[3] They are native to the groves on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountain range of California but have been introduced, planted, and grown around the world.

The etymology of the genus name was long presumed—initially in The Yosemite Book by Josiah Whitney in 1868[4]—to be in honor of Sequoyah (1767–1843), who was the inventor of the Cherokee syllabary.

[5] An etymological study published in 2012 debunked that "American myth," concluding that Austrian Stephen L. Endlicher derived the name from the Latin word sequi (meaning to follow), because the number of seeds per cone in the newly classified genus aligned in mathematical sequence with the other four genera in the suborder.

[8] Between 2014 and 2016, it is claimed that specimens of coast redwood were found to have greater trunk diameters than all known giant sequoias – though this has not been independently verified or affirmed in any academic literature.

Older fossil specimens reliably identified as giant sequoia have been found in Cretaceous era sediments from a number of sites in North America and Europe, and even as far afield as New Zealand[15] and Australia.

[16] In 1974, a group of giant sequoias was planted by the United States Forest Service in the San Jacinto Mountains of Southern California in the immediate aftermath of a wildfire that left the landscape barren.

The giant sequoias were rediscovered in 2008 by botanist Rudolf Schmid and his daughter Mena Schmidt while hiking on Black Mountain Trail through Hall Canyon.

The size of the giant sequoia genome is 8.125 Gbp (8.125 billion base pairs) which were assembled into eleven chromosome-scale scaffolds, the largest of any organism at the time of publication.

[29][30] This is the first genome sequenced in the Cupressaceae family, and it provides insights into disease resistance and survival for this robust species on a genetic basis.

The genome was found to contain over 900 complete or partial predicted NLR genes used by plants to prevent the spread of infection by microbial pathogens.

The genome sequence was extracted from a single fertilized seed harvested from a 1,360-year-old tree specimen in Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Park identified as SEGI 21.

The story of Dowd's discovery gained further notoriety following a 1859 feature in Hutchings' Illustrated California Magazine, which promoted tourism to the grove.

These nomenclatural oversights were corrected in 1939 by John Theodore Buchholz, who also pointed out the giant sequoia is distinct from the coast redwood at the genus level and coined the name Sequoiadendron giganteum for it.

[5] An etymological study published in 2012, however, concluded that the name was more likely to have originated from the Latin sequi (meaning to follow) since the number of seeds per cone in the newly classified genus fell in mathematical sequence with the other four genera in the suborder.

'[37]Wood from mature giant sequoias is highly resistant to decay, but due to being fibrous and brittle, it is generally unsuitable for construction.

This is resulting in some interest in cultivating giant sequoia as a very high-yielding timber crop tree, both in California and also in parts of western Europe, where it may grow more efficiently than coast redwoods.

Giant sequoias, native to California and discovered during the final phase of frontier expansion, hold a distinctive place in American culture.

The paradox of celebrating these giants’ majesty while destroying them sparked debates that eventually led to the establishment of Sequoia and Yosemite National Parks.

[40] By carving pathways through their immense trunks, Americans celebrated their ability to master the wilderness, embodying the spirit of exploration and progress that defined the nation's expansion.

[47] Natural wildfires historically played a key role in sequoia reproduction, releasing seeds from cones and clearing undergrowth to create the open, nutrient-rich conditions needed for seedlings.

[48][49][50] Experts warn that to preserve healthy groves and prevent future destruction, the use of prescribed burns must increase significantly—by about 30 times the current levels.

Trees can withstand temperatures of −31 °C (−25 °F) or colder for short periods of time, provided the ground around the roots is insulated with either heavy snow or mulch.

The giant sequoia was first brought into cultivation in Britain in 1853 by the horticulturist Patrick Matthew of Perthshire from seeds sent by his botanist son John in California.

Biddulph Grange Garden in Staffordshire holds a fine collection of both Sequoiadendron giganteum and Sequoia sempervirens (coast redwood).

[67] Probably the oldest sequoia in Germany and possibly of continental Europe was planted in 1852 as a gift of the British Royal Family to the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt in a park near Bensheim.

The seedlings got distributed to the whole country of Württemberg and elsewhere and planted on different soils, under various conditions and elevations for a long-time evaluation to find out if they are suitable for forestry.

Presumably seeded in 1890 and proclaimed as nature monument in 1967, now stands as a centerpiece in town's educational, presentational and informational center with tourist facilities available.

Giant sequoia cultivation is very successful in the Pacific Northwest from western Oregon north to southwest British Columbia, with fast growth rates.

[76] In the northeastern US there has been some limited success in growing the species, but growth is much slower there, and it is prone to Cercospora and Kabatina fungal diseases due to the hot, humid summer climate there.

Private plantings of giant sequoias around the Middle Atlantic States are not uncommon, and other publicly accessible specimens can be visited at the U.S. National Arboretum in Washington, D.C. A few trees have been established in Colorado as well.