Looking at the environment around us, at the beauties that nature gives, at the trees that seem huge to us, one involuntarily wonders: how old are the trees that we meet daily on the way to work? But the tree that seems to be the largest among all is just a small bush compared to the largest tree in the world. Not everyone has seen and knows the very only tree that has incredible dimensions. So what is the biggest tree in the world?
Some historical facts
The name of the giant and the only living creature of this size is a sequoiadendron. The sequoia is also called the mammoth tree, and for good reason. In appearance, this tree resembles a mammoth with its huge size, and the hanging branches look like its tusks. For the first time in history, the mention of sequoia appeared in 1853. Most often these treesmet in the western part of California, on the slope of the Sierra Nevada. The giant sequoiadendron struck the people of the Old World, and the representatives of this plant were given the names of great people. Ljon Lindley, the first known botanist, first described the sequoia and named it after the English Duke of Wellington, who became a hero at the Battle of Waterloo. The Americans, having discovered another representative of the sequoia family, gave him the name George Washington in honor of the first president of the United States of America. After that, in 1939, the genus of giant trees got its name - sequoiadendron, which is used to this day.
Giant of our time
The largest tree in the world, the sequoiadendron, is now located in the place where it was first discovered: in California. Now there is a national park with the same name "Sequoia" on the mountain peaks of the Sierra Nevada. The largest tree in the world, whose name is General Sherman, is named after the commander and politician William Tecumseh Sherman. He gained his fame in the Civil War of 1861-1865. He was called a talented general, as he had the tactics of attacking the enemy, which was not subject to anyone. The general also has an infamous scorched-earth tactic.
Tree dimensions
The height of the largest tree in the world is more than eighty-three meters. The circumference of the trunk is twenty-four meters, and the crown is more than thirty-three.
The forest wherethis giant grows, it is called the Giant Forest. In addition to General Sherman, other sequoias grow there, but much smaller in size. This forest was first discovered by explorer John Muir in the nineteenth century. It was he who gave him this name. Part of the national park, in which huge trees grow, is called the Giant Forest to this day.
Tourists who come to California specifically to look at the world's largest tree describe its bark as a red-orange stone whose top cannot be seen. Photographed next to the General Sherman tree, people look like tiny ants.
The age of General Sherman
The question of the age of the legendary plant was controversial until recently. For a long time it was believed that the largest tree in the world is over three thousand years old. But recently, experts, after conducting a series of studies, officially announced that the age of the legendary sequoiadendron is two and a half thousand years. It is terrible to imagine what this mighty tree could survive in order to grow to such a staggering size. It is very difficult for a tree of this size to grow, and such giants die mainly not from old age, but because of the size of the branches, which are difficult for them to hold. The General Sherman tree also suffered losses in 2006. He lost the largest and heaviest branch, the diameter of which was two meters and a length of over thirty meters. When the branch fell, the fence and the road leading to the living sight were destroyed. But even after such a loss, General Sherman's tree did notno longer considered the largest tree in the world.
General Sherman is the largest plant in terms of size, but surprisingly not the oldest. The oldest tree is the California pine, which was four and a half thousand years old. But unfortunately, it has not survived to this day, as in 1965 it was cut down by unknown people. In the same year, giant sequoias were cut down, whose age reached three thousand years. There is an opinion that there are still centenarians on Earth, whose age is about five thousand years.
Tree growth
Despite the fact that the giant sequoiadendron is already huge, it continues to grow. Once a year, measurements are taken by specialists, and one can note the fact that the tree grows by one and a half centimeters every year.
In general, mature sequoiadendron trees reach a height of one hundred meters, and a trunk diameter of up to twelve meters.
Interesting facts about the national park
The National Park and its staff made sure that all people could see the legendary giant and take a photo of the largest tree in the world. A special road has been built for people with disabilities so that they can see the tree as close as possible.
Also in the national park in California there is a tree tunnel, which attracts a lot of attention from tourists. This tunnel is made from a redwood that fell in 1937. Since there was no way to move orto remove the tree, the staff had to make a tunnel leading to the park, as the fallen tree lay right at the entrance to the living attractions area.
Besides this, the park has the top of Moro Rock, which offers an incredible view of the entire "forest of giants".
But unfortunately, all the giants and centenarians of the national park may disappear from the face of the Earth. Such a threat is related to the climate in California. The drought, which has been going on for more than one year, endangers all plants, including the largest tree in the world, the sequoiadendron. No matter how powerful the sequoia trees are, they cannot withstand fires. Also, due to dryness, new trees do not have the opportunity to appear. Park employees are trying in every way to support the favorable life of the legendary plants.
