sequoyah and sequoia some disputes seem to be present among botanists about whether sequoyah was source for name of sequoia tree apparently even as eminent an authority as asa gray has questioned the link and the namer of sequoia endlicher left no notes to explain his choice of name web link may not persist but is here this web article makes formal citation here hartesveldt richard j harvey h thomas shelhammer howard s stecker ronald e the giant sequoia of the sierra nevada washington dc national park service an engaging but professional if a bit dated treatment of the largest conifer