Giant Mammoth (Giant sequoiadendron)
Appearance: Evergreen, do 80 m tall coniferous tree with a conical crown and quite densely arranged branches. The trunk is strikingly thick at the base, next – gradually tapering.
Branches in older specimens do not grow until high above the ground, they grow whorls in their youth, with age – irregularly. The bark is strikingly soft and thick (do 50 cm), deeply furrowed and cracked in old trees, colors from red to dark brown, falls off the fibers. Young shoots very stiff and strong, greenish gray.
High-heeled shoes, arranged in a spiral or in three longitudinal rows have 5-10 mm in length, they are lanceolate or scaly, tightened, flat on top, and longitudinally grooved underneath. In the lower parts of the shoots, they adhere to the twigs, and in the apex zone they stand out clearly. They are dark green or bluish green, sometimes shiny; when rubbed, they give off the smell of anise.
Male flowers always grow singly at the ends of the shoots. Female cones appear singly or in pairs at their thicker ends, longitudinally spherical, about 4×3 cm, when ripe it is dark brown. Discs on cone scales with a distinct thorny process.
Occurrence: Today the mammoth tree is found in the wild only in the areas in between 1500 a 2500 m n.p.m., on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California. However, it is widely distributed in Europe as an ornamental and park tree.
Flowering period: March to April. General thoughts: Mammoths reach biblical age, however, they are not among the record holders in terms of age. Nevertheless, the age they reached 2000-3000 is impressive. Specimens of this species often grow up to 100 m, not reaching the height of the evergreen redwood, they are, however, much more elongated. The wood thickness of the largest known specimen, General Sherman Tree is roughly the weight of half a hectare of spruce wood. The most magnificent trees grow in California in the Sequoia National Park, where they are protected. Soon after the discovery of these giants, numerous US presidents personally engaged in their behavior.
A related species:
Japanese language (Cryptomeria japonica) it is much lower and less massive, than her North American cousin. It has a spiral arrangement, very stiff and sharp pins approx 15 mm, the ends of which are sickle-shaped. This species is native to Japan, in Europe, however, it is often used as a park and ornamental tree. As with all relatives of the mammoth tree, the cones are surprisingly small in size – only reach a length of 2 centimeters.