Curiosities of the Giant Sequoia

  • The giant sequoia is the tallest tree on Earth, reaching up to 115 meters in height.
  • Its roots are extremely long, measuring between 15 and 35 meters.
  • General Sherman, a giant sequoia, has the largest biomass of any living thing, at approximately 2000 tons.
  • Its growth is slow, averaging between 2 and 5 cm per year under suitable conditions.

Sequoiadendron giganteum

It is the tallest tree on Earth. The Giant sequoia It is admired and respected by millions of people around the world, and its pyramidal shape and enormous trunk are impressive. Furthermore, it is a species that is very difficult to grow after the seed has germinated, as its growth rate is so slow, that watering must be carefully controlled and it must be regularly treated with fungicide to prevent fungi from destroying it. To learn more about how to care for this species, you can visit our guide on How to grow a giant sequoia.

The seedling that manages to exceed one year of age, will be the one that can become a gigantic tree.

Curiosities of the Giant Sequoia

Sequoia

A matter of size ... and roots

To achieve a height high enough to capture as much light as possible, it is necessary to have a root system that is highly resistant to inclement weather. The one with the giant sequoia, it is. And it is that its roots measure from 15 to 35 meters long. Incredible, right? Its root system is so adaptable, that it has allowed it to reach a height of up to 115 meters, with a trunk thickness of 5 to 7 m. If you are interested in learning more about giant trees, you can check out our article on giant trees.

General Sherman, the living being with the highest biomass

This tree is located in the Giant Forest, within Sequoia National Park, in California. The General Sherman, as it is called, is the tree with the greatest biomass on Earth. It is not very tall (it measures 83,8 m), but it has 1487 cubicm of volume, a trunk perimeter of 31m, branches up to 40m long and an estimated weight of about 2000 tons. Its age is about 2000 years, which is relatively young considering that 3200-year-old specimens have been found. If you want to learn more about this impressive tree, you can read our post about it. general sherman tree.

Slowly but surely

The giant sequoia grows very slowly, at a rate of about 2-5cm / year. But if it grows in its natural habitat or in a similar climate, that is, with mild temperatures and frost in winter, it will have a good chance of survival. For those wondering how long it takes for a tree to grow, we recommend our article on how long does it take for a tree to grow.

Sequoiadendrum giganteum specimen
Related article:
Giant sequoia, the largest tree in the world

Redwood

Did you know these facts about the Giant Sequoia? Besides being the tallest tree, it's interesting to learn about its global distribution and how the Sequoia is also present in Spain in some specific places.


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      Yessenia said

    It is a wonderful tree, impressive in size

         Monica Sanchez said

      Yes it's correct. The sequoia is impressive. 🙂