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We headed north in search of the biggest tree in the world. Sequoia trees stop growing up at some point but continue growing in girth, even if the top of the tree is dead. The General Sherman is 2,200 years old and it the biggest tree in the world by volume. This tree trunk can hold enough water to equal a bath a day for 27 years!
It’s hard to get the whole tree in the picture. The information board compared it to a mouse looking up to a 6ft tall man.
These trees are amazing. The pinecones hold 200 seeds and stay on the tree for 10 to 20 years. Each year trees produce about 2000 new cones. One ranger said they studied the Douglas squirrel and it knocked down 500 cones from various trees in one day. Once the little seeds fall they have to find a place on the forest floor to grow. They don’t like pine needles in their way so rangers light prescribed fires to provide a nice area for the seedlings. Cleaning the forest floor also keeps fuel low for fires set by mother nature. An area that has been burned is less flammable for years to come.
The roots are very shallow, but they go out as far as the tree is tall!
Adult sequoias are rarely killed by fire because their branches are above most fires. As for younger sequoias, they heal well after a fire. The wood doesn’t burn easily, but it can be burned and still grow for centuries. They grow quickly after fires with the competing trees burned away, soaking up the sunlight, moisture and nutrients. This intake can result in rapid growth for up to 100 years! Sequoias resist rot, have bark that is up to two feet thick and the bark contains tannin which detours damaging insects. With all these adaptations it’s easy to see why some sequoias are over 3,000 years old!
There are some giant pine cones in the forest too. It is a felony to remove pine cones (anything) from a national park.
