Home » Explore Brooklyn Botanic Garden » Big City, Big Trees
Big City, Big Trees
5. Daffodil Hill
Giant Sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum)
| Native Habitat: | Sierra Nevada mountains of California |
Car driving under a giant sequoia, 1963. Photo: Brian Lockhart, USDA Forest Service, bugwood.org.
In terms of volume, giant sequoias are the largest organisms in the world—and some specimens are over 3,000 years old. One secret to the longevity of these giants is their bark, which is up to three feet thick and can block flames. Forest fires seldom kill giant sequoias; rather, their heat opens the trees' cones, releasing seeds. Man has done a great deal more damage to this species through rampant logging.
Notable Neighbors:
- 5A. London plane tree (Platanus x acerifolia)
- 5B. Lacebark pine (Pinus bungeana)
- 5C. Giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum)
- 5D. Cedar of Lebanon (Cedrus libani)
- 5E. Tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera)