The Taxonomic Position and the Scientific Name of the Big Tree Known As Sequoia Gigantea
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The Taxonomic Position and the Scientific Name of the Big Tree known as Sequoia gigantea HAROLD ST. JOHN and ROBERT W. KRAUSS l FOR NEARLY A CENTURY it has been cus ing psychological document, but its major,ity tomary to classify the big tree as Sequoia gigan vote does not settle either the taxonomy or tea Dcne., placing it in the same genus with the nomenclature of the big tree. No more the only other living species, Sequoia semper does the fact that "the National Park Service, virens (Lamb.) End!., the redwood. Both the which has almost exclusive custodY of this taxonomic placement and the nomenclature tree, has formally adopted the name Sequoia are now at issue. Buchholz (1939: 536) pro gigantea for it" (Dayton, 1943: 210) settle posed that the big tree be considered a dis the question. tinct genus, and he renamed the tree Sequoia The first issue is the generic status of the dendron giganteum (Lind!.) Buchholz. This trees. Though the two species \differ con dassification was not kindly received. Later, spicuously in foliage and in cone structure, to obtain the consensus of the Calif.ornian these differences have long been generally botanists, Dayton (1943: 209-219) sent them considered ofspecific and notofgeneric value. a questionnaire, then reported on and sum Sequoiadendron, when described by Buchholz, marized their replies. Of the 29 answering, was carefully documented, and his tabular 24 preferred the name Sequoia gigantea. Many comparison contains an impressive total of of the passages quoted show that these were combined generic and specific characters for preferences based on old custom or sentiment, his monotypic genus. This is readily avail and that few of them were willing to accept able to botanists, so it does not seem necessary whatever name proved correct under the laws to quote it in full here, but it does seem of nomenclature. Only 3 of the 29, on con appropriate to select and repeat those ma sideration of the botanical characters of the croscopic characters of stem, leaf, and cone big tree, came to the conclusion that it rep which seem of gerreric import. resented a distinct genus and should be called Sequoiadendron; and of the three, two were Sequoiadendron giganteum Sequoia sempervirens willing to accept it only provisionally. The Staminate cones sessile Staminate cones stipitate replies to this questionnaire make an interest- Ovulate cones remaining Ovulate cones turning green and attached to tree brown and shedding the for many years after ma seeds at maturity, becom turity of seeds, becoming ing 2-3 em. long, the 1 Department of Botany, University of Hawaii, 5-7 em. long, the axis axis relatively slender, Honolulu 14, Hawaii, and Department of Botany, very stout and woody, with 15-20 obliquely University of Matyland, College Park, Maryland, re with 25-40 wedge-shaped shield-shaped scales that spectively. Manuscript received Au-gust 27, 1953. scales that are not easily are easily broken off, 341 342 PACIFIC SCIENCE, Vol. VIII, July, 1954 broken off, terminated by terminated by a long flat Leaves often spreading in Leaves spirally arranged, a long terete spine, some tened spine, usually de 2 ranks, linear or linear linear, usually 4-angled what persistent, the scales ciduous, the scales bearing lanceolate, contracted (or in some species 3 bearing at pollination 3 at pollination 3-7 erect above base, usually flat angled or flat), with sto 12 or more erect ovules in ovules in single arched tened and grooved above, mata on 1 or 4 sides, double crescentic row, the row, the ovules becoming without or rarely with with 2 or 0 resin ducts, ovules becoming 3-9 2-5 seeds in a single row stomata, with 2 (rarely 4) the leaves attached by seeds in a (single or) near the margin of the resin ducts, leaves with peg-like bases which are double row on the sur scale, maturing the em out persistent leaf bases persistent on the branch face of the scale, maturing bryos in one season let the embryos in two sea sons Cupressus Chamaecyparis Stamens with 2-6 anther Stamens with 2-4 anther Seeds about 200 per cone, Seeds about 60 per cone, cells cells 5-7 mm. long, with two 3-4.5 mm. long, with thin wings broader than two spongy wings not as Pistillate cone ripening in Pistillate cone ripening in the body of the seed broad as the body of the 2 seasons, scales with 15 1 (or 2) seasons, scales seed 20 seeds with 1-5· seeds Buds naked Buds scaly Seeds with narrow hard Seeds with broad gauzy wings wings Vegetative reproduction Vegetative reproduction none abundant Cotyledons 3-4 Cotyledons 2 Leaves all small, of only Leaves dimorphic, the vig Branchlets 4-angled (or in Branchlets frond-like, one kind, not petioled orous terminalshoots with some species flattened or usually