps/publications/fremontia/FremontiaV40.1_40.2.pdf |title=Endlicher's Sequence: The Naming of the Genus Sequoia |year=2012 |page=33 |website=cnps.org |publisher=California Native Plant Society |last=Lowe |first=Gary D. |access-date=January 15, 2017 |quote=...the foregoing has shown that the name of the genus Sequoia as a tribute to the Cherokee linguist Sequoyah is an unsubstantiated opinion...Endlicher named the genus for the operation that he had conducted. The new genus fell in sequence with the other four genera in his suborder.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525094548/http://www.cnps.org/cnps/publications/fremontia/FremontiaV40.1_40.2.pdf|archive-date=May 25, 2017}}</ref>

==Description==
Giant sequoia specimens are the most massive individual trees in the world.<ref name=usda/> They grow to an average height of {{convert|50|–|85|m|ft|abbr=on}} with trunk diameters ranging from {{convert|6|–|8|m|ft|abbr=on}}. Record trees have been measured at {{convert|94.8|m|ft|abbr=on}} tall. Trunk diameters of {{convert|17|m|ft|abbr=on}} have been claimed via research figures taken out of context.<ref name="Flint 2002">{{Harvnb|Flint|2002}}</ref> The specimen known to have the greatest [[diameter at breast height]] is the [[General Grant Tree]] at {{convert|8.8|m|ft|abbr=on|1}}.<ref>{{cite book |last=Flint |first=Wendell D. |title=To Find the Biggest Tree |publisher=Sequoia National Forest Association |year=1987 |page=94}}</ref> Between 2014 and 2016, it is claimed that specimens of [[Sequoia sempervirens|coast redwood]] were found to have greater trunk diameters than all known giant sequoias – though this has not been independently verified or affirmed in any academic literature.<ref name="mdvaden.com">{{cite web |last=Vaden |first=M.D. |title=Coast Redwood Discovery. Sequoia sempervirens |url=http://www.mdvaden.com/redwood_year_discovery.shtml |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141219084820/http://www.mdvaden.com/redwood_year_discovery.shtml |archive-date=December 19, 2014 |access-date=May 18, 2016}}</ref> The trunks of coast redwoods taper at lower heights than those of giant sequoias which have more columnar trunks that maintain larger diameters to greater heights.

The oldest known giant sequoia is 3,200–3,266 years old based on [[dendrochronology]].<ref>{{cite conference |last=Harvey |first=H. Thomas |date=May 24–25, 1985 |title=Evolution and History of Giant Sequoia |url=https://www.fs.fed.us/psw/publications/documents/psw_gtr095/psw_gtr095_harvey.pdf |conference=Workshop on Management of Giant Sequoia |location=Reedley, California |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210416024255/https://www.fs.fed.us/psw/publications/documents/psw_gtr095/psw_gtr095_harvey.pdf |archive-date=April 16, 2021 |access-date=December 5, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Yosemite National Park (U.S. National Park Service) |title=Sequoia Research |url=https://www.nps.gov/yose/learn/nature/sequoia-research.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150304185239/https://www.nps.gov/yose/learn/nature/sequoia-research.htm |archive-date=March 4, 2015 |access-date=December 5, 2019 |website=www.nps.gov |language=en}}</ref> That tree has been verified to have the fourth-largest lifespan of any tree, after individuals of [[Pinus longaeva|Great Basin bristlecone pine]] and [[Fitzroya cupressoides|alerce]].<ref name="RMTRR">{{cite web |date=May 2019 |title=OldList, A Database Of Old Trees |url=http://www.rmtrr.org/oldlist.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130412091010/http://www.rmtrr.org/oldlist.htm |archive-date=April 12, 2013 |access-date=November 15, 2019 |work=Rocky Mountain Tree-Ring Research}}</ref> Giant sequoia bark is fibrous, furrowed, and may be {{convert|90|cm|ft|abbr=on|sigfig=1}} thick at the base of the columnar trunk. The sap contains [[tannic acid]], which provides significant protection from fire damage.<ref>{{cite book |last=Peattie |first=Donald Culross |author-link=Donald C. Peattie |title=A Natural History of Western Trees |publisher=[[Bonanza Books]] |year=1953 |location=New York |page=10}}</ref> The leaves are [[evergreen]], awl-shaped, {{convert|3|-|6|mm|frac=16|abbr=on}} long, and arranged spirally on the shoots.
[[File:Sequoiadendron giganteum MHNT.BOT.2004.0.191 (cropped).jpg|thumb|Mature cones and seed]]
The wood is famously resistant to decay. A "nearly complete" ''S. giganteum'' log has been discovered {{cvt|800|m|mi}} south of the [[Nelder Grove]] which gave a radiocarbon-14 date of 10,000 years.<ref>{{cite book |last=Willard |first=Dwight |title=Giant Sequoias of the Sierra Nevada |date=1994 |publisher=Self published |location=Berkeley, California |pages=66–67}}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=Self-published popular text; original scientific study would be preferable|date=September 2025}} Due to the longevity, fast growth, and large growth of this species, it also has high carbon storage potential for carbon sequestration.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cox |first1=Lauren E. |last2=York |first2=Robert A. |last3=Battles |first3=John J |date=May 15, 2021 |title=Growth and form of giant sequoia (''Sequoiadendron giganteum'') in a plantation spacing trial after 28 years. |journal=Forest Ecology and Management |volume=488 |article-number=119033 |pages=1–9 |doi=10.1016/j.foreco.2021.119033}}</ref>

The giant sequoia regenerates by [[seed]]. The seed [[Conifer cone|cones]] are {{convert|4|-|7|cm|frac=2|abbr=on}} long and mature in 18–20 months, though they typically remain green and closed for as long as 20 years. Each cone has 30–50 spirally arranged scales, with several seeds on each scale, giving an average of 230 seeds per cone. Seeds are dark brown, {{convert|4|-|5|mm|abbr=on|sigfig=2}} long, and {{convert|1|mm|abbr=on|sigfig=1}} broad, with a {{convert|1|mm|adj=on|sp=us|sigfig=1}} wide, yellow-brown wing along each side. Some seeds shed when the cone scales shrink during hot weather in late summer, but most are liberated by insect damage or when the cone dries from the heat of fire. The trees do not begin to bear cones until they are 12 years old.

Trees may produce sprouts from their stumps subsequent to injury, until about 20 years old; however, shoots do not form on the stumps of more mature trees as they do on coast redwoods. Giant sequoias of all ages may sprout from their [[Trunk (botany)|bole]]s when branches are lost to fire or breakage.

A large tree may have as many as 11,000 cones. Cone production is greatest in the upper portion of the canopy. A mature giant sequoia disperses an estimated 300,000–400,000 seeds annually. The winged seeds may fly as far as {{convert|180|m|ft|abbr=on}} from the parent tree.

Lower branches die readily from being shaded, but trees younger than 100 years retain most of their dead branches. Trunks of mature trees in groves are generally free of branches to a height of {{convert|20|-|50|m|abbr=on|-1}}, but solitary trees retain lower branches.
{{clear left}}

==Distribution==
[[File:A014, Sequoia National Park, California, USA, 1998.jpg|thumb|The [[Generals Highway]] passes between giant sequoias in [[Sequoia National Park]]]]
The natural distribution of giant sequoias is restricted to a limited area of the western [[Sierra Nevada (U.S.)|Sierra Nevada]], [[California]]. As a [[Paleoendemism|paleoendemic]] species,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=DeSilva |first1=Rainbow |last2=Dodd |first2=Richard S. |date=2016 |title=Variation in Genetic Structure and Gene Flow Across the Range of Sequoiadendron giganteum (giant sequoia) |url=https://www.fs.fed.us/psw/publications/documents/psw_gtr258/psw_gtr258_241.pdf |journal=Proceedings of the Coast Redwood Science Symposium |access-date=January 22, 2022 |archive-date=September 23, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210923042214/https://www.fs.fed.us/psw/publications/documents/psw_gtr258/psw_gtr258_241.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> they occur in scattered groves, with a total of 81 groves (see [[list of sequoia groves]] for a full inventory), comprising a total area of only {{convert|144.16|km2|acre|abbr=on}}. Nowhere does it grow in pure stands, although in a few small areas, stands do approach a pure condition. The northern two-thirds of its range, from the [[American River]] in [[Placer County, California|Placer County]] southward to the [[Kings River (California)|Kings River]], has only eight disjunct groves. The remaining southern groves are concentrated between the Kings River and the Deer Creek Grove in southern [[Tulare County, California|Tulare County]]. Groves range in size from {{convert|12.4|km2|acre|abbr=on}} with 20,000 mature trees, to small groves with only six living trees. Many are protected in [[Sequoia National Park|Sequoia]] and [[Kings Canyon National Park]]s and [[Giant Sequoia National Monument]].

The giant sequoia is usually found in a humid climate characterized by dry summers and [[snow]]y winters. Most giant sequoia groves are on granitic-based residual and [[alluvium|alluvial]] soils. The elevation of the giant sequoia groves generally ranges from {{convert|1400|-|2000|m|ft|abbr=on}} in the north, to {{convert|1700|-|2150|m|ft}} to the south. Giant sequoias generally occur on the south-facing sides of northern mountains, and on the northern faces of more southerly slopes.

High levels of reproduction are not necessary to maintain the present population levels. Few groves, however, have sufficient young trees to maintain the present density of mature giant sequoias for the future. The majority of giant sequoia groves are currently undergoing a gradual decline in density since European settlement.

