The maximum height of the sequoia is evergreen. The tree is a giant

The flora of our planet is amazing and diverse. One of the most interesting is the isolated genus of trees, consisting of only one species, represented by an evergreen sequoia. There are several more names of this plant - sequoia red and taxodium evergreen. These representatives of the Taxodian family are absolute leaders in height, not only among conifers, but in the entire vegetable kingdom of the Earth. The maximum height of the sequoia strikes the imagination is evergreen. What power, what power! Let's talk about this giant, preserved from ancient times.

Sequoia: a giant tree

Sequoia is one of the three tree species known under the mahogany epithet. It is an evergreen ephedra whose life expectancy reaches 3000 years, according to different evidences, up to 115, and the diameter of the base is 5-6 and more meters. The name "sequoia" is supposedly given to a plant in honor of the leader of the Indian tribe Cherokee - Sequoia, but it is possible that this is only a beautiful legend.

Maximum height of sequoia evergreen

These trees are real giants. The height to which they stretch is striking, and it is difficult for people who have never seen them to imagine a plant reaching the roof of a 46-story building. This is really a unique tree, because even the average specimens in the main mass exceed the sixty-meter mark. Many conifers of this species are capable of ninety-meter growth, and there are record holders. The maximum height of the evergreen sequoia, called "Father of the Forests" and, unfortunately, not preserved until our days, was 135 meters. The modern unconditional leader is the sequoia Hyperion, which reached 115.6 meters in height. Equally impressive is the diameter of the base of the Hyperion - almost 5 meters. The approximate age of the giant is about 800 years.

The leadership of this plant was established in 2006 by American scientists. They also said that if the top of the tree had not been damaged by birds, then the maximum height of sequoia evergreen in meters would be 115.8 m. There is a giant in California's Redwood National Park, California, and anyone can admire it. In the history of mankind, the largest diameter of the trunk is registered - 7 m, and also a solid age, reaching up to 3.5 thousand years.

Features of the view

So, the sequoia is an evergreen monophatic cone with a crown of conical shape. The branches of the tree tend to grow horizontally or with a slight downward slope. The bark, reaching a thickness of 30 cm, has a fibrous, dissected on deep furrows, a relatively soft structure and a terracotta tint, darkening after some time after its removal. It is this property of the bark that gave the name to the species - "mahogany".

Among all taxodia sequoias, the most valuable wood with a core of pink-red tone and cream or white sapwood, i.e., layers between the core and cambium. Surprisingly, the quality of wood in one trunk can vary. The highest peak height evergreen, exceeding 110 meters, as a business card of the species, indicates the uniqueness of this plant. One tree is able to give wood substantially more than 1000 cubic meters.

The narrow tree crown, decorated with cones, begins to grow above the third part of the trunk. The root system is formed by strongly extending lateral roots, which are not deep in the ground.

Sequoia is not only a giant, but also a long-liver - one of the longest living plants on Earth. Her age is more than 2000 years. The maturity of young sequoias reach 400-500 years.

Reproduction of redwood

In the nature there are many amazing events. So the sequoia, the great Gulliver of the vegetable kingdom, grows from a tiny seed, the length of which does not exceed half a centimeter. The sequoia reproduces by seeds, collected in small single oval-shaped cones, can also yield abundant growths. Plant cones measuring 15 to 30 mm mature at the end of autumn and contain 3-7 seeds that spill out when the fetus dries.

The peculiarity of the species is the absence of differences in the rates of growth and longevity between seedlings grown from seeds and young growths occurring spontaneously. The maximum height of the sequoia does not change evergreen, depending on the method of germination.

Where grow giant trees?

Long ago, at the end of the Cretaceous, these evergreen plants were spread throughout the northern hemisphere. Then no one was struck by the maximum height of the sequoia evergreen.

Today, the remains of the relict forests where it grows are preserved in the limited space of the west of North America: on a narrow strip of the Pacific coast stretching from the Monterey County in the Californian north to the River Cheko in southern Oregon. This strip lasts just over 700 km, and is located at an altitude of 600 to 900 meters above sea level. A moist climate is necessary for the sequoia, so it can not spread further from the coast than 30-40 km, and always remains in the zone of influence of sea air, which carries much-needed water to the plant.

For the first time the concept of "sequoia forests" arose in 1769 when they were discovered on the Pacific coast. At the same time, the plant was named after the color of wood "mahogany", which has been preserved to this day. In 1847, the Austrian biologist Stefan Endlikher, these plants were separated into a separate species, the characteristic feature of which was the maximum height of sequoia evergreen, in meters exceeding 100-110.

Properties of wood

The excellent quality wood of the plant, dense, light, not susceptible to insect pests and putrefaction, is widely known in the world and is used as a carpentry material, which is often indispensable in the manufacture of various things - from sleepers and furniture to finished houses. The complete lack of wood odor makes it possible to use the material in those areas of industrial production, where necessary, for example, in food and tobacco. Surprising is the maximum height of the sequoia evergreen. Photos of these plants, presented in the article, emphasize their greatness, power and beauty.