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''Metasequoia glyptostroboides'', the dawn redwood, is a fast-growing, endangered
deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...
conifer Conifers are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single ...
. It is the sole living
species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
of the
genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
''
Metasequoia ''Metasequoia'', or dawn redwoods, is a genus of fast-growing deciduous trees, one of three species of pinophyta, conifers known as redwoods. The living species ''Metasequoia glyptostroboides'' is native to Lichuan, Hubei, Lichuan county in Hube ...
'', one of three genera in the subfamily
Sequoioideae Sequoioideae, popularly known as redwoods, is a subfamily of coniferous trees within the family Cupressaceae. It includes the largest and tallest trees in the world. Description The three redwood subfamily genera are '' Sequoia'' from coast ...
of the
family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
Cupressaceae. It now survives only in wet lower slopes and montane river and stream valleys in the border region of
Hubei Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The prov ...
and
Hunan Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to ...
provinces and
Chongqing Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Romanization, alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a Direct-administered municipalities of China, municipality in Southwes ...
municipality in south-central
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, notably in Lichuan county in Hubei. Although the shortest of the redwoods, it can grow to in height. In 1941, the genus ''Metasequoia'' was reported by
paleobotanist Paleobotany, which is also spelled as palaeobotany, is the branch of botany dealing with the recovery and identification of plant remains from geological contexts, and their use for the biological reconstruction of past environments (paleogeogr ...
Shigeru Miki as a widely distributed extinct genus based on fossils, before attracting considerable attention a few years later when small populations were found alive in central China. It is a particularly well-known example of a
living fossil A living fossil is an extant taxon that cosmetically resembles related species known only from the fossil record. To be considered a living fossil, the fossil species must be old relative to the time of origin of the extant clade. Living fossi ...
species. The tree faces considerable risks of extinction in its wild range due to deforestation, however it has been planted extensively in
arboreta An arboretum (plural: arboreta) in a general sense is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, man ...
worldwide, where it has proved a popular and fast-growing ornamental plant. If the species had been discovered later, it might have become extinct before being investigated.


History

Although it was commonly known from the fossil record from across the northern hemisphere, the dawn redwood was considered extinct until the mid-twentieth century. When the genus ''Metasequoia'' was first described in 1941, it was from
Mesozoic Era The Mesozoic Era ( ), also called the Age of Reptiles, the Age of Conifers, and colloquially as the Age of the Dinosaurs is the second-to-last Era (geology), era of Earth's Geologic time scale, geological history, lasting from about , comprising ...
fossils, none of which were less than 150 million years old. While studying fossil samples of the family
Cupressaceae Cupressaceae is a conifer family, the cypress family, with worldwide distribution. The family includes 27–30 genera (17 monotypic), which include the junipers and redwoods, with about 130–140 species in total. They are monoecious, subdio ...
, Dr. Shigeru Miki from
Kyoto University , mottoeng = Freedom of academic culture , established = , type = National university, Public (National) , endowment = ¥ 316 billion (2.4 1000000000 (number), billion USD) , faculty = 3,480 (Teaching Staff) , administrative_staff ...
identified a divergent leaf form. He realized he had discovered a new genus, which he named ''Metasequoia'', meaning "like a sequoia". In the same year, Kan Duo (Toh Kan, 1903-1961), professor of Forest Management, National Central University,
Chongqing Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Romanization, alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a Direct-administered municipalities of China, municipality in Southwes ...
, (formerly Chungking) observed an enormous living specimen while performing a survey in Sichuan and Hubei provinces. Though unaware of Miki's new genus, he recognized the unique traits of the tree. Unfortunately, while he collected some plant material, he did not attempt to identify or publish his findings. This tree formed part of a local shrine, where villagers called it ''Shuǐshān'' or "water fir". In 1943, Wang Zhan (Chan Wang, 1911–2000) of the National Bureau of Forest Research, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forests, Chongqing, collected samples from an unidentified tree in the village of Moudao (; formerly Motaochi, Maodaoqi or Modaoxi) in
Lichuan County Lichuan County () is a county in the east of Jiangxi province, China, bordering Fujian province to the east. It is under the jurisdiction of the prefecture-level city of Fuzhou Fuzhou (; , Fuzhounese: Hokchew, ''Hók-ciŭ''), alternately r ...
,
Hubei Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The prov ...
province—now believed to be the same tree Kan discovered. The samples were determined to belong to a tree yet unknown to science, but World War II postponed further study. Professors Zheng Wanjun (Cheng Wan-Chun) and
Hu Xiansu Hu Xiansu or Hu Hsien-Hsu (, 24 May 1894 – 16 July 1968), was a Chinese botanist and an influential traditional scholar of his time. He was a founder of plant taxonomy in China and a pioneer of modern botany research in the country. Education a ...
(Hu Hsien-Hsu) made the pivotal connection between Miki's fossil genus and the living samples in 1946, and provided the specific epithet "''glyptostroboides''", after its resemblance to the Chinese swamp cypress (''
Glyptostrobus ''Glyptostrobus'' is a small genus of conifers in the family Cupressaceae (formerly in the family Taxodiaceae). The sole living species, '' Glyptostrobus pensilis'', is native to subtropical southeastern China, from Fujian west to southeast Yu ...
''). In July 1947, the
Arnold Arboretum The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University is a botanical research institution and free public park, located in the Jamaica Plain and Roslindale neighborhoods of Boston, Massachusetts. Established in 1872, it is the oldest public arboretum in N ...
of
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
provided $250 to fund an expedition by Zheng Wanjun's assistant Hua Jingchan (Ching-Shan Hwa 1921- ) to collect seeds for the arboretum from the ''Metasequoia'' type tree in Moudao, and trees in the nearby Metasequoia Valley (Shuishaba Valley). Hua's collecting trip returned with several kilos of seed that were distributed over the next few months for growth trials to Chinese institutions; the Arnold Arboretum, Missouri Botanic Garden, and elsewhere in the United States; botanic gardens at Kew, Edinburgh, and other locations in the United Kingdom; as well as botanic gardens in continental Europe and worldwide.


