Sequoiadendron chaneyi

Sequoiadendron chaneyi
Temporal range: Miocene
Foliage fossil from Clark, Nevada
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Gymnospermae
Division: Pinophyta
Class: Pinopsida
Order: Cupressales
Family: Cupressaceae
Genus: Sequoiadendron
Species:
S. chaneyi
Binomial name
Sequoiadendron chaneyi
Axelrod, 1956
Synonyms
  • Sequoiadendron chaneyii

Sequoiadendron chaneyi is an extinct species of tree in the Cupressaceae genus Sequoiadendron. Known from Miocene fossils found in Nevada and California, S. chaneyi is the oldest species of Sequoiadendron. The common use of the name "sequoia" generally refers to Sequoiadendron giganteum, which occurs naturally only in the various groves that exist on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada of California.[1] S. chaneyi is considered the probable direct ancestor to the extant Sequoiadendron giganteum.[1]

  1. ^ a b National Park Service Giant Sequoia Page, accessed 1 April 2011