===Pre-historic range===
While the present day distribution of this species is limited to a small area of California, it was once much more widely distributed in prehistoric times, and was a reasonably common species in North American and Eurasian coniferous forests until its range was greatly reduced by the last [[ice age]]. Older fossil specimens reliably identified as giant sequoia have been found in [[Cretaceous]] era sediments from a number of sites in North America and Europe, and even as far afield as New Zealand<ref>James E Eckenwalder. Conifers of the World, The Complete Reference. p. 586. Timber Press 2009. {{ISBN|978-0881929744}}.</ref> and Australia.<ref>Bryan G. Bowes. Trees and Forests, a colour guide. pp. 48–49. Manson Publishing 2010. {{ISBN|978-1840760859}}.</ref>

===Artificial groves===
[[File:Lake Fulmor (45623460051).jpg|thumb|[[Lake Fulmor]], featuring a small grove of giant sequoia trees (top center)]]
In 1974, a group of giant sequoias was planted by the [[United States Forest Service]] in the [[San Jacinto Mountains]] of [[Southern California]] in the immediate aftermath of a wildfire that left the landscape barren. The giant sequoias were rediscovered in 2008 by botanist Rudolf Schmidt and his daughter Mena Schmidt while hiking on Black Mountain Trail through Hall Canyon. [[Black Mountain Grove (Southern California)|Black Mountain Grove]] is home to over 150 giant sequoias, some of which stand over {{convert|6.1|m|ft|abbr=on}} tall. This grove is not to be confused with the [[Black Mountain Grove]] in the southern Sierra. Nearby [[Lake Fulmor#Flora|Lake Fulmor Grove]] is home to seven giant sequoias, the largest of which is {{convert|20|m|ft|abbr=on}} tall. The two groves are located approximately {{convert|175|mi|km|abbr=on}} southeast of the southernmost naturally occurring giant sequoia grove, [[Deer Creek Grove]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Schmidt|first1=Rudolf|last2=Mena|first2=Schmidt|title=Naturalization of Sequoiadendron giganteum (Cupressaceae) in Montane Southern California|date=2012|journal=Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany|volume=30|issue=1|pages=19–32|doi=10.5642/ALISO.20123001.04|s2cid=84948955|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Schmidt|first1=Rudolf|last2=Mena|first2=Schmidt|date=2013|title=Sequoiadendron giganteum (Cupressaceae) at Lake Fulmor, Riverside County, California.|url=http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1110&context=aliso|journal=Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany|volume=30|issue=2|pages=103–107|via=Scholarship @ Claremont|access-date=November 27, 2019|archive-date=October 20, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201020211515/https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1110&context=aliso|url-status=live}}</ref>

It was later discovered that the [[United States Forest Service]] had planted giant sequoias across Southern California. However, the giant sequoias of [[Black Mountain Grove (Southern California)|Black Mountain Grove]] and nearby [[Lake Fulmor#Flora|Lake Fulmor Grove]] are the only ones known to be reproducing and propagating free of human intervention. The conditions of the [[San Jacinto Mountains]] mimic those of the [[Sierra Nevada (U.S.)|Sierra Nevada]], allowing the trees to naturally propagate throughout the canyon.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://gizmodo.com/these-sequoia-trees-are-thriving-175-miles-south-of-the-1579409426|title=These Sequoia Trees Are Thriving 175 Miles South of Their Natural Range|website=Gizmodo|date=May 21, 2014|first=Nathan|last=Masters|access-date=April 15, 2018|archive-date=April 8, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180408205755/https://gizmodo.com/these-sequoia-trees-are-thriving-175-miles-south-of-the-1579409426|url-status=live}}.</ref>

==Ecology==
[[File:Sequoia trees.JPG|thumb|Two giant sequoias, [[Sequoia National Park]]. The right-hand tree bears a large fire scar at its base; fires do not typically kill the trees but do remove competing thin-barked species, and aid giant sequoia regeneration.]]

Giant sequoias are in many ways adapted to forest fires. Their bark is unusually fire resistant, and their cones will normally open immediately after a fire.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Quammen|first=David|date=December 1, 2012|title=Forest Giant|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/article/giant-sequoias|archive-url=https://archive.today/20211003081603/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/article/giant-sequoias|archive-date=October 3, 2021|access-date=January 14, 2022|website=nationalgeographic.com|language=en}}</ref> Giant sequoias are a [[pioneer species]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nps.gov/seki/learn/nature/giant-sequoias-and-fire.htm |title=Giant Sequoias and Fire |author=<!--Not stated--> |date= |website=Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks |publisher=National Park Service |access-date=August 26, 2021 |quote= |archive-date=August 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210824004759/https://www.nps.gov/seki/learn/nature/giant-sequoias-and-fire.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> and are having difficulty reproducing in their original habitat (and very rarely reproduce in cultivation) due to the seeds only being able to grow successfully in full sun and in mineral-rich soils, free from competing vegetation. Although the seeds can germinate in moist needle [[humus]] in the spring, these seedlings will die as the [[Forest floor|duff]] dries in the summer. They therefore require periodic [[wildfire]] to clear competing vegetation and soil humus before successful regeneration can occur. Without fire, shade-loving species will crowd out young sequoia seedlings, and sequoia seeds will not germinate. These trees require large amounts of water and are often concentrated near streams. Their growth is dependent on soil moisture.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Resources |first=University of California, Division of Agriculture and Natural |title=Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) |url=https://ucanr.edu/sites/forestry/Ecology/Identification/Coast_Redwood_Sequoia_sempervirens_198/ |access-date=May 20, 2024 |website=ucanr.edu |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Giant Sequoia Trees Face "Drying" Times {{!}} USDA |url=https://www.usda.gov/about-usda/news/blog/giant-sequoia-trees-face-drying-times |access-date=May 20, 2024 |website=www.usda.gov |language=en}}</ref> Squirrels, chipmunks, finches and sparrows consume the freshly sprouted seedlings, preventing their growth.<ref>{{cite book |last=Peattie |first=Donald Culross |author-link=Donald C. Peattie |title=A Natural History of Western Trees |year=1953 |publisher=[[Bonanza Books]] |location=New York |page=11}}</ref>

Fires also bring hot air high into the canopy via [[convection]], which in turn dries and opens the cones. The subsequent release of large quantities of seeds coincides with the optimal postfire [[seedbed]] conditions. Loose ground ash may also act as a cover to protect the fallen seeds from [[ultraviolet radiation]] damage. Due to fire suppression efforts and livestock grazing during the early and mid-20th century, low-intensity fires no longer occurred naturally in many groves, and still do not occur in some groves today. The suppression of fires leads to ground fuel build-up and the dense growth of fire-sensitive [[white fir]], which increases the risk of more intense fires that can use the firs as ladders to threaten mature giant sequoia crowns. Natural fires may also be important in keeping [[carpenter ant]]s in check.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Stephens |first1=Scott |last2=Finney |first2=Mark |title=Prescribed fire mortality of Sierra Nevada mixed conifer tree species: effects of crown damage and forest floor combustion |journal=Forest Ecology and Management |date=2002 |volume=162 |issue=3 |pages=261–271 |doi=10.1016/S0378-1127(01)00521-7|bibcode=2002ForEM.162..261S }}</ref>
In 1970, the [[National Park Service]] began controlled burns of its groves to correct these problems. Current policies also allow natural fires to burn. One of these untamed burns severely damaged the second-largest tree in the world, the [[Washington tree]], in September 2003, 45 days after the fire started. This damage made it unable to withstand the snowstorm of January 2005, leading to the collapse of over half the trunk.

In addition to fire, two animal agents also assist giant sequoia seed release. The more significant of the two is a [[longhorn beetle]] (''[[Phymatodes nitidus]]'') that lays eggs on the cones, into which the larvae then bore holes. Reduction of the vascular water supply to the cone scales allows the cones to dry and open for the seeds to fall. Cones damaged by the beetles during the summer will slowly open over the next several months. Some research indicates many cones, particularly higher in the crowns, may need to be partially dried by beetle damage before fire can fully open them. The other agent is the [[Douglas squirrel]] (''Tamiasciurus douglasi'') that gnaws on the fleshy green scales of younger cones. The squirrels are active year-round, and some seeds are dislodged and dropped as the cone is eaten.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hartesveldt |first1=Richard J. |last2=Harvey |first2=H. Thomas |year=1967 |title=The Fire Ecology of Sequoia Regeneration |url=http://www.nps.gov/seki/naturescience/upload/hh_tt67.pdf |journal=Tall Timbers Fire Ecology Conference |volume=7 |page=7 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203032112/http://www.nps.gov/seki/naturescience/upload/hh_tt67.pdf |archive-date=December 3, 2013 |access-date=November 23, 2013}}</ref>

More than 30 identified species of bird have been observed living in giant sequoia groves.<ref name="FEIS">{{cite web |last1=Habeck |first1=R. J. |title=Sequoiadendron giganteum |url=https://www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/plants/tree/seqgig/all.html |website=Fire Effects Information System |publisher=U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory |access-date=November 24, 2023 |date=1992 |archive-date=July 11, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230711224727/https://www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/plants/tree/seqgig/all.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Hartesveldt |first1=Richard J. |last2=Harvey |first2=H. Thomas |last3=Shellhammer |first3=Howard S. |last4=Stecker |first4=Ronald E. |title=The Giant Sequoia of the Sierra Nevada |date=1975 |publisher=U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service |location=Washington, D.C. |page=124 |url=https://archive.org/details/giant-sequoia/page/124 |access-date=November 24, 2023}}</ref>

==Genome==
The genome of the giant sequoia was published in 2020. The size of the giant sequoia genome is 8.125 Gbp (8.125 billion base pairs) which were assembled into eleven chromosome-scale scaffolds, the largest of any organism at the time of publication.<ref>{{cite press release |last=Carr |first=Robin |date=December 16, 2021 |title=Completed Redwood Genome Sequence Reveals Genes for Climate Adaptation and Offers Insights into Genetic Basis for Survival |url=https://apnews.com/press-release/news-direct-corporation/science-health-business-connecticut-genetics-e9cc1695da407a0f0376b1ec38f8aa70 |location= |publisher=Associated Press |agency=Landis Communications Inc. |access-date=December 30, 2021 |archive-date=December 30, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211230195255/https://apnews.com/press-release/news-direct-corporation/science-health-business-connecticut-genetics-e9cc1695da407a0f0376b1ec38f8aa70 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Scott |first1=Alison D |last2=Zimin |first2=Aleksey V |last3=Puiu |first3=Daniela |last4=Workman |first4=Rachael |last5=Britton |first5=Monica |last6=Zaman |first6=Sumaira |last7=Caballero |first7=Madison |last8=Read |first8=Andrew C |last9=Bogdanove |first9=Adam J |last10=Burns |first10=Emily |last11=Wegrzyn |first11=Jill |last12=Timp |first12=Winston |last13=Salzberg |first13=Steven L |last14=Neale |first14=David B |date= November 1, 2020 |title=A Reference Genome Sequence for Giant Sequoia |journal= G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics |volume=10 |issue=11 |pages=3907–3919 |doi=10.1534/g3.120.401612 |pmid=32948606 |pmc=7642918 }}</ref>

This is the first genome sequenced in the family [[Cupressaceae]], and it provides insights into disease resistance and survival for this robust species on a genetic basis. The genome was found to contain over 900 complete or partial predicted [[Hypersensitive response#NLR pairs and networks|NLR genes]] used by plants to prevent the spread of infection by microbial pathogens.