Description

File:MetaseqLeaves.jpg, Dawn redwood foliage - note opposite arrangement File:Metasequoia (male flowers).jpg, Pollen bearing cones File:Metasequoia glyptostroboides young leaves.JPG, Young leaves File:Metasequoia young female cones02.jpg, Young seed bearing cones File:Metasequoia (cones).jpg, Mature seed bearing cones File:Metasequoia_glyptostroboides_Oakland.JPG, Mature tree ''Metasequoia glyptostroboides'' leaves are opposite, long, and bright fresh green, turning a foxy reddish brown in fall. The
pollen Pollen is a powdery substance produced by seed plants. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm cells). Pollen grains have a hard coat made of sporopollenin that protects the gametophyt ...
cones are long, produced on long spikes in early spring; they are produced only on trees growing in regions with hot summers. The
cones A cone is a three-dimensional geometric shape that tapers smoothly from a flat base (frequently, though not necessarily, circular) to a point called the apex or vertex. A cone is formed by a set of line segments, half-lines, or lines conn ...
are globose to ovoid, in diameter with 16-28 scales arranged in opposite pairs in four rows, each pair at right angles to the adjacent pair; they mature in about 8–9 months after pollination. While the bark and foliage are similar to another closely related genus of redwoods, '' Sequoia'', ''M. glyptostroboides'' differs from the coast redwood in that it is deciduous, like ''
Taxodium distichum ''Taxodium distichum'' (bald cypress, swamp cypress; french: cyprès chauve; ''cipre'' in Louisiana) is a deciduous conifer in the family Cupressaceae. It is native to the southeastern United States. Hardy and tough, this tree adapts to a wide r ...
'' (bald cypress). Similar to ''T. distichum'', older trees may form wide
buttresses A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient buildings, as a means of providing support to act against the lateral (si ...
on the lower trunk. ''M. glyptostroboides'' is a fast-growing tree, exceeding in height and in trunk diameter by the age of 50, in cultivation (with the potential to grow to even greater dimensions). The trunk forms a distinctive "armpit" under each branch. The bark is vertically fissured and tends to exfoliate in ribbon-like strips. The largest dawn redwood recorded was an isolated specimen in China about 50 meters (165 feet) tall and 2.2 meters (7.2 feet) wide. This tree was killed by a lightning strike in 1951. Several dawn redwoods of this height still live in the eastern part of ''Metasequoia'' Valley, where the tree was discovered. The tree's true potential size is much larger, as logs up to 8 meters (26 feet) wide at the base have been discovered in rice paddies. The thickest and tallest dawn redwoods listed by Monumental Trees are both in the Longwood Gardens of Kennett Square in Pennsylvania, United States. The widest has a girth at breast height of 5.79 m (19 ft, average diameter 1.84 m, 6 ft), and is 30.18 m (99 ft) tall. The tallest is 41.15 m (135 ft) tall, and has a girth at breast height of 3.35 m (11 ft, average diameter 1.07 m, 3.5 ft). Both trees were planted in 1948 and measured in 2018.