flattened small scale-like leaves; terete), irregularly dis- other branches with large posed scythe-shaped, petioled leaves Leaves scale-like, minute Leaves scale-like, entire ly denticulate-ciliate Stem habit stout, the Stem habit.more slender. branches. turning upward the branches horizontal or Thujopsis Thtda at tip drooping Staminate flowers with 6 Staminate flowers with Buchholz also tabulates numerous differ 10 pairs of stamens 6-12 decussate stamens ences in the gametophytes and in the devel Pistillate cones subglo Pistillate cones ovoid opment of the embryos. bose, the scales 6-8 with oblong or ovoid, scales a boss or mucro below with an apical thickened This tabulation shows the generic charac the apex, 4-6 pairs fertile, ridge or boss, only the ters to be numerous and impressive. A only the upper pair sterile, 2-3 middle pairs fertile, conclusion might be drawn here, but it is the fertile scales with 3-5 these with 2-3 seeds better to consider first other comparable pairs seeds of genera. in the Pinaceae or its segregate Leaves decussate, the lat Leaves decussate, scale related families. The following have long eral ones somewhat like, the literal ones near spreading, ovate-Ianceo ly covering the facial ones, been and are now almost universally accepted late and curved, with with or without glaucous as genera: glaucous white patches white patches below below Abies Picea Tsuga Picea Staminate cones oval Staminate Gones catkin like Staminate cones axillary, Staminate cones terminal, globose, anthers trans ament-like, anthers longi. Pistillate cones erect, with Pistillate cones diverging versely dehiscent tudinally dehiscent the axis p~rsistent, the or pendant, shedding as stipitate scales deciduous a whole with the sessile Pistillate cones 1. 5-7.5 Pistillate cones 2-15 cm. scales attached cm. long, cotyledons 3-6 long, cotyledons 5-10 Cotyledons 4-5 Cotyledons 5-10 Leaves spirally attached, Leaves spirally attached 2-ranked, flattened, and and arranged, usually 4 Winter buds usually res Winter buds without resin sromatiferous below or on angled (or in a few species inous both sides, narrowed into 3-angled or flat), with Sequoia gigantea - ST. JOHN AND KRAuss 343 a short petiole, in cross stomata on 1 or 4 sides, SYNONOMY OF SEQUOIA section with 1 tesin duct with 2 lateral resin ducts below the Iibtovasculat (Ot none) Sequoia sempervirens (D. Don in Lamb.) Endl., bundle Syn. Conif. 198, 1847. TaxodiurTI Sequoia (in former broad Taxodium sempervirens D. Don in Lamb., sense, including S. serTI Gen. Pinus 2: 24, 1824; also ed. 2, 2: pervirens and S. gigantea) 107, pI. 48, 1828. Staminate flowers in elon Staminate cones ovoid, Schubertia? sempervirens (D. Don in Lamb.) gate spikes or panicles, terminal or axillary, scales Spach, Hist. Nat. Veg. 11: 353, 1842. scales with 5-9 sporangia with 2-5 sporangia (Schubertia ,is a nomen genericum reji Pistillate cones subglo Pistillate cones oblong ciendum.) bose or obovoid, scales ovoid, scales 3-12-seeded, Sequoia gigantea Endl., Syn. Conif. 198, 2-seeded, thick, coriace woody, wedge-shaped, ous, peltate, the ape£ a often mucronate 1847, not of Dcne. 1854 which is Se 4-sided, often mucronate quoiadendron giganteum. disc Sequoia religiosa Presl, Bohmische Gesell. Seeds with 3 thick wings, Seeds with 2 wings, coty Wiss., Abhandl. V, 6: 597, 1851; and cotyledons 4-9, embryos ledons 2-5, embryos 2-5 reprinted as Epimel Bot. 237, 1851. 2 Condylocarpus Salisb., in Lamb., Gen. Pinus, Buds scaly Buds scaly or naked ed. minor 2: 120, 1832, published by D. Branchlets of '2 kinds, Branchlets of 1 or "2 kinds, Don in synonomy of Taxodium semper those near apex persist persistent virens D. Don in Lamb. ent, those lower and lat Gigantabies taxi/olia J. Nelson, under pseu eral deciduous donym Senilis, Pinae. 78, 1866. Short shoots persistent Short shoots deciduous Sequoia taxifolia Kirwan, Pinac. 246, 1868. Steinhauera sempervirens (D. Don in Lamb.) We should probably mention the recently Voss, Deut. Dendrol. Gesell., Mitt. 16 described genus Metasequoia with one living (1907): 90, 1908, the name Steinhauera species and many fossil ones, since there is now being a nomen genericum reji such a mass of writing on it. Its generic name ciendum. would suggest a close relationship to Sequoia, but it has many different characters, and, The customary name of this tree remains significantly, the cone scales are decussate unchanged. ' instead of spiral. It is not a close relative 0 f SYNONOMY OF SEQUOIADENDRON Sequoia. The generic differences are summar ized by ChaQ.ey (1951: 180). Sequoiadendron giganteum (Lindl.) Buchholz, After this review of the characters that have Amer. Jour. Bot. 26: 536-538, 1939. proved significant and acceptable for the sep Wellingtonia gigantea Lindl., Gard. Chron., , aration ofother pairs ofclosely related genera, 819-820, 823, 1853: and Hooker's Jour.