Sequoia

Sequoia, a genus of Coniferae named after a remarkable Cherokee Indian (otherwise George Guess), who gave his tribe a written syllabic alphabet of eighty-six characters, and died in New Mexico in 1845. The genus is characterised by peltate cone scales, each bearing from five to seven seeds. There are only two living species, both natives of Western North America, S. gigantea (the Wellingtonia of our gardens, or Big or Mammoth Tree of Americans), and S. sempervirens (the Californian Redwood). The Mammoth Tree is a native of the Sierra Nevada, and reaches over 1,000 years of age, 450 feet in height, and 112 feet in circumference. It was discovered in 1850, and introduced into England in 1853. It grows well in deep clay soils on high ground. The Redwood has a wider range in latitude as a wild tree, and reaches 300 feet in height. It has shaggy, reddish bark and very dark foliage. Its wood is of good texture, but monotonous in grain. It is a little used in cabinet work. Fossil species of Sequoia occur in the Gault of Folkestone, the leaf beds of Mull (Eocene?), the Oligocene of Switzerland, and the Pliocene of Italy.