Ecotypic variation

Ecotypic variation In population genetics Population genetics is a subfield of genetics that deals with genetic differences within and between populations, and is a part of evolutionary biology. Studies in this branch of biology examine such phenomena as Adaptation ...
has developed in a variety of microhabitats. Three variations have been observed based on the size of their cones, large, medium, and small. The large cone type is found growing on mountain slopes, develops a broad canopy, seeds more readily and is more drought tolerant. The small cone type is found near stream banks, is more sensitive to drought, and develops a more uniform trunk.


Related species

Together with ''
Sequoia sempervirens ''Sequoia sempervirens'' ()''Sunset Western Garden Book,'' 1995:606–607 is the sole living species of the genus '' Sequoia'' in the cypress family Cupressaceae (formerly treated in Taxodiaceae). Common names include coast redwood, coastal ...
'' (coast redwood) and ''
Sequoiadendron giganteum ''Sequoiadendron giganteum'' (giant sequoia; also known as giant redwood, Sierra redwood, Sierran redwood, California big tree, Wellingtonia or simply big treea nickname also used by John Muir) is the sole living species in the genus ''Sequoiade ...
'' (giant sequoia) of California, ''M. glyptostroboides'' is classified in the subfamily
Sequoioideae Sequoioideae, popularly known as redwoods, is a subfamily of coniferous trees within the family Cupressaceae. It includes the largest and tallest trees in the world. Description The three redwood subfamily genera are '' Sequoia'' from coast ...
of the
family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
Cupressaceae Cupressaceae is a conifer family, the cypress family, with worldwide distribution. The family includes 27–30 genera (17 monotypic), which include the junipers and redwoods, with about 130–140 species in total. They are monoecious, subdio ...
. Although it is the only living species in its genus, three fossil species are known as well. The other Sequoioideae and several other genera have been transferred from the
Taxodiaceae Taxodiaceae is a formerly recognized coniferous plant family comprising the following ten genera: *''Athrotaxis'' *''Cryptomeria'' *''Cunninghamia'' *†'' Cunninghamites'' *''Glyptostrobus'' *''Metasequoia'' *'' Sciadopitys'' *'' Sequoia'' *''S ...
to the Cupressaceae based on DNA analysis.


Conservation

Studies carried out between 2007 and 2009 counted 5,371 trees primarily in Lichuan,
Hubei Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The prov ...
, with much smaller groups in Shizhu,
Chongqing Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Romanization, alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a Direct-administered municipalities of China, municipality in Southwes ...
and Longshan,
Hunan Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to ...
. The floodplain of Metasequoia Valley in Hubei had already been turned to rice paddies by the time of the tree's discovery, but was once probably a more extensive dawn redwood forest. Such a forest would have been similar to
bald cypress ''Taxodium distichum'' (bald cypress, swamp cypress; french: cyprès chauve; ''cipre'' in Louisiana) is a deciduous conifer in the family Cupressaceae. It is native to the southeastern United States. Hardy and tough, this tree adapts to a wide r ...
forests in the United States, with many similar species growing in association. Nearly 3,000 trunks were found in the floor of the valley, ranging from 2 meters (6.5 feet) to 8 meters (26 feet) wide at the base. Additionally, houses made of ''Metasequoia'' wood 200–300 years old still exist and probably date back to the original settlement of the valley. Since its discovery, the dawn redwood has become something of a national point of pride, and it is protected under Chinese law and also planted widely. However, it is still listed as endangered in the wild. Listed as Endangered B1ab(iii,v), v3.1 Cutting of trees or branches is illegal, but the demand for seedlings drives cone collection to the point that natural reproduction is no longer occurring in the dawn redwood forest. In addition, the landscape has been highly modified by human use, and a 1980 expedition found that the habitat has significantly degraded since the tree's discovery. Most of the other vegetation has been cut, and most of the area is no longer suitable ground for seedlings. Between 1950 and 1980 several hundred were logged in Metasequoia Valley, some over 2 meters (6.5 feet) wide. A survey in the 2000s counted and measured all wild dawn redwoods. The remaining healthy trees range from 25 cm (10 in) to 1.65 m (5.4 ft) wide at breast height, 12–51 m (39.5-167.5 ft) in height, and estimated 41–265 years in age. The average size was 27 m (88.5 ft) tall and 0.45–0.9 m (1.5–3 ft) wide at breast height, with an estimated age of about 95 years. (The type tree, 2.48 m (8 ft) at breast height, was in poor health and therefore excluded from the study) No seedlings were found, and if they ever do appear it is legal to remove and transplant them. The species will continue to live in yards, parks and on roadsides all over China, but the ''M. glyptostroboides'' forest ecosystem could disappear when its mature trees die.