The [[Whole genome sequencing|genome sequence]] was extracted from a single fertilized seed harvested from a 1,360-year-old tree specimen in [[Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks|Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Park]] identified as SEGI 21. It was sequenced over a three-year period by researchers at [[University of California, Davis]], [[Johns Hopkins University]], [[University of Connecticut]], and [[Northern Arizona University]] and was supported by grants from [[Save the Redwoods League]] and the [[National Institute of Food and Agriculture]] as part of a species conservation, restoration and management effort.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/12/211217102859.htm |title=Coast redwood and sequoia genome sequences completed |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=December 17, 2021 |website=Science Daily |access-date=December 30, 2021 |quote=Research reveals genes for climate adaptation and insights into genetic basis for survival |archive-date=December 30, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211230195255/https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/12/211217102859.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Discovery and naming==
[[File:Giant sequoia exhibitionism.jpg|thumb|Shortly after their discovery by Europeans, giant sequoias were subject to much [[Exhibition tree|exhibition]]]]

===Discovery===
The giant sequoia first gained widespread attention in 1852 when grizzly hunter Augustus T. Dowd discovered the [[Discovery Tree]] in [[Calaveras Grove]], marking the species' first widely publicized discovery by non-natives.<ref name="Farquhar">{{cite journal |last=Farquhar |first=Francis P. |title=Discovery of the Sierra Nevada |journal=California Historical Society Quarterly |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=3–58 |year=1925 |url=http://www.yosemite.ca.us/library/exploration_of_the_sierra_nevada/ |doi=10.2307/25177743 |jstor=25177743 |hdl=2027/mdp.39015049981668 |hdl-access=free}}</ref> The tree was cut down in 1853 and [[Exhibition tree|exhibited]] across the United States. The story of Dowd's discovery gained further notoriety following a 1859 feature in ''[[Hutchings' Illustrated California Magazine]]'', which promoted tourism to the grove.<ref name="Tweed2016">{{cite book |last=Tweed |first=William C. |title=King Sequoia: The Tree That Inspired a Nation, Created Our National Park System, and Changed the Way We Think about Nature |date=October 1, 2016 |publisher=Heyday |page=16}}</ref>

Before Augustus T. Dowd's well-known discovery in 1852, there were three earlier encounters with giant sequoias. The first known mention of the giant sequoia by a [[European American]] was in 1833 by [[Zenas Leonard]], a member of the [[Joseph R. Walker]] Party, who recorded it in his diary. While Leonard did not specify a location, his travels likely took him through [[Calaveras Grove]], but this observation remained unnoticed.<ref name="Farquhar"/>

In 1850, John M. Wooster encountered a giant sequoia at Calaveras Grove and carved his initials into the bark of the "Hercules" tree.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://landscapeplants.oregonstate.edu/discovery-and-naming-sequoiadendron-giganteum-sierra-redwood |title=The "discovery" and naming of Sequoiadendron giganteum, Sierra Redwood |publisher=Oregon State University |access-date=November 1, 2023}}</ref> A year later, in 1851, [[Robert A. Eccleston|Robert Eccleston]] traveled through [[Nelder Grove]] with a small detachment of the [[Mariposa Battalion]] during the [[Mariposa War]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Eccleston |first=Robert |date=1957 |title=The Mariposa War, 1850–1851 |editor=C. Gregory Crampton |publisher=University of Utah Press}}</ref> Similar to Leonard's experience, these encounters also received no publicity.

===Naming===
The first scientific naming of the species was by [[John Lindley]] in December 1853, who named it ''Wellingtonia gigantea'', without realizing this was an invalid name under the [[International Code of Botanical Nomenclature|botanical code]] as the name ''Wellingtonia'' had already been used earlier for another unrelated plant (''[[Wellingtonia arnottiana]]'' in the family [[Sabiaceae]]). The name "Wellingtonia" has persisted in England as a common name.<ref>{{cite book|first=R.|last=Ornduff|editor-last=Aune|editor-first=P. S.|year=1994|title=Proceedings of the Symposium on Giant Sequoias|publisher=US Dept. of Agriculture Forest Service (Pacific Southwest Research Station)|id=General Technical Report PSW-GTR-151|url=http://www.fs.fed.us/psw/publications/documents/psw_gtr151/psw_gtr151_04_ornduff.pdf|chapter=A Botanist's View of the Big Tree|access-date=February 8, 2013|archive-date=October 29, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111029022337/http://www.fs.fed.us/psw/publications/documents/psw_gtr151/psw_gtr151_04_ornduff.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> The following year, [[Joseph Decaisne]] transferred it to the same genus as the coast redwood, naming it ''Sequoia gigantea'', but this name was also invalid, having been applied earlier (in 1847, by [[Stephan Ladislaus Endlicher|Endlicher]]) to the coast redwood. The name ''Washingtonia californica'' was also applied to it by Winslow in 1854; this name too is invalid, since it was already used for the [[Arecaceae|palm]] genus ''[[Washingtonia]]''.

In 1907, it was placed by [[Carl Ernst Otto Kuntze]] in the otherwise [[fossil]] genus ''[[Steinhauera]]'', but doubt as to whether the giant sequoia is related to the fossil originally so named makes this name invalid.

These nomenclatural oversights were corrected in 1939 by [[John Theodore Buchholz]], who also pointed out the giant sequoia is distinct from the coast redwood at the genus level and coined the name ''Sequoiadendron giganteum'' for it.

The etymology of the genus name has been presumed{{mdash}}initially in ''The Yosemite Book'' by [[Josiah Whitney]] in 1868<ref name=cnps1/>{{mdash}}to be in honor of [[Sequoyah]] (1767–1843), who was the inventor of the [[Cherokee syllabary]].<ref name=natcomp/> An etymological study published in 2012, however, concluded that the name was more likely to have originated from the Latin ''sequi'' (meaning ''to follow'') since the number of seeds per cone in the newly classified genus fell in mathematical sequence with the other four genera in the suborder.<ref name=cnps2/>

[[John Muir]] wrote of the species in about 1870:<blockquote>
"Do behold the King in his glory, King Sequoia! Behold! Behold! seems all I can say. Some time ago I left all for Sequoia and have been and am at his feet, fasting and praying for light, for is he not the greatest light in the woods, in the world? Where are such columns of sunshine, tangible, accessible, terrestrialized?'<ref>{{cite book|last1=Muir|first1=John|editor1-first=Terry|editor1-last=Gifford|title=John Muir: His Life and Letters and Other Writings|date=November 1996|publisher=Mountaineers Books|isbn=0-89886-463-1|pages=[https://archive.org/details/johnmuirhislifel0000muir/page/139 139–140]|url=https://archive.org/details/johnmuirhislifel0000muir/page/139}}</ref></blockquote>

==Uses==
[[File:Albert_Bierstadt_-_Giant_Redwood_Trees_of_California_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|[[Albert Bierstadt]]'s ''Giant Redwood Trees of California'', 1874 – a large [[oil on canvas]] [[painting]] in the [[Berkshire Museum]], [[Massachusetts]], [[United States]]<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=Berkshire Eagle|url=https://www.berkshireeagle.com/stories/giant-redwood-trees-will-fall-at-berkshire-museum-despite-interpretive-value,543640|title='Giant Redwood Trees' will fall at Berkshire Museum despite interpretive value|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200725013955/https://www.berkshireeagle.com/stories/giant-redwood-trees-will-fall-at-berkshire-museum-despite-interpretive-value,543640 |archive-date=July 25, 2020|date=June 30, 2018}}</ref>]]
Wood from mature giant sequoias is highly resistant to decay, but due to being fibrous and brittle, it is generally unsuitable for construction. From the 1880s through the 1920s, logging took place in many groves in spite of marginal commercial returns. The [[Hume-Bennett Lumber Company]] was the last to harvest giant sequoia, going out of business in 1924.<ref>{{cite web|title = Battle against Rough fire intensifies as blaze bears down on Hume Lake|url = http://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/article31640498.html|website = fresnobee|access-date = October 18, 2015|archive-date = October 15, 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151015041624/http://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/article31640498.html|url-status = live}}</ref> Due to their weight and brittleness, trees would often shatter when they hit the ground, wasting much of the wood. Loggers attempted to cushion the impact by digging trenches and filling them with branches. Still, as little as 50% of the timber is estimated to have made it from groves to the mill. The wood was used mainly for shingles and fence posts, or even for matchsticks.

Pictures of the once majestic trees broken and abandoned in formerly pristine groves, and the thought of the giants put to such modest use, spurred the public outcry that caused most of the groves to be preserved as protected land. The public can visit an example of 1880s clear-cutting at [[Big Stump Grove]] near [[General Grant Grove]]. As late as the 1980s, some immature trees were logged in [[Sequoia National Forest]], publicity of which helped lead to the creation of [[Giant Sequoia National Monument]].{{Citation needed|date=December 2010}}

The wood from immature trees is less brittle, with recent tests on young [[plantation]]-grown trees showing it similar to coast redwood wood in quality. This is resulting in some interest in cultivating giant sequoia as a very high-yielding timber crop tree, both in California and also in parts of western Europe, where it may grow more efficiently than coast redwoods. In the northwest [[United States]], some entrepreneurs have also begun growing giant sequoias for [[Christmas tree]]s. Besides these attempts at tree farming, the principal economic uses for giant sequoia today are [[tourism]] and [[horticulture]].

