Giant Sequoia trees are the largest of a living things on the planet and a must-see on a Yosemite tour. Giant Sequoias are neither the tallest nor the widest trees alive, but they are by volume the biggest.
This is a community of Giant Sequoia Trees, they grow along the Sierra Nevada mountain range at an elevation of about 6,000 ft. Giant Sequoias sprout only from seeds. Each year mature trees may produce 2,000 cones that collectively produce half a million seeds so small and light they look like oat flakes. Green, closed, and about the size of the hands at, cones by staying on the tree for over 20 years. After four or five years lichen growth sometimes shuts them so they cannot release their seeds. Flyers, the Douglas squirrel and larvae of a tiny one boring beetle all help the cone to release its seeds. Once that seeds have reached the ground it does not guarantee the beginning of the life of a new Giant Sequoia. The seed must land on fertile ground that is not covered by branches, leaves and other tree litter since the seed can only produce a temperature of 1 in. in length.
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