Sequoia, Sequoiadendron, Metasequoia
- Height: up to 40 m in Europe, over 90 m in California
- Trunk: conspicuously reddish to reddish-brown bark, very thick, soft, deeply fissured lengthwise, splitting into long fibers
- Crown: conical, becoming irregular with age
- Leaves: Sequoia: needle-like, soft and flat, pointed, arranged in two rows, evergreen; Sequoiadendron: scale-like, pointed, small, arranged in a spiral, evergreen; Metasequoia: needle-like, soft and flat, pointed, opposite, arranged in two rows, deciduous
- Buds: small, roundish, and inconspicuous
- Flowers: small, yellowish to brownish, male flowers at branch tips; greenish, cone-like, female flowers
- Fruits/Seeds: woody, reddish-brown, elongated to egg-shaped cones containing many small, winged seeds, approx. 2–8 cm long depending on the genus
- Other: very widely spreading shallow-rooted trees (up to 30 m), fire-resistant, very long-lived (sometimes over 3,000 years)
Photos: Grete Haag (1,2,3), BUND Naturschutz in Bayern (4)