The Parkers all laughed in response.

Then, after introducing herself to the crowd, Colleen gave a short talk about the General Sherman and sequoias.

"Welcome to the largest living thing in the world!" Colleen said. Then she joked, "No not me, the tree behind me." Colleen smiled and told the audience more.

"Believe it or not, that massive tree has very shallow roots. The roots go out about as wide as the tree is tall, but they only go down about one to one and a half meters deep. One of the secrets of the sequoia's survival," Colleen said, "is to have very shallow roots. The roots help the giant trees capture as much water as possible when rain or snow soaks the ground."

At this point the Parkers all looked at each other, acknowledging that everyone in the park seemed to be talking about the sequoia secrets to survival.

Colleen next held up a small, egg-shaped sequoia cone. "Here's another secret to their survival. Each tree drops hundreds of cones and thousands of seeds. Somewhere, hopefully, at least one will be successful and become a giant. Here, everyone, I am going to pass around one of their cones. And the clear vial also going around has one tiny sequoia seed in it. It�s about the size of an oat flake."

Colleen passed the cone one way and the vial the opposite direction.

"Most seeds don't make it. Fungus or fire stops them from growing or even sprouting at all. Also, deer often browse on the saplings," Colleen continued.

"Baby sequoias are at the perfect height for deer. And that can lead to their demise. But, to become a giant sequoia resembling the General Sherman, conditions need to be perfect. A 'Sequoia Gargantuan,' as they are scientifically called, will need a large opening in the canopy for sunlight to get through. Such openings are often produced by a fire. Fire also releases nutrients to the soil, opens the cones, and cleans out the plant competition. And sequoias need well-watered soil."

"Obviously that's what happened with our good friend up here to make it to the size it is today," Colleen said.

The group took a moment to stare up at the giant sequoia towering above them.

Then Colleen went on, "The General Sherman Tree and all sequoia trees reach their full height at about 600 years. After that they keep growing wider but not taller."

-from pages 44-45