== Cultural symbol ==
[[File:Mark-twain-tree-2.jpg|thumb|Fifty men stand on the stump of the [[Mark Twain Tree]], a giant sequoia felled for exhibition in 1891.]]Giant sequoias, native to California and discovered during the final phase of frontier expansion, hold a distinctive place in American culture. They embody the complex interplay of human ambition, [[Exploitation of natural resources|environmental exploitation]], and the emergence of the modern [[conservation movement]].<ref name="StGeorge2018">{{cite web |last=St. George |first=Zach |date=April 2018 |title=How California's Giant Sequoias Tell the Story of Americans' Conflicted Relationship With Nature |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/how-california-giant-sequoia-tell-story-americans-conflicted-relationship-nature-180968389/?utm_source=chatgpt.com |access-date=December 13, 2024 |website=Smithsonian Magazine |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>

In the 19th century, sequoias such as the [[Discovery Tree]] and [[Forest King]] were cut down and transported to urban centers and world expositions as [[exhibition tree]]s.<ref>{{cite book |last=Johnson |first=Hank |title=They Felled the Redwoods |date=1996 |publisher=Stauffer Publishing |isbn=0-87046-003-X |location=Fish Camp, CA |page=20}}</ref> These displays highlighted the grandeur of the [[Frontier Thesis|American frontier]] while exposing humanity's capacity to exploit nature. The paradox of celebrating these giants' majesty while destroying them sparked debates that eventually led to the establishment of [[Sequoia National Park|Sequoia]] and [[Yosemite National Park]]s.<ref name="KingSequoia" />{{rp|97–105}}

[[File:Horse-drawn wagon driving through a tunnel in a Wawona Big Tree in Mariposa Grove in Yosemite National Park, California, ca.1902 (CHS-1177).jpg|thumb|The [[Wawona Tunnel Tree]], carved in 1881, was promoted by the [[National Park Service]] as a symbol of America's natural treasures.]]The creation of [[tunnel tree]]s, including the iconic [[Wawona Tree]], further cemented the cultural legacy of the sequoias.<ref name="StGeorge2018" /> By carving pathways through their immense trunks, Americans celebrated their ability to master the wilderness, embodying the spirit of exploration and progress that defined the nation's expansion.<ref name="KingSequoia">{{cite book |last=Tweed |first=William C. |title=King Sequoia: The Tree That Inspired a Nation, Created Our National Park System, and Changed the Way We Think about Nature |publisher=Heyday Books |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-59714-351-6 |page=93}}</ref> These trees became popular [[tourist attraction]]s during the rise of the automobile age, embodying the [[Frontier Thesis|frontier spirit]] of exploration and progress. However, as the weakened trees began to collapse, they came to symbolize the unintended consequences of human ambition. Today, the California Tunnel Tree, the last surviving tunnel tree, protected in [[Mariposa Grove]], stands as a relic of the past and a symbol of changing values.<ref>{{cite web |title=California – Last Surviving Giant Redwood Tunnel Tree |url=http://famousredwoods.com/california_ynp/ |access-date=September 13, 2024 |website=Famous Redwoods}}</ref>

Americans have also imbued the giant sequoia with [[sacred tree|sacred meaning]]. The [[General Grant (tree)|General Grant Tree]], for example, was named the "Nation's Christmas Tree" by [[Calvin Coolidge]] in 1926 and later declared a national shrine by [[Dwight D. Eisenhower|Dwight Eisenhower]] to honor the country's war dead.<ref>{{cite act |prefix=H.J.Res. |index=194 |title=Joint Resolution to Designate the General Grant Tree (Known as the Nation's Christmas Tree) in Kings Canyon National Park, California, as a National Shrine |legislature=84th Congress |year=1955–1956 |url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/84th-congress/house-joint-resolution/194/text |access-date=December 10, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=March 31, 1956 |title=Eisenhower Signs Bill For Grant Tree Shrine |url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=MT19560331.2.4&srpos=2&dliv=none&st=1&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN-general+grant+shrine------- |access-date=December 10, 2024 |work=Madera Tribune |volume=64 |issue=272}}</ref> It remains the only living object designated as a national shrine.<ref>{{cite web |author=National Park Service |title=Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks Information Page |url=http://www.sequoia.national-park.com/info.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070328195728/http://www.sequoia.national-park.com/info.htm#bea |archive-date=March 28, 2007 |access-date=March 6, 2007}}</ref>

== Threats ==
[[File:2020 09 16-14.10.29.329-CDT.jpg|thumb|The [[SQF Lightning Complex fires|Castle Fire]] wiped out a significant portion of the giant sequoia population.]]
Giant sequoias, once primarily threatened by logging, now face their greatest danger from the absence of regular fires. [[Wildfire suppression|Fire suppression]], severe wildfires, and competition from shade-tolerant species have disrupted the natural cycle that once relied on periodic wildfires to release seeds and clear undergrowth.<ref name="Hanson2024">{{cite journal |last1=Hanson |first1=Chad T. |last2=Chi |first2=Tonja Y. |last3=Baker |first3=Bryant C. |last4=Khosla |first4=Maya |last5=Dorsey |first5=Michael K. |title=Postfire reproduction of a serotinous conifer, the giant sequoia, in the Nelder Grove, California |journal=Ecology and Evolution |date=April 3, 2024 |volume=14 |issue=4 |article-number=e11213 |doi=10.1002/ece3.11213 |pmid=38571806 |pmc=10990047 |bibcode=2024EcoEv..1411213H }}</ref>

Natural wildfires historically played a key role in sequoia reproduction, releasing seeds from cones and clearing undergrowth to create the open, nutrient-rich conditions needed for seedlings. Fire suppression over the last century has disrupted this cycle, limiting reproduction in many groves. Without regular fires, the buildup of fuel and the excessive growth of more fire-sensitive trees, like [[white fir]], have increased the risk of devastating [[crown fire]]s, which have already destroyed significant portions of the sequoia population.<ref name="Hanson2024" />

Many destructive wildfires have hit giant sequoia groves in recent decades, including the [[McNally Fire]] in 2002, the [[Rough Fire]] in 2015, and the [[Railroad Fire]] in 2017. The [[SQF Lightning Complex fires|Castle Fire]] in 2020 is estimated to have wiped out 10–14% of the giant sequoia population, or about 7,500 to 10,600 mature trees, including the [[King Arthur (tree)|King Arthur Tree]], one of the tallest known sequoias. In 2021, the [[2021 California wildfires|KNP Complex]] and [[2021 California wildfires|Windy Fire]] added to the damage, killing an estimated 3 to 5% more of the population.

Controlled burns have been effective in protecting giant sequoias. In the 2022 [[Washburn Fire]], officials credited prescribed burns in [[Yosemite National Park]] with limiting the fire's intensity and sparing [[Mariposa Grove]] from major harm.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hankin |first1=L. E. |last2=Anderson |first2=C. T. |last3=Dickman |first3=G. J. |last4=Bevington |first4=P. |last5=Stephens |first5=S. L. |year=2023 |title=How forest management changed the course of the Washburn fire and the fate of Yosemite's giant sequoias (Sequoiadendron giganteum) |url=https://sbfiresafecouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/s42408-023-00202-6.pdf |journal=Fire Ecology |volume=19 |issue=1 |page=40 |doi=10.1186/s42408-023-00202-6 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Fernando |first1=Christine |title=Thick wildfire smoke hangs over Yosemite; flames reached notable giant sequoia grove |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/07/09/yosemite-washburn-fire-mariposa-grove-sequoias-threatened/10020412002/ |access-date=July 9, 2022 |work=USA Today |date=July 9, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Westervelt |first1=Eric |title=Decades of 'good fires' save Yosemite's iconic grove of ancient sequoia trees |url=https://www.npr.org/2022/07/19/1111807299/yosemite-national-park-mariposa-grove-sequoia-trees-wildfire-california |access-date=July 26, 2022 |work=www.npr.org |publisher=NPR |date=July 19, 2022 |quote=The iconic grove of giant and ancient sequoia trees in California's Yosemite National Park is no longer under direct threat from the wildfire still burning through a southern section of the park and the nearby Sierra National Forest{{nbsp}}... foresters and ecologists say a half-century of intentional burning or 'prescribed fire' practices in and around the area dramatically reduced forest 'fuel' there, allowing the blaze to pass through the grove with the trees unscathed.}}</ref> Experts warn that to preserve healthy groves and prevent future destruction, the use of [[Controlled burn|prescribed burns]] must increase significantly—by about 30 times the current levels.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web|date=June 2, 2021|title=Study: California fire killed 10% of world's giant sequoias|url=https://apnews.com/article/california-fire-killed-10-percent-redwood-trees-63c80e8d28e32596637f3ecc29cfe3c8|access-date=June 4, 2021|website=AP NEWS|archive-date=June 3, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210603131332/https://apnews.com/article/california-fire-killed-10-percent-redwood-trees-63c80e8d28e32596637f3ecc29cfe3c8|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="iucn" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite web|title=2021 Fire Season Impacts to Giant Sequoias (U.S. National Park Service)|url=https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/2021-fire-season-impacts-to-giant-sequoias.htm|access-date=November 20, 2021|website=www.nps.gov|language=en|archive-date=February 9, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230209141319/https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/2021-fire-season-impacts-to-giant-sequoias.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Around the world==
Giant sequoia is a very popular [[ornamental tree]] in many areas. It is successfully grown in most of western and southern Europe, the Pacific Northwest of North America, north to southwest [[British Columbia]], the southern United States, southeast Australia, New Zealand and central-southern [[Chile]]. It is also grown, though less successfully, in parts of eastern North America.

Trees can withstand temperatures of −31&nbsp;°C (−25&nbsp;°F) or colder for short periods of time, provided the ground around the roots is insulated with either heavy snow or mulch. Outside its natural range, the foliage can suffer from damaging windburn.

