ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Sequoiadendron giganteum

Alright, kiddo! Let's talk about Sequoiadendron giganteum. Do you know what a tree is? Yes? Good! So Sequoiadendron giganteum is a VERY tall tree. It's actually one of the largest trees in the world!

It's so big that it can grow up to 311 feet (95 meters) tall and have a trunk that is wider than a car! That's really big, right?

These trees live in forests in California in the United States. The trees are so big that they need a lot of water to grow. They get their water from the snow that falls in the mountains and melts in the spring.

Another really cool thing about Sequoiadendron giganteum is that they can live for a really long time. Some of them are more than 3,000 years old! Imagine that! That means these trees were alive way before your grandparents, great-grandparents, and even great-great-grandparents were born!

The wood from these trees is really strong, so people like to make things out of it like furniture and even buildings! However, it's important that we don't cut down too many of these trees because they take so long to grow and they are really important to the environment.

So that's Sequoiadendron giganteum, one of the biggest and oldest trees in the world!