Evergreen sequoia (Sequoia)
Appearance: An evergreen coniferous tree with quite broad, columnar crown, very regular in young trees due to the whorl arrangement. Straight trunk, cylindrical, in older trees they have turned out, they were always noticeably thick at the ground, gradually tapering towards the top. In the area of origin, it reaches a height of more than 100 m, and thus it is certainly one of the tallest trees in the world.
The bark of older specimens is red or reddish-brown, with deep longitudinal furrows with falling longitudinal ones, with fine fibers, quite soft. Stems branched irregularly, green, with flaky scaly leaves. Side shoots with flat pins arranged in two rows.
Pins up to 2 cm, equilibrium to lanceolate, at the front, sharpened on top, dark green and slightly shiny, on the underside with two distinct whitish or gray stripes.
Male flowers collected in large numbers, the tops at the tips of young shoots are yellow and approx 2 mm in length. Female cones grow mostly on older twigs, May 2-2,5 cm in length, they are spherical or oval, with wrinkles, woody and spirally arranged cone scales, which strongly open up when the cones mature. Occurrence: The evergreen sequoia is native to western North America, where it grows between southern Oregon and central California. It occurs there in lowlands and hilly coasts, moist with mists. Since the 19th century, it has also been planted in many parts of Europe as an ornamental and park tree – however, it only succeeds in areas with wetter climates with very mild winters,
Flowering period: From February to March.
General thoughts: The largest known representative of this species so far reached the height 120 m, and his pma circumference was close 20 m – it was certainly rightly called "coastal mammoth tree."”. In a dense stand, the sight of these tree-like giants makes a great impression. Much of their natural range has been set aside as Sequoia National Park and thus under protection. In America, the evergreen sequoia is called "redwood."”. This term comes from the reddish-brown color of the heartwood, which in the past was used mostly as a building material, today, however, because of its ornamental, flaming knots are also used in furniture carpentry. Dining tables are especially sought after, the top of which is made of cross sections of a single tree trunk.