Cultivation

Since the tree's rediscovery, the dawn redwood has become a popular
ornamental tree Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that i ...
in parks and gardens worldwide. Dawn redwood seed arrived at the
Arnold Arboretum The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University is a botanical research institution and free public park, located in the Jamaica Plain and Roslindale neighborhoods of Boston, Massachusetts. Established in 1872, it is the oldest public arboretum in N ...
on January 5, 1948, and was shipped to
arboreta An arboretum (plural: arboreta) in a general sense is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, man ...
around the world soon after. By 1951, the species had entered the commercial horticultural trade in the US, and following media excitement about the new discovery, including in the ''
San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...
'' of March 25, 1948, sales soon took off. Dawn redwood has proved an easy tree to grow in
temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...
regions, and is now widely planted as an
ornamental tree Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that i ...
. Planted trees have already reached at least up to 1.84 meters (6 feet) in diameter at breast height and 41.15 meters (135 feet) tall, despite being in cultivation for only 70 years. This rapid rate of growth has led to consideration for using the tree in
forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. Th ...
plantations A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...
. It has been discovered that ''M. glyptostroboides'' will thrive in standing water, much like
bald cypress ''Taxodium distichum'' (bald cypress, swamp cypress; french: cyprès chauve; ''cipre'' in Louisiana) is a deciduous conifer in the family Cupressaceae. It is native to the southeastern United States. Hardy and tough, this tree adapts to a wide r ...
, and if left branched to the ground in full sun, will develop the large, contorted boles that have made it famous. Limbing or pruning at an early age will prohibit this formation later on. In cultivation, ''M. glyptostroboides'' is hardy to USDA Zone 5, making it hardy down to lows of −25 °F (−32 °C). It is tolerant of soggy, waterlogged soils; in the wild it is adapted to growing on flood plains. Until it is established in a specific site, it is prone to drought and inadequate water availability. The dawn redwood is recommended for urban areas in the Midwest, Southeast, and East Coast of North America, as its fast growth rate and tolerance for air pollution make it widely adaptable and able to thrive where other species might suffer. This species tends to struggle without irrigation in arid climates such as the American West unless planted directly on or adjacent to a body of water such as a pond or stream. This species is also highly susceptible to damage from contact with heavy amounts of winter de-icing salt. In the 1980s, it was discovered that many of the second-generation trees in cultivation suffered from
inbreeding depression Inbreeding depression is the reduced biological fitness which has the potential to result from inbreeding (the breeding of related individuals). Biological fitness refers to an organism's ability to survive and perpetuate its genetic material. In ...
(extremely low genetic variability), which could lead to increased susceptibility to disease and reproductive failure. Many sources claim that the original 1947 seedlots came from as few as one tree; however, this has proven to be false. The original seeds did have a wide range of source trees, and the inbreeding depression is more likely to come from self-pollination by isolated trees. However, the total cultivated population still had less genetic variation than the wild ones, and more widespread seed-collecting expeditions in China in the 1990s sought to resolve this problem and restore genetic diversity to cultivated ''M. glyptostroboides''.