A wide range of [[cultivar|horticultural varieties]] have been selected, especially in Europe, including blue, compact blue, powder blue, hazel smith, pendulum{{emdash}}or weeping{{emdash}}varieties, and [[Grafting|grafted]] cultivars.<ref name=cultivars>{{cite web|url=http://nurseryguide.com/browse2.lasso?Indent=2&Indent2=C-230|title=Species Level Browse Results|date=2011|work=NurseryGuide.com|publisher=Oregon Association of Nurseries|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120309050448/http://nurseryguide.com/browse2.lasso?Indent=2&Indent2=C-230|archive-date=March 9, 2012|access-date=October 31, 2016}}</ref>
[[File:Sequoias in EuroDisney, some years later.jpg|thumb|right|Sequoias in Eurodisney (near Paris) in 2009 and 2017]]

===France===
The tallest giant sequoia ever measured outside of the United States<ref name=outside_the_US>{{cite web |url=http://www.monumentaltrees.com/en/trees/giantsequoia/records/ |title=The thickest, tallest, and oldest giant sequoia trees (Sequoiadendron giganteum) |publisher=monumentaltrees.com |access-date=August 2, 2015 |archive-date=January 12, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150112073443/http://www.monumentaltrees.com/en/trees/giantsequoia/records |url-status=live }}</ref> is a specimen planted near [[Ribeauvillé]] in [[France]] in 1856 and measured in 2014 at a height between {{convert|57.7|m|ft|abbr=on}}<ref name="ribeauville">{{cite web |url=http://www.monumentaltrees.com/en/fra/hautrhin/ribeauville/6150_foretdomanialederibeauville/12175/ |title=Giant sequoia in the forêt domaniale de Ribeauvillé |publisher=monumentaltrees.com |access-date=August 2, 2015 |archive-date=January 20, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150120233047/http://www.monumentaltrees.com/en/fra/hautrhin/ribeauville/6150_foretdomanialederibeauville/12175/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and {{convert|58.1|m|ft|abbr=on}}<ref name=Ribeauville>{{cite web |url=http://www.sequoias.eu/Pages/Locations/Alsace/ribeauville_foret_domaniale.htm |title=Riquewihr/Ribeauvillé (68): Forêt Domaniale de Ribeauvillé |publisher=Sequoias.eu |access-date=August 2, 2015 |archive-date=May 29, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150529133100/http://www.sequoias.eu/Pages/Locations/Alsace/ribeauville_foret_domaniale.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> at age 158 years.

===United Kingdom===
[[File:Benmore.jpg|thumb|The well-known giant sequoia [[Avenue (landscape)|avenue]] planted in 1863 at [[Benmore Botanic Garden]], Scotland. These trees are all over {{convert|50|m|ft}} tall]]
The giant sequoia was first brought into cultivation in Britain in 1853 by the horticulturist [[Patrick Matthew]] of [[Perthshire]] from seeds sent by his botanist son John in California.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.clunyhousegardens.com/plant_collectors.html|title=The History of Cluny – The Plant Collectors|publisher=clunyhousegardens.com|access-date=December 23, 2008}}</ref> A much larger shipment of seed collected from the [[Calaveras Big Trees State Park|Calaveras Grove]] by [[William Lobb]], acting for the [[Veitch Nursery]] near [[Exeter]], arrived in England in December 1853;<ref name="Earle">{{cite web |author=Earle |first=Christopher J. |title=''Sequoiadendron giganteum'' (Lindley) Buchholz 1939 |url=http://www.biologie.uni-hamburg.de/b-online/earle/cu/se2/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120229164042/http://www.biologie.uni-hamburg.de/b-online/earle/cu/se2/ |archive-date=February 29, 2012 |access-date=December 23, 2008 |publisher=[[University of Hamburg]]}}</ref> seed from this batch was widely distributed throughout Europe.

Growth in Britain is very fast, with the tallest tree, at [[Benmore Botanic Garden|Benmore]] in southwest Scotland, reaching {{convert|56.4|m|ft|abbr=on}} in 2014 at age 150 years,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tree-register.org/|title=Tree Register of the British Isles|website=tree-register.org|url-access=subscription}}</ref> and several others from {{convert|50|-|53|m|ft|abbr=on}} tall; the stoutest is around {{convert|12|m|ft|abbr=on}} in girth and {{convert|4|m|ft|abbr=on}} in diameter, in Perthshire. The [[Kew Gardens|Royal Botanic Gardens]] at [[Kew]], and in their second campus at Wakehurst, contain multiple large specimens of the species. [[Biddulph Grange]] Garden in [[Staffordshire]] holds a fine collection of both ''Sequoiadendron giganteum'' and ''[[Sequoia sempervirens]]'' (coast redwood). The appropriately 2,500 year-old General Sherman of California has a volume of {{convert|1489|m3|abbr=on}}; by way of comparison, the largest giant sequoias in Great Britain have volumes no greater than {{convert|90|-|100|m3|abbr=on}}, one example being the {{convert|90|m3|abbr=on}} specimen in the [[New Forest]].

''Sequoiadendron giganteum'' has gained the [[Royal Horticultural Society]]'s [[Award of Garden Merit]].<ref name = RHSPF>{{cite web
| url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/17257/i-Sequoiadendron-giganteum-i/Details
| title = RHS Plantfinder – ''Sequoiadendron giganteum''
| access-date = November 10, 2018
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/pdfs/agm-lists/agm-ornamentals.pdf | title = AGM Plants – Ornamental | date = July 2017 | page = 96 | publisher = Royal Horticultural Society | access-date = November 10, 2018}}</ref>

An [[Avenue (landscape)|avenue]] of 218 giant sequoias was planted in 1865 near the town of [[Camberley]], [[Surrey]], England. The trees have since been surrounded by modern real estate development.<ref name=RedwoodWorld>{{cite web | url = http://www.redwoodworld.co.uk/picturepages/a311.htm | title = Camberley - Chobham Ridges (Surrey) | website = Redwood World | access-date = May 14, 2019}}</ref>

In 2024, there were 4,949 notable sequoias in the UK. There is uncertainty if this is an undercount or overcount of the trees.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Giant sequoia (''Sequoiadendron giganteum'') in the UK: carbon storage potential and growth rates|first1=Ross|last1=Holland|first2=Guilherme|last2=Castro|first3=Cecilia|last3=Chavana-Bryant|first4=Ron|last4=Levy|first5=Justin|last5=Moat|first6=Thomas|last6=Robson|first7=Tim|last7=Wilkinson|first8=Phil|last8=Wilkes|first9=Wanxin|last9=Yang|first10=Mathias|last10=Disney|date=March 14, 2024|journal=Royal Society Open Science|volume=11|issue=3|article-number=230603 |doi=10.1098/rsos.230603|pmid=38481981 |pmc=10933539|bibcode=2024RSOS...1130603H }}</ref><ref name="phys-2024">{{cite news |last1=University College London |title=Giant sequoias are a rapidly growing feature of the UK landscape |url=https://phys.org/news/2024-03-giant-sequoias-rapidly-feature-uk.html |agency=Phys.org |date=March 12, 2024}}</ref> In addition there are an estimated 500,000 younger ''Sequoiadendron giganteum'' and ''[[Sequoia sempervirens]]''. Growing conditions are generally more conducive for these trees than in their native range in the US.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.forestryengland.uk/news/over-half-million-natures-giants-the-nations-forests | title=Over half a million of nature's giants in the nation's forests! |website =Forestry England}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-68518623|author=Rebecca Morelle |author2= Alison Francis
|publisher=[[British Broadcasting Corporation|BBC]]|work=BBC News Science|date=March 13, 2024|title=Giant redwoods: World's largest trees 'thriving in UK'}}</ref>

===Germany===

Probably the oldest sequoia in Germany and possibly of continental Europe was planted in 1852 as a gift of the British Royal Family to the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt in a park near Bensheim. In 2015 it reached a height of {{Convert|44.35|m|sp=us}} and a circumference of {{Convert|5.94|m|sp=us}} and is praised for its beauty. It is also the largest sequoia in Germany.

King William I of Württemberg (1816–1864) imported seeds shortly before his death. In the greenhouses of the Wilhelma in Stuttgart grew between 5000 and 8000 seedlings. Thirty-five of those trees are still present in the Wilhelma. The seedlings got distributed to the whole country of Württemberg and elsewhere and planted on different soils, under various conditions and elevations for a long-time evaluation to find out if they are suitable for forestry. At least 135 of them still can be traced back to these seedlings.

Since then the tree is well established as ornamental tree in public parks and cemeteries, but also on private properties and can be found planted in small groups in the woods.

Two members of the German Dendrology Society, E. J. Martin and Illa Martin, introduced the giant sequoia into German forestry at the [[Sequoiafarm Kaldenkirchen]] in 1952.<ref>''Die Wiedereinführung des Mammutbaumes (Sequoiadendron giganteum) in die deutsche Forstwirtschaft''. In: ''Mitteilungen der Deutschen Dendrologischen Gesellschaft''. Vol. 75. pp. 57–75. Ulmer. Stuttgart 1984, {{ISBN|3-8001-8308-0}}</ref>

===Italy===
Numerous giant sequoia were planted in [[Italy]] from 1860 through 1905. Several regions contain specimens that range from {{convert|40|to|48|m|ft}} in height. The largest tree is in [[Roccavione]], in the [[Piedmont]], with a basal circumference of {{convert|16|m|ft}}. One notable tree survived a {{convert|200|m|ft|adj=on}} tall flood wave in 1963 that was caused by a landslide at [[Vajont Dam]]. There are numerous giant sequoia in parks and reserves.{{citation needed|date=June 2024}}

Growth rates in some areas of Europe are remarkable. One young tree in [[Italy]] reached {{convert|22|m|ft|abbr=on}} tall and {{convert|88|cm|ft|abbr=on}} trunk diameter in 17 years.<ref>{{cite book|first=Alan|last=Mitchell|author-link=Alan Mitchell (botanist)|year=1972|title=Conifers in the British Isles|id=Forestry Commission Booklet 33|publisher=HMSO}}</ref>

===Northern, Central and Southeast Europe===
Growth further northeast in Europe is limited by winter cold. In [[Denmark]], where extreme winters can reach {{convert|-32|C|F}}, the largest tree was {{convert|35|m|ft|abbr=on}} tall and {{convert|1.7|m|ft|abbr=on}} diameter in 1976 and is bigger today. One in [[Poland]] has purportedly survived temperatures down to {{convert|-37|C|F}} with heavy snow cover.

