Sequoiadendron giganteum

Higher Taxonomy

Family: Cupressaceae

Common Name: CYPRESS FAMILY
Habit: Shrub, tree, generally evergreen; monoecious or dioecious. Leaf: simple, cauline, alternate or opposite (either +- 4-ranked) or whorled in 3s (6-ranked), linear or scale-, awl- or needle-like (sometimes linear and awl-like on 1 pl, or on juvenile or injured plants), generally decurrent, covering young stems. Pollen Cone: axillary or terminal. Seed Cone: +- fleshy to generally woody, generally hard at maturity; scales opposite or whorled, peltate or not. Seed: 1--many per scale, angled or lateral winged, generally wind-dispersed. Chromosomes: n=11.
Genera In Family: 30 genera, 130+ species: +- worldwide, especially North America, Eurasia. Note: Incl (paraphyletic) Taxodiaceae. Taxa of (polyphyletic) Cupressus in TJM (1993) now in Callitropsis, Chamaecyparis, Hesperocyparis.
eFlora Treatment Author: Jim A. Bartel, except as noted
Scientific Editor: Thomas J. Rosatti.

Genus: Sequoiadendron

View Description

Common Name: GIANT SEQUOIA

Etymology: (Greek: sequoia tree)
eFlora Treatment Author: Steve Boyd & James R. Griffin

Sequoiadendron giganteum (Lindl.) J. Buchholz

NATIVE
Habit: Tree, generally not sprouting. Stem: trunk < 90 m, to 11 m diam; old crown irregular, with large branches throughout; bark to +- 60 cm thick near base, fibrous, ridged, red-brown; branches spreading to downswept, ends upturned; twigs persistent < 20 years. Leaf: alternate, green < 4 years, persistent < 20; of 1 kind, appressed, +- 4-ranked, < 15 mm, awl-like. Pollen Cone: 4--8 mm, +- spheric to ovoid. Seed Cone: 40--90 mm, oblong, woody, maturing in 2 years, persistent < 20; scales peltate, fused to bracts. Seed: 3--9 per scale, 3--6 mm, wings 2, unequal, lateral. Chromosomes: n=11.
Ecology: Uncommon. Mixed-conifer forest, especially with favorable soil moisture; Elevation: 825--2700 m. Bioregional Distribution: SNH, naturalized in northwestern San Jacinto Mountains (Black Mountain), possibly naturalizing in San Gabriel Mountains, San Bernardino Mountains. Note: Most massive trunks in North America.
Unabridged Note: Schmid & Schmid (2011. Madroño 58:202--203; 2012. Aliso 30:19--32) rigorously documented that at least 157 plants (seedlings to saplings), some up to 40 years old (and reproducing), on northwestern flank of Black Mountain, northwestern San Jacinto Mountains, have descended naturally from plantings made nearby in 1974, and suggested that the same may occur from planted plants that are persisting in San Gabriel Mountains, San Bernardino Mountains.
Jepson eFlora Author: Steve Boyd & James R. Griffin
Index of California Plant Names (ICPN; linked via the Jepson Online Interchange)

Previous taxon: Sequoiadendron
Next taxon: Thuja

Botanical illustration including Sequoiadendron giganteum

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Citation for this treatment: Steve Boyd & James R. Griffin 2012, Sequoiadendron giganteum, in Jepson Flora Project (eds.) Jepson eFlora, https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=44178, accessed on April 23, 2024.

Citation for the whole project: Jepson Flora Project (eds.) 2024, Jepson eFlora, https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/, accessed on April 23, 2024.

Sequoiadendron giganteum

Sequoiadendron giganteum

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Geographic subdivisions for Sequoiadendron giganteum: SNH, naturalized in northwestern San Jacinto Mountains (Black Mountain), possibly naturalizing in San Gabriel Mountains, San Bernardino Mountains.	MAP CONTROLS 1. You can change the display of the base map layer control box in the upper right-hand corner. 2. County and Jepson Region polygons can be turned off and on using the check boxes.

(Note: any qualifiers in the taxon distribution description, such as 'northern', 'southern', 'adjacent' etc., are not reflected in the map above, and in some cases indication of a taxon in a subdivision is based on a single collection or author-verified occurence).	Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria. MAP LEGEND View all CCH records All markers link to CCH specimen records. The original determination is shown in the popup window. Blue markers indicate specimens that map to one of the expected Jepson geographic subdivisions (see left map). Purple markers indicate specimens collected from a garden, greenhouse, or other non-wild location. Yellow markers indicate records that may provide evidence for eFlora range revision or may have georeferencing or identification issues. READ ABOUT YELLOW FLAGS CCH collections by month Duplicates counted once; synonyms included. Species do not include records of infraspecific taxa, if there are more than 1 infraspecific taxon in CA. Blue line denotes eFlora flowering time (fruiting time in some monocot genera).