Adjacent Words

big tree definitions

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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: extremely lofty evergreen of southern end of western foothills of Sierra Nevada in California; largest living organism [syn: giant sequoia, big tree, Sierra redwood, Sequoiadendron giganteum, Sequoia gigantea, Sequoia Wellingtonia]

Merriam Webster's

noun Date: 1853 giant sequoia

Britannica Concise

Coniferous evergreen (Sequoiadendron giganteum; see conifer) found in scattered groves on the W slopes of the Sierra Nevada Range of California. The largest of all trees in bulk, the big tree is distinguished from the coastal redwood (Sequoia) by having uniformly scalelike, or awl-shaped, leaves that lie close against the branches, scaleless winter buds, and cones requiring two seasons to mature. The pyramidal tree shape, reddish-brown furrowed bark, and drooping branches are common to both genera. The largest specimen (in total bulk) is the General Sherman tree in Sequoia National Park--101.5 ft (31 m) in circumference at its base, 272.4 ft (83 m) tall, and weighing an estimated 6,167 tons (5,593 metric tons). Because big-tree lumber is more brittle than redwood lumber and thus less desirable, the big tree has been easier to preserve; though some groves have been cut, most of the 70 remaining groves are now protected by state or national forests or parks.