Twenty-nine giant sequoias, measuring around {{convert|30|m|ft|abbr=on}} in height, grow in [[Belgrade]]'s municipality of [[Lazarevac]] in [[Serbia]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.novosti.rs/vesti/naslovna/aktuelno.69.html:341694-Lazarevac-Visoke-sekvoje-nicu-iz-uglja|title=Lazarevac: Visoke sekvoje niču iz uglja|first=B.|last=Puzović|publisher=Novosti.rs|language=sr|date=August 15, 2011|access-date=September 17, 2013|archive-date=June 7, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130607043005/http://www.novosti.rs/vesti/naslovna/aktuelno.69.html:341694-Lazarevac-Visoke-sekvoje-nicu-iz-uglja|url-status=live}}</ref>

The oldest ''Sequoiadendron'' in the [[Czech Republic]], at {{convert|44|m|ft|abbr=on}}, grows in [[Sekvojovce v Ratměřicích|Ratměřice]] u Votic castle garden.

In [[Slatina, Croatia|Slatina]], Croatia, 32.5&nbsp;m (107&nbsp;ft) tall giant sequoia grows in city park. Presumably seeded in 1890 and proclaimed as nature monument in 1967, now stands as a centerpiece in town's educational, presentational and informational center with tourist facilities available.<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 27, 2023 |title=Jutarnji list – 130 godina su u Slatini prolazili pored visoke sekvoje, a onda je aktualnoj vlasti sinula genijalna ideja... |url=https://novac.jutarnji.hr/novac/eu-smo-mi/130-godina-su-u-slatini-prolazili-pored-visoke-sekvoje-a-onda-je-aktualnoj-vlasti-sinula-genijalna-ideja-15330380 |access-date=September 25, 2024 |website=novac.jutarnji.hr |language=hr-hr}}</ref>

Above the city of [[Kyustendil]], Bulgaria, there are around 100 giant sequoias, oldest being around 100 years old.<ref>https://www.plant-protection.com/article/1234</ref>

===United States and Canada===
[[File:4th_and_Olive_sequoia,_Downtown_Seattle.jpg|right|thumb|upright|The giant sequoia tree in downtown Seattle, located adjacent to the historic [[The Bon Marché]] building, is unique for its urban setting.]]
Giant sequoias are grown successfully in the Pacific Northwest and southern US, and less successfully in eastern North America. Giant sequoia cultivation is very successful in the [[Pacific Northwest]] from western [[Oregon]] north to southwest [[British Columbia]], with fast growth rates. In [[Washington (state)|Washington]] and Oregon, it is common to find giant sequoias that have been successfully planted in both urban and rural areas. There are hundreds of sequoias planted on the Olympic Peninsula over the last 100 years and farms that have 50 or more planted 40 years ago or longer.

In Seattle, a {{convert|100|ft|abbr=on}} sequoia stands as a prominent landmark at the entrance to Seattle's downtown retail core.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://sdotblog.seattle.gov/2010/06/14/seattles-giant-sequoia-undergoes-emergency-care/ |title=Seattle's Giant Sequoia Undergoes Emergency Care |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=June 14, 2010 |website=SDOT Blog |publisher=Seattle Department of Transportation |access-date=December 29, 2021 |archive-date=December 30, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211230040500/https://sdotblog.seattle.gov/2010/06/14/seattles-giant-sequoia-undergoes-emergency-care/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Other large specimens exceeding {{convert|90|ft|abbr=on}} are located on the [[University of Washington]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.monumentaltrees.com/en/usa/washington/kingcounty/15018_universityofwashingtoncampus/ |title=Giant sequoia at the University of Washington campus in Seattle, Washington, United States |website=Monumental Trees |access-date=December 29, 2021 |archive-date=December 30, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211230040507/https://www.monumentaltrees.com/en/usa/washington/kingcounty/15018_universityofwashingtoncampus/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and [[Seattle University]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.monumentaltrees.com/en/usa/washington/kingcounty/13052_thequadonthecampusofseattleuniversity/ |title=Giant sequoia north of The Quad on the campus of Seattle University in Seattle, Washington, United States |website=Monumental Trees |access-date=December 29, 2021 |archive-date=December 30, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211230042246/https://www.monumentaltrees.com/en/usa/washington/kingcounty/13052_thequadonthecampusofseattleuniversity/ |url-status=live }}</ref> campuses, in the [[Evergreen Washelli Memorial Park]] cemetery,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.monumentaltrees.com/en/usa/washington/kingcounty/15504_theevergreenwashelli/ |title=Giant sequoia at the cemetery of The Evergreen Washelli in Seattle, Washington, United States |website=Monumental Trees |access-date=December 29, 2021 |archive-date=December 30, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211230040505/https://www.monumentaltrees.com/en/usa/washington/kingcounty/15504_theevergreenwashelli/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and in the Leschi, Madrona, and Magnolia neighborhoods.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.monumentaltrees.com/en/usa-giantsequoia/washington/kingcounty/ |title=Giant sequoia trees (Sequoiadendron giganteum) in King County |website=Monumental Trees |access-date=December 29, 2021 |archive-date=December 31, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211231081204/https://www.monumentaltrees.com/en/usa-giantsequoia/washington/kingcounty/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In the northeastern US there has been some limited success in growing the species, but growth is much slower there, and it is prone to ''[[Cercospora]]'' and ''Kabatina'' [[fungus|fungal]] diseases due to the hot, humid summer climate there. A tree at [[Blithewold Mansion, Gardens and Arboretum|Blithewold Gardens]], in [[Bristol, Rhode Island]], is reported to be {{convert|27|m|ft}} tall, reportedly the tallest in the [[New England|New England states]].<ref name="blitewold1">{{cite web|url=http://www.blithewold.org/blithewold-history|title=Mansion and History|work=Blithewold Mansion, Gardens, and Arboretum|access-date=July 14, 2010|archive-date=May 10, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100510082350/http://www.blithewold.org/blithewold-history|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="blitewold2">{{cite web|url=http://www.blithewold.org/gardens|title=Gardens|work=Blithewold Mansion, Gardens, and Arboretum|access-date=March 2, 2007|archive-date=November 24, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091124034512/http://www.blithewold.org/gardens|url-status=live}}</ref> The tree at the [[Tyler Arboretum]] in [[Delaware County, Pennsylvania]], at {{convert|29.1|m|ft}} may be the tallest in the northeast.<ref name="pabigtree">{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100927020103/http://pabigtrees.com/trees/species/sequoiadendron_giant_sequoia.htm|archive-date=September 27, 2010|url=http://pabigtrees.com/trees/species/sequoiadendron_giant_sequoia.htm|work=Big Trees Of Pennsylvania|title=Sequoiadendron – Giant Sequoia}}</ref> Specimens also grow in the [[Arnold Arboretum]] in [[Boston]], [[Massachusetts]] (planted 1972, 18 m tall in 1998), at [[Longwood Gardens]] near [[Wilmington, Delaware]], in the [[New Jersey State Botanical Garden]] at [[Skylands (estate)|Skylands]] in [[Ringwood State Park]], [[Ringwood, New Jersey]], and in the [[Finger Lakes]] region of [[New York (state)|New York]]. Private plantings of giant sequoias around the Middle Atlantic States are not uncommon, and other publicly accessible specimens can be visited at the U.S. National Arboretum in Washington, D.C. A few trees have been established in [[Colorado]] as well.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.giant-sequoia.com/gallery/usa/colorado/|title=Colorado giant sequoia|publisher=giant-sequoia.com|access-date=November 27, 2012|archive-date=September 1, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120901115217/http://www.giant-sequoia.com/gallery/usa/colorado/|url-status=live}}</ref> Additionally, numerous sequoias have been planted with success in the state of [[Michigan]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.giant-sequoia.com/gallery/usa/michigan/|title=Michigan giant sequoia|publisher=Giant-sequoia.com|access-date=October 24, 2013|archive-date=October 29, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029203814/http://www.giant-sequoia.com/gallery/usa/michigan/|url-status=live}}</ref>

A cold-tolerant cultivar 'Hazel Smith' selected in about 1960 is proving more successful in the northeastern US. This clone was the sole survivor of several hundred seedlings grown at a nursery in [[New Jersey]]. The U.S. National Arboretum has a specimen grown from a cutting in 1970 that can be seen in the Gotelli Conifer Collection.

