Wellingtonia: Definition and naming origin
Chapter 1

The battle of the botanical giants

Chapter 2

Fire, squirrels, and a tiny beetle

Chapter 3

The sky-high penthouse suite

Chapter 4

The era of tree-mendous bloopers

Ch 1 · The battle of the botanical giants
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The heavyweight versus the high-jumper

futura While coast redwoods tower over 379 feet, giant sequoias pack 52,500 cubic feet of volume into a much heavier frame.

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The great British naming heist

futura John Buchholz ended the giant sequoia naming dispute in 1939 with Sequoiadendron.

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Fun Fact

Size vs weight: A mature giant sequoia can weigh over 2.7 million pounds, which is roughly equivalent to the weight of 6,000 grizzly bears.

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Glossary
wellingtonia (noun)
A giant coniferous tree native to California that has a wide tapering trunk and thick spongy bark. In 1853, British botanist John Lindley proposed this name to honor the Duke of Wellington.

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Gossip

Which name sounds most majestic for these massive trees?

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Quiz

How do giant sequoias fundamentally differ from their close cousins, the coast redwoods?

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Gossip

Would you rather climb a giant sequoia or a coast redwood?

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Quiz

Which specific giant sequoia in California is recognized as the world's largest tree by volume?

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Quiz

In what year did American botanist John Buchholz finally settle the scientific name of the giant sequoia as Sequoiadendron giganteum?

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Quiz

Which British war hero was the giant sequoia briefly named after in 1853, causing outrage in America?

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Quiz

Approximately how many giant sequoia seeds does it take to weigh a single pound?

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Quiz

What physical feature helps giant sequoia seeds disperse away from the parent tree?

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Quiz

How deep do the roots of a mature giant sequoia typically grow into the ground?

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Quiz

How do giant sequoias avoid falling over during severe windstorms despite having shallow roots?

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