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Sequoias in Tokyo?

The sequoia in Tokyo is smaller, but I hope it will continue to grow.

Oct. 4 - After reading my earlier blog about the Big Trees State Park in California, one reader told me about a small "grove" of Sequoias in Tokyo. I went to look for them recently during my lunch hour.

On a pleasant tree-lined street just behind the Ark Hills complex, I found three stately trees that rose above the canopy of cherry trees lining both sides of the street. As I approached this "Sequoia Grove," I recognized their distinctive red bark with its pliant, spongy consistency.

Here's a close-up of the sign on the tree.

A small sign explained that this species of tree had been known only through fossil records until 1945, when a small grove was discovered in the mountains of China's Sichuan Province. These "living fossils" in Akasaka were grown from the seeds of these Chinese trees.

Ann and I at a Sequoia in California last summer

These three Sequoia trees are still babies, considering that the species has a lifespan of thousands of years. I wondered if these trees will continue to thrive in Tokyo, growing into massive 80-meter tall Sequoias like the ones in California. I hope that in 1,000 years, Tokyo residents who visit this spot will be awed by the grandeur of these three trees, just as I was when I visited their elder cousins in California last summer.

Until next time,

Jim

COMMENTS

Jim, I remember reading at Big Trees State Park that this is a third kind of Sequoia: There's the tallest, which are the coastal redwoods, the most massive, which are the Giant Sequoia, and a the Dawn Redwood, discovered in the 1940s in China, which would be these ... they are not likely to be as big around as the giant Sequoias, but they are still big, nonetheless. ... Also, an online search told me they are deciduous, with their needles turning orange in autumn.

I visited Yamanaka Spa last Saturday and saw big cedar trees at Sugawara Shrine, which is famous for the former Emperor Showa visited. The Tenran no Osugi is 2,300 years old. They are bigger than the baby trees in Minato-ku and smaller than the Sequoias in California. (Wikipedia link)

Dear Mr. Zumwalt,

I watched BS on TV, which broadcast Yosemite National Park and Meta Sequoias. They are as old as 1,800 years!! We have 1,500 years old Cedars in the next prefecture. I thought Sequoias in Yosemite are as large and old as Yakusshima Cedars in Yakushima. They are so sacred. The Park is shaped by Glacier and preserved well enough for tourists to visit and enjoy their natural beauty and wilderness at hand. The view of Half Dome and El Capitan were magnificent. The Falls are huge like Kegonno Taki Fall. This program reminded me of your blog.

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