Since its last assessment as an endangered species in 2011, it was estimated that another 13–19% of the population (or 9,761–13,637 mature trees) were destroyed during the [[Castle Fire]] of 2020 and the [[2021 California wildfires|KNP Complex]] & [[2021 California wildfires|Windy Fire]] in 2021, events attributed to [[Wildfire suppression|fire suppression]] and [[Droughts in California|drought]]. Prescribed burns to reduce available fuel load may be crucial for saving the species.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Alexander|first=Kurtis|date=June 4, 2021|title=Super-hot California wildfire wiped out 10% of world's sequoia trees. Can they survive climate change?|url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/california-wildfires/article/10-of-world-s-giant-sequoias-killed-in-16220971.php|access-date=June 4, 2021|website=San Francisco Chronicle|language=en-US|archive-date=June 3, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210603021631/https://www.sfchronicle.com/california-wildfires/article/10-of-world-s-giant-sequoias-killed-in-16220971.php|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="iucn"/>

As of 2021, there are approximately 60,000 living in its native California.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-11-26/how-the-knp-complex-devastated-one-giant-sequoia-grove|title='There is nothing alive on that tree': Inside a giant sequoia grove scorched by the KNP Complex fire|first=Lila|last=Seidman|date=November 26, 2021|newspaper=Los Angeles Times}}</ref>

===Australia===
The [[Ballarat Botanical Gardens]] contain a significant collection, many of them about 150 years old. Jubilee Park and the Hepburn Mineral Springs Reserve in [[Daylesford, Victoria|Daylesford]], Cook Park in [[Orange, New South Wales]] and Carisbrook's Deep Creek park in Victoria both have specimens. Jamieson Township in the Victorian high country has two specimens which were planted in the early 1860s.{{citation needed|date=June 2019}}

In Tasmania, specimens can be seen in private and public gardens, as sequoias were popular in the mid-Victorian era. The Westbury Village Green has specimens with more in Deloraine.{{citation needed|date=June 2019}} [[The Tasmanian Arboretum]] contains both ''Sequoiadendron giganteum'' and ''Sequoia sempervirens'' specimens.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tasmanianarboretum.org.au/PlantList.html#QuSp |title=A listing of species planted in the Tasmanian Arboretum |website=tasmanianarboretum.org.au |publisher=The Tasmanian Arboretum Inc. |access-date=June 3, 2019 |language=en |archive-date=March 4, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190304151556/http://tasmanianarboretum.org.au/PlantList.html#QuSp |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[St David's Park]] in [[Hobart]], Tasmania, has two ''Sequoiadendron giganteum'' planted in 1937 to commemorate the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. In December 2025, the City of Hobart reported that one tree was showing significant signs of distress and was being monitored by arborists; both trees are listed by the National Trust as being of state significance.<ref>{{cite web |title=City of Hobart monitoring historic giant sequoia in St David's Park |url=https://www.hobartcity.com.au/Council/News-and-publications/Media-releases/City-of-Hobart-monitoring-historic-giant-sequoia-in-St-David%E2%80%99s-Park |website=City of Hobart |publisher=City of Hobart |date=22 December 2025 |access-date=23 December 2025 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Giant Sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) – St David's Park Davey Street, Hobart |url=https://trusttrees.org.au/tree/TAS/Hobart/St_DavidS_Park_Davey_Street |website=Trust Trees |publisher=National Trusts of Australia |access-date=23 December 2025 |language=en}}</ref>

The [[Pialligo, Australian Capital Territory|Pialligo]] Redwood Forest consists of 3,000 surviving redwood specimens, of 122,000 planted, 500 meters east of the [[Canberra Airport]]. The forest was laid out by the city's designer [[Walter Burley Griffin]], though the city's [[arborist]], [[Charles Weston (horticulturalist)|Thomas Charles Weston]], advised against it.<ref>{{cite web |title=Pialligo Redwood Forest |url=https://visitcanberra.com.au/attractions/56b23b61b042386245d42f21/pialligo-redwood-forest |website=VisitCanberra.com |publisher=Canberra and Region Visitors Centre |access-date=June 3, 2019 |language=en |archive-date=June 3, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190603072553/https://visitcanberra.com.au/attractions/56b23b61b042386245d42f21/pialligo-redwood-forest |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[National Arboretum Canberra]] began a grove of ''Sequoiadendron giganteum'' in 2008.<ref>{{cite web |title=Forest 33 – Giant Sequoia |url=https://www.nationalarboretum.act.gov.au/living-collection/trees/tree-descriptions/forests-and-trees/forest-33 |website=nationalarboretum.act.gov.au |publisher=National Arboretum Canberra |access-date=June 3, 2019 |language=en |archive-date=June 3, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190603072557/https://www.nationalarboretum.act.gov.au/living-collection/trees/tree-descriptions/forests-and-trees/forest-33 |url-status=live }}</ref> They also grow in the abandoned arboretum at [[Mount Banda Banda]] in [[New South Wales]].{{citation needed|date=June 2019}}

===New Zealand===
[[File:Sequoia-Queenstown.jpg|thumb|''S. giganteum'' in Queenstown, New Zealand]]
Several impressive specimens of Sequoiadendron giganteum can be found in the [[South Island]] of New Zealand. Notable examples include a set of trees in a public park of [[Picton, New Zealand|Picton]], as well as robust specimens in the public and botanical parks of [[Christchurch]] and [[Queenstown, New Zealand|Queenstown]]. There are also several in private gardens in [[Wānaka]]. Other locations in Christchurch and nearby include a number of trees at the [[Riccarton Park Racecourse]], three large trees on the roadside bordering private properties on Clyde Road, near Wai-Iti Terrace—these are at least 150 years old. The suburb of 'Redwood' is named after a 160 years old Giant Redwood tree in the grounds of a local hotel. At St James Church, [[Harewood, New Zealand|Harewood]], is a protected very large specimen believed to be about 160 years old. A grove of about sixteen Redwood trees of varying ages is in Sheldon Park in the [[Belfast, New Zealand]] suburb. Some of these trees are in poor condition because of indifferent care. There is also a very large tree at [[Rangiora High School]], which was planted for [[Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee]] and is thus over 130 years old.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rangiorahigh.school.nz/School-Information/Rangiora-High-School-North-Canterbury-New-__I.632|work=Rangiora High School|title=History|access-date=May 22, 2014|archive-date=November 9, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131109003314/http://www.rangiorahigh.school.nz/School-Information/Rangiora-High-School-North-Canterbury-New-__I.632|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Record trees==
===Largest by trunk volume===
{{Main|List of largest giant sequoias}}
[[File:General Sherman.jpg|thumb|upright|[[General Sherman Tree|General Sherman]], largest known living single stem tree in the world]]

As of 2009, the top ten largest giant sequoias sorted by volume of their [[trunk (botany)|trunks]] are:<ref name="Flint 2002"/><ref group="note">The volume figures have a low degree of accuracy (at best about ±{{convert|14|m3|ft3|disp=or}}), due to difficulties in measurement; stem diameter measurements are taken at a few set heights up the trunk, and assume that the trunk is circular in cross-section, and that taper between measurement points is even. The volume measurements also do not take cavities into account. The measurements are [[trunk (botany)|trunk]]-only, and do not include the volume of wood in the branches or roots.</ref>
{|class="wikitable"
|-
! Rank
! Tree Name
! Grove
! colspan=2|Height
! colspan=2|Girth at ground
! colspan=2|Volume
! Estimated [[List of oldest trees|age]]
|-
!
! &nbsp;
! &nbsp;
! (ft)
! (m)
! (ft)
! (m)
! (ft<sup>3</sup>)
! (m<sup>3</sup>)
! (years)
|-
|1
|[[General Sherman Tree|General Sherman]]
|[[Giant Forest]]
|{{convert|275|ft|m|disp=table}}
|{{convert|103|ft|m|disp=table}}
|{{convert|52508|ft3|m3|disp=table}}
| 2,300–2,700
|-
|2<ref group="note" name="Sillett"/>
|[[General Grant Tree|General Grant]]
|[[General Grant Grove]]
|{{convert|268|ft|m|disp=table}}
|{{convert|108|ft|m|disp=table}}
|{{convert|46608|ft3|m3|disp=table}} <ref group="note" name="Sillett"/>
|1,650
|-
|3<ref group="note" name="Sillett"/>
|[[The President (tree)|The President]]
|[[Giant Forest]]
|{{convert|241|ft|m|disp=table}}
|{{convert|93|ft|m|disp=table}}
|{{convert|45148|ft3|m3|disp=table}} {{#tag:ref|
This table presents giant sequoias sorted by the volume of their [[trunk (botany)|trunks]]. In December 2012, [[Stephen Sillett]] announced a measurement of [[The President (tree)|The President tree]] with a total of {{convert|54000|ft3|m3}} of wood and {{convert|9000|ft3|m3}} of wood in the branches.<ref name=cone>{{cite news|title=Upon further review, giant sequoia tops a neighbor|newspaper=Associated Press|first=Tracie|last=Cone|date=December 1, 2012|url=https://www.boston.com/news/nation/2012/12/01/upon-further-review-giant-sequoia-tops-neighbor/K0SwEhJhCqjzxAXX3OBVGK/story.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121202090906/http://www.boston.com/news/nation/2012/12/01/upon-further-review-giant-sequoia-tops-neighbor/K0SwEhJhCqjzxAXX3OBVGK/story.html|archive-date=December 2, 2012}}</ref><ref name=natgeo>{{cite magazine|title=Giant Sequoias|first=David|last=Quammen|magazine=National Geographic|url=http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2012/12/sequoias/quammen-text|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121120020431/http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2012/12/sequoias/quammen-text|archive-date=November 20, 2012}}</ref> Ranked according to the total amount of wood in the tree, the General Sherman tree is first, The President tree is second, and the General Grant tree is third.<ref name=cone/><ref name=natgeo/> General Sherman has {{convert|2000|ft3|m3}} more wood than the President tree.<ref name=cone/>|group="note"|name="Sillett"}}
|3,200
|-
|4
|[[Lincoln Tree|Lincoln]]
|[[Giant Forest]]
|{{convert|256|ft|m|disp=table}}
|{{convert|98|ft|m|disp=table}}
|{{convert|44471|ft3|m3|disp=table}}
|
|-
|5
|[[Stagg Tree|Stagg]]
|[[Alder Creek Grove]]
|{{convert|243|ft|m|disp=table}}
|{{convert|109|ft|m|disp=table}}
|{{convert|42557|ft3|m3|disp=table}}
|3,000
|-
|6
|[[Boole Tree|Boole]]
|[[Converse Basin]]
|{{convert|269|ft|m|disp=table}}
|{{convert|113|ft|m|disp=table}}
|{{convert|42472|ft3|m3|disp=table}}
|2,000 (minimum)
|-
|7
|[[Genesis Tree|Genesis]]
|[[Mountain Home Grove]]
|{{convert|253|ft|m|disp=table}}
|{{convert|85|ft|m|disp=table}}
|{{convert|41897|ft3|m3|disp=table}}
|
|-
|8
|[[Franklin Tree|Franklin]]
|[[Giant Forest]]
|{{convert|224|ft|m|disp=table}}
|{{convert|95|ft|m|disp=table}}
|{{convert|41280|ft3|m3|1|disp=table}}
|
|-
|9
|[[King Arthur Tree|King Arthur]]
|[[Garfield Grove]]
|{{convert|270|ft|m|disp=table}}
|{{convert|104|ft|m|disp=table}}
|{{convert|40656|ft3|m3|disp=table}}
|
|-
|10
|[[Monroe Tree|Monroe]]
|[[Giant Forest]]
|{{convert|248|ft|m|disp=table}}
|{{convert|91|ft|m|disp=table}}
|{{convert|40104|ft3|m3|disp=table}}
|
|}
* The General Sherman tree is estimated to weigh about 2100 [[tonne]]s.{{sfn|White|Fry|1938}}
* The [[Washington Tree]] was previously arguably the second largest tree with a volume of {{convert|47850|ft3|m3}} (although the upper half of its trunk was hollow, making the calculated volume debatable), but after losing the hollow upper half of its trunk in January 2005 following a fire, it is no longer of great size.
* The largest giant sequoia ever recorded was the Father of the Forest from Calaveras Grove, an exceedingly massive tree which fell many centuries ago in the North Grove. Reportedly, the tree was once over 435&nbsp;ft tall, and 110&nbsp;ft in circumference, with a minimum height of 365 feet.<ref>Report on the Big Trees of California, United States Forest Service, 1900</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.loc.gov/item/2018645419/ | title="Father of the Forest", a Giant of Giants—fallen centuries ago—originally 435 ft. High, 110 ft. Cir., Calaveras Grove, Cal | website=[[Library of Congress]] | access-date=September 12, 2023 | archive-date=September 6, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230906081931/https://www.loc.gov/item/2018645419/ | url-status=live }}</ref> Now, what is left of the tree is a popular tourist attraction.

