General Sherman (tree)

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General Sherman tree from Sequoia National Park

General Sherman is the name of a Giant Sequoia. It is the largest tree in the world, and generally considered the largest organism, as measured by the volume of its trunk (1487 cubic metres as of 2002). It is approximately 2,200 years old. The tree is located in the Giant Forest of Sequoia National Park in the United States, east of Visalia, California.

It was named after General William Tecumseh Sherman, American Civil War leader, by naturalist James Wolverton in 1879. Wolverton had served as a Lieutenant in the 9th Indiana Cavalry under Sherman. Additionally, the utopian socialist community Kaweah Colony, who settled nearby in the 1880s, named it after Karl Marx [1]. The tree was identified as the largest in a 1931 dispute with the nearby General Grant tree, after which wood volume was the widely accepted determining factor [2].

In January of 2006 the largest branch on the tree, seen most commonly in older photos as an "L" or "golf club" shape protruding from about 1/4th down the trunk, broke off. No one was present for the incident, but the branch, which had a diameter of over 2 m (6 feet) and a length of over 30 m (100 feet), bigger than most trees, smashed part of the enclosing fence and cratered the walkway pavement surrounding the sequoia. This is not believed to be indicative of any abnormalities with General Sherman's health, and may even be a natural defense mechanism against adverse weather conditions [3]. Also the branch loss does not change the tree's status as the largest tree, as that honor was bestowed based on crude measurements of trunk volume, excluding branches.

[edit] Statistics

General Sherman Tree

	Meters	Feet
Height above base	83.8	274.9
Circumference at ground	31.1	102.6
Maximum diameter at base	11.1	36.5
Diameter 1.5 m above base	8.25	27.0
Diameter 18 m (60') above base	5.3	17.5
Diameter 55 m (180') above base	4.3	14.0
Diameter of largest branch	2.1	6.8
Height of first large branch above the base	39.6	130.0
Average crown spread	32.5	106.5