Sequoiadendron giganteum

Sequoiadendron is the only close relative to the Redwood and contains a single species from the Sierra Nevada Mountains of eastern California. This single species is a giant among trees and is considered by many the most massive living organism. Although not the tallest tree in North America, it comes very close. The largest individual Giant Sequoia is the General Sherman tree. Latest published figures indicate that the General Sherman has a height of 83.8m, a diameter near the base of 7.7m and the total volume of the tree is almost 1500 cubic metres! The trunk is estimated to weigh around the equivalent of 15 adult blue whales or 10 train locomotives. A handsome hardy fir tree easy to grow from seed with red bark and even young trees gain large trunks quite quickly.