===Tallest===
* Redwood – [[Redwood Mountain Grove]] – {{convert|311|ft|m|order=flip}}<ref name="Flint 2002"/>
* tallest outside the United States:<ref name=outside_the_US /> specimen near [[Ribeauvillé]], [[France]], measured in 2014 at a height of {{convert|58|m|ft|abbr=on}}<ref name="ribeauville" /><ref name=Ribeauville /> at age 158 years.

===Oldest===
[[File:The Muir Snag.jpg|thumb|upright|The Muir Snag, believed to be over 3500 years old]]
{{See also|List of oldest trees}}
* Muir Snag – [[Converse Basin|Converse Basin Grove]] – more than 3500 years<ref name="Flint 2002"/>

===Greatest girth===
* Waterfall Tree – [[Alder Creek Grove]] – {{convert|155|ft|m|order=flip}} – tree with enormous basal buttress on very steep ground.<ref name="Flint 2002"/>

===Greatest base diameter===
* Waterfall Tree – [[Alder Creek Grove]] – {{convert|69|ft|m|order=flip}} – tree with enormous basal buttress on very steep ground.<ref name="Flint 2002"/>
* Tunnel Tree – [[Atwell Mill Grove]] – {{convert|57|ft|m|order=flip}} – tree with a huge flared base that has burned all the way through.<ref name="Flint 2002"/>

===Greatest mean diameter at breast height===
* [[General Grant (tree)|General Grant]] – [[General Grant Grove]] – {{convert|29|ft|m|order=flip}}<ref name="Flint 2002"/>

===Largest limb===
* Arm Tree – [[Atwell Mill Grove|Atwell Mill]], [[East Fork Grove]] – {{convert|13|ft|m|order=flip}} in diameter<ref name="Flint 2002"/>

===Thickest bark===
* {{convert|3|ft|m|1|order=flip}} or more<ref name="Flint 2002"/>

==See also==
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
* [[Mother of the Forest]]
* [[Discovery Tree]]
* [[The House (trees)]]
* [[Largest organisms]]
* [[Kings Canyon National Park]]
* [[Yosemite National Park]]
* [[Calaveras Big Trees State Park]]
* [[Old growth forest]]
* [[List of superlative trees]]
{{div col end}}

==Notes==
{{Reflist|group="note"}}

==References==
{{Reflist|33em}}

==Sources==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |editor-last=Aune |editor-first=P. S. |year=1994 |title=Proceedings of the Symposium on Giant Sequoias |publisher=US Dept. of Agriculture Forest Service (Pacific Southwest Research Station) |id=General Technical Report PSW-GTR-151 |url=http://www.fs.fed.us/psw/publications/documents/psw_gtr151/ |access-date=February 8, 2013 |archive-date=October 20, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111020001114/http://www.fs.fed.us/psw/publications/documents/psw_gtr151/ |url-status=live}}
* {{cite book |last=Flint |first=W. D. |year=2002 |title=To Find The Biggest Tree |publisher=Sequoia Natural History Association, Inc. |isbn=1-878441-09-4}}
* {{cite book |first=Alan |last=Mitchell |author-link=Alan Mitchell (botanist) |year=1996 |title=Alan Mitchell's Trees of Britain |publisher=HarperCollins |isbn=0-00-219972-6}}
* {{cite book |last1=Harvey |first1=H. Thomas |last2=Shellhammer |first2=Howard S. |last3=Stecker |first3=Ronald E. |year=1980 |title=Giant Sequoia Ecology: Fire and Reproduction |publisher=U.S. National Park Service |series=Scientific Monograph Series |volume=12 |location=Washington, DC |url=https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/science/12/index.htm |access-date=September 27, 2023 |archive-date=September 28, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220928212628/https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/science/12/index.htm |url-status=live}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Kilgore |first1=B. |year=1970 |title=Restoring Fire to the Sequoias |journal=National Parks and Conservation Magazine |volume=44 |issue=277 |pages=16–22}}
* {{cite book |title=Conifers Around the World |year=2012 |publisher=DendroPress |isbn=978-963-219-061-7 |page=1089 |url=http://conifersaroundtheworld.com/ |author=Zsolt Debreczy |author2=Istvan Racz |edition=1st |editor=Kathy Musial |access-date=October 18, 2012 |archive-date=December 8, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208103230/http://conifersaroundtheworld.com/ |url-status=live}}
* {{cite book |last1=White |first1=J. R. |last2=Fry |first2=W. |date=1938 |title=Big Trees |location=United Kingdom |publisher=Stanford University Press}}
* {{cite news |url=https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2024/mar/giant-sequoias-are-rapidly-growing-feature-uk-landscape |title=Giant sequoias are a rapidly growing feature of the UK landscape |date=March 13, 2024}}
{{Refend}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book | last1 = Chase| first1 = J. Smeaton| author-link1 = J. Smeaton Chase|others=[[Carl Eytel|Eytel, Carl]] (illustrations)|title = Cone-bearing Trees of the California Mountains |chapter=''Sequoia gigantea'', Also called ''S. washingtoniana'' or ''S. wellingtonia'' (Big-tree, Sequoia, Redwood)|chapter-url = https://archive.org/details/conebearingtrees00chas/page/88/mode/2up| location = Chicago | publisher = [[A.C. McClurg & Co.]] | pages = 88–90 |year=1911 | oclc = 3477527|lccn=11004975}}
* {{Gymnosperm Database |family=Cupressaceae |genus=Sequoiadendron |title=Sequoiadendron giganteum}}
* {{FEIS |last=Habeck |first=R. J. |date=1992 |type=tree |genus=Sequoiadendron |species=giganteum}}
* {{cite book |first1=Richard J. |last1=Hartesveldt |first2=H. Thomas |last2=Harvey |first3=Howard S. |last3=Shellhammer |first4=Ronald E. |last4=Stecker |date=1975 |title=The Giant Sequoia of the Sierra Nevada |url=https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/science/hartesveldt/index.htm |publisher=[[National Park Service]] |place=Washington, D.C.}}

==External links==
{{sister project links|s=The Encyclopedia Americana (1920)/Sequoia Gigantea|display=''Sequoiadendron giganteum''|auto=1}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070309182252/http://www.arkive.org/species/GES/plants_and_algae/Sequoiadendron_giganteum/ ARKive: ''Sequoiadendron giganteum''], arkive.org
* [http://www.pinetum.org/cones/Sequoiadendron.htm Arboretum de Villardebelle – photos of cones & shoots with phenology notes], pinetum.org
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090831072931/http://www.nps.gov/seki/naturescience/fic_abstr21.htm Giant Sequoia Fire History in Mariposa Grove, Yosemite National Park], nps.gov
* [http://www.savetheredwoods.org/ Save-the-Redwoods League], savethewoods.org
* [http://www.yosemite.ca.us/library/sequoias_of_yosemite/ "Sequoias of Yosemite National Park"] 1949 by James W. McFarland
* [http://www.redwoodworld.co.uk/ Redwoodworld.co.uk] giant redwoods in the U.K.
* [http://www.yosemite.ca.us/library/scenes_of_wonder_and_curiosity/calaveras_big_trees.html#page_10 Scenes of Wonder and Curiosity in California (1862) – The Mammoth Trees Of Calaveras], yosemite.ca.us.
* Short radio episode [https://web.archive.org/web/20040523194932/http://californialegacy.org/radio_anthology/scripts/muir.html Woody Gospel Letter] in which [[John Muir]] extols "King Sequoia" from ''The Life and Letters of John Muir'', 1924. [[California Legacy Project]].
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Sequoia |short=x}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130216103128/http://conifersaroundtheworld.com/blog/sequoiadendron_giganteum_giant_sequoia Conifers Around the World: Sequoiadendron giganteum – Giant Sequoia].
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hu_QKfDKelM Giants of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park], On ''YouTube'' by Sequoia Parks Conservancy.
* {{YouTube|2E7LWqqprTc|Video and commentary on the cones and bark characteristics}}.

{{Taxonbar|from=Q149851}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Sequoiadendron|giganteum]]
[[Category:Endemic flora of California]]
[[Category:Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States)]]
[[Category:Trees of Northern America]]
[[Category:Symbols of California]]
[[Category:Garden plants of North America]]
[[Category:Ornamental trees]]
[[Category:Plants described in 1939]]
[[Category:Taxa named by John Lindley]]
[[Category:Trees of temperate climates]]