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.
Sequoia is one of the three tree species knownunder the epithet "mahogany". This is an evergreen conifers 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.
The leadership of this plant was established in 2006year 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 biggest diameter of the trunk is registered - 7 m, and also a solid age, reaching up to 3,5 thousand years.
So, sequoia is an evergreen monophatic conifer withcrown 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, the sequoia has the mostvaluable wood core with pinkish-red tone white and creamy or sapwood, t. e. layers located between the core and the 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.
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 with seeds, collected in small single oval-shaped cones, can also yield abundant growths. Plant cones with a size of 15 to 30 mm ripen at the end of autumn and contain 3-7 seeds that pour out when the fetus dries.
The peculiarity of the species is the absence of differences ingrowth rates 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.
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.
For the first time the concept of "sequoia forests" arose in 1769year when they are found on the Pacific coast. At the same time, the plant was named after the color of wood "mahogany", which has survived 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.
The excellent quality wood of the plant,dense, light, not susceptible to insect pests and rotting, 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.