In China

Pizhou Pizhou () is a county-level city under the administration of Xuzhou, Jiangsu province, China. As of 2006 it had a population of 163,000; it borders the Shandong prefecture-level cities of Linyi to the northeast and Zaozhuang to the northwest. ...
,
Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, Postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an Eastern China, eastern coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is o ...
has the longest dawn redwood avenue in the world. The avenue is approximately 60 km long with over one million trees. The Water Forest in
Xinghua, Jiangsu Xinghua () is a county-level city under the administration of Taizhou, Jiangsu, Taizhou, Jiangsu province, China. It is located in the central part of Jiangsu Province. It borders the prefecture-level city, prefecture-level cities of Yancheng to ...
is named after the many dawn redwood trees found there in the park.


In the United Kingdom

The dawn redwood is frequently encountered across the UK. Growth has been fastest in the south-east, but it is believed the tree may have a longer future in the more humid western regions. The first dawn redwood to be planted out in the UK was at the
Cambridge University Botanic Garden The Cambridge University Botanic Garden is a botanical garden located in Cambridge, England, associated with the university Department of Plant Sciences (formerly Botany School). It lies between Trumpington Road to the west, Bateman Street to ...
. The seed was not from the Arnold expedition, but came to Cambridge directly. The Botanic Garden’s Annual Report for 1949 declares: ‘Seeds of Metasequoia glyptostroboides, sent by Dr Silow from China to Professor F T Brooks, germinated freely. Three of the seedlings have been planted out: one in the Yard at the back of the Range and two beside the Pond (now called the Lake).' The tree on the south-west side of the Lake is still living, as at July 2019. Seed distributed in the 1940s to Hillier Gardens near Winchester, UK, have thrived and are now the emblem of the gardens. The TROBI Champions are at Woking Park,
Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
: 22 m height by 144 cm d.b.h,
Clare College Clare College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the University after Peterhouse. It was refounded ...
,
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
: 21 m × 129 cm (planted 1949), and Wayford Woods,
Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...
: 32 m × 99 cm.Johnson, O. (2011). ''Champion Trees of Britain & Ireland''.  p.111. Kew Publishing. Several
cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture, ...
s are available providing a range of different foliage colours and textures. The cultivar ‘Golden Oji’ has gained the
Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nort ...
’s
Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. History The Award of Garden Merit ...
.


In the United States

Dawn redwoods thrive over a large, crescent-shaped region that encompasses the eastern and southern United States, as well as on the West Coast. Many institutions, such as the
Arnold Arboretum The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University is a botanical research institution and free public park, located in the Jamaica Plain and Roslindale neighborhoods of Boston, Massachusetts. Established in 1872, it is the oldest public arboretum in N ...
of Harvard University, have fine specimens. The H. H. Hunnewell estate in Wellesley, Massachusetts, has two specimens (numbers 29 and 34) that date back to the initial distribution of seed by the Arnold Arboretum in 1949. There is a small grove of dawn redwoods at Bailey Arboretum in Locust Valley, New York, including one tree which is claimed to be the world's largest by diameter. The
New York City Department of Parks and Recreation The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, also called the Parks Department or NYC Parks, is the department of the government of New York City responsible for maintaining the city's parks system, preserving and maintaining the ecolog ...
has begun planting dawn redwoods on sidewalks throughout
Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
and
Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
, thi
link
maps them.
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
's Urban Forestry Division has planted hundreds throughout that city, including all of the street trees in the 1800 block of Redwood Terrace, NW. A dawn redwood grows outside of the Rosicrucian Research Library at
Rosicrucian Park Rosicrucian Park is the headquarters of the English Grand Lodge for the Americas of the Ancient Mystical Order Rosae Crucis, located in San Jose, California. History The Rosicrucian Park was established in 1927 by Harvey Spencer Lewis. It grew fr ...
in San Jose, California, as a memorial to H. Spencer Lewis. It was planted in 1950 from a seedling from the lot brought from China by Dr.
Ralph Chaney Ralph Works Chaney (August 24, 1890 – March 3, 1971) was an American paleobotanist. Early life Chaney was born on August 24, 1890 in Brainerd, Illinois. He