Wellingtonia gigantea Lindley, Gard. Chron. 1853: 823. 1853; Sequoia gigantea (Lindley) Decaisne (1854), not Endlicher (1847).

Trees to 90 m tall; trunk strongly buttressed at base, to 12 m d.b.h.; bark brown, spongy, deeply fissured and finally separating into cinnamon-colored fibers; crown conical when young,

becoming open with age; branches of young trees spreading, on older trees drooping; axis of branchlets green or dark green in 1st year, thereafter pale brown to reddish brown. Leaves blue-green, base decurrent, distal free portion 3-5 mm, apex sharply pointed. Seed cones ellipsoid, 5-8 × 3-5.5 cm; cone scales shieldlike, ca. 2.5 cm, apical scales 6-10 mm wide, with distal groove, ending in a long, terete spine at middle when young. Seeds pale brown, elongate-ellipsoid, 3-6 mm.

In the wild, this tree can reach an age of 3500 years.

Cultivated. Shandong, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Zhejiang (Hangzhou Shi) [native to W United States].