Talk:Sequoia

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Mid This article has been rated as Mid-importance on the importance scale.

Contents

[edit] Assessment

whoever did first assessment on importance doesnt seem to have left any notes. It seems this page deserves at least a Mid assessment. Architectsf 23:17, 22 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Awaiting an admin move

It seems pretty weird to me that an article which didn't even have a talk page is "awaiting an admin move back to Sequoia". Gene Nygaard 09:43, 30 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Please leave it at Sequoia. This is part of an agreed policy change discussed at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Tree of Life, to work towards a move of plants to scientific name titles, beginning with some conifer families. The move to "california redwood" was not done with reference to the WP:TOL project. - MPF 11:31, 30 Apr 2005 (UTC)
This just seems weird, even if sequoia is the genus. By all accounts, the tall ones are called Redwoods (or Coast Redwoods) and the fat ones are called Giant Sequoias. It is misleading to call this one Sequoia IMHO. Bonus Onus 01:58, May 19, 2005 (UTC)
I agree with Bonus Onus. I live in California; when people talk here about a "Sequoia," they mean the Giant Sequoias in the eastern central part of the state. Everyone calls the tall ones "redwoods," as Bonus Onus states. Calling a redwood a "Sequoia" in the common vernacular sounds like it's wrong. While it's an admirable goal to headline articles with scientific names, I think a statement in the introductory sentence should indicate something like "while the correct genus is 'sequoia,' the tree is more commonly referred to as a 'redwood' by the layperson." Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, so while it should be accurate, it should not be confusing in the effort to be accurate. People will be coming here for information, and they shouldn't be confused in the process or think they're in the wrong article.David Hoag 17:34, 8 August 2005 (UTC)
Leave it. it is the agreed upon policy and this is not subject to what everyone calls it. i fyou dont like it put a redirect in. 03:46, 8 October 2005 (UTC)
I read in the LA Times, decades ago, that the Coast Redwoods live within the range of the fog, and thrive there for that reason. That is a clear difference between them and Giant Sequoias. Ancheta Wis 12:16, 2 October 2005 (UTC) The article on Giant Sequoia says "Giant Sequoia is distinct from the Coast Redwood at the genus level"
Agreed: this article has a misleading title. Coastal redwoods and sequoias are two related but distinct species. The redwoods are taller, slimmer, and live half as long. Redwoods occupy a different ecosystem and have a greater need for water. Durova 16:54, 23 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Pronunciation

It would be nice to have a sound file to help pronounce words like these.

[edit] Tallest tree ever

The Thorpdale, Victoria article states the town once had a tree that was 114 m tall, which is taller than the Dyerville Giant. Piet 10:11, 17 February 2006 (UTC)

Oops it says tallest sequoia ever not tallest tree. My excuses. Piet 13:23, 17 February 2006 (UTC)
That height is only an unverified claim, anyway - MPF 10:32, 20 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] This article is badly named

In California, when referring to a tree, "Sequoia" means exactly one thing: Sequoiadendron giganteum. The trees in this article (Sequoia sempervirens) are called redwoods. Now I can understand having "redwood" as a disambiguation page, but at the very least this page should be given a name that 1) is not used to describe an entirely different organism, and 2) unambiguously refers to this organism. I think the best name would be Coast Redwood, which at least incorporates the common name, though the full binomial name would at least be an improvement over the current title. --Yath 14:44, 25 June 2006 (UTC)

I'd object, as it would leave it the sole article in Category:Cupressaceae not listed at its scientific name; monotypic genera are also by WP:TOL convention under their genus names only (c.f. Ginkgo, etc) - MPF 00:11, 26 June 2006 (UTC)
Why is it important for all articles in Category:Cupressaceae to be listed at their scientific names? --Yath 03:38, 26 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Family vs. Fairy ring

I know next to nothing about plants. From what I can tell by searching, however, a "fairy ring" is a ring of fungi. I can't find anything about "family ring" online that wasn't copied out of Wikipedia, but at least the image page calls it a "family ring", not a "fairy ring". I may have messed up with the names, but at least there's some transparency now. --Starwiz 04:04, 9 July 2006 (UTC)

Thanks for looking into this Starwiz. The American Journal of Botany published a study by UC Berkeley's Environmental Science department [1] that refers to "fairy rings" in sequoia populations, and I can find no scholarly reference to "family rings" among sequoias. This may be a weak arguement for reverting back but it seems evidence enough for me. I admit that I, like you Starwiz, have extremely limited knowledge on this topic. If anyone has a more information I'm sure we'd all welcome it. Jared 19:53, 12 July 2006 (UTC)
I'm glad this is verified now--that study is way more evidence than I had. I've edited the description Image:Family_ring_of_redwoods.jpg to reflect the change. Starwiz 02:15, 13 July 2006 (UTC)


[edit] Height of lowest branches

When we were poking around in Redwood National Park I had my Leica laser rangefinder with me. I did measurements on the lowest major branches of a sequioa tree and they averaged about 125 ft (40 m) above the ground. Truly amazing. My results aren't scientific enough to put in the article, but it's a good "gee whiz" thing for the discussion page. -Rolypolyman 20:05, 12 October 2006 (UTC)

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