Giant sequoia
Sequoiadendron giganteum
You may recall the photo of a car passing through a hole in a tree trunk. This tree is the giant sequoia, whose discovery by 19th-century botanists caused a sensation, both because of its longevity (up to 4,000 years) and limited habitat (its homeland is on the Pacific mountain slopes in California).
The very thick, spongy bark makes the sequoias partly immune to the fires that frequently break out in that region. The needles and cones are of average size, but the trunk, much wider at the base, can have the circumference of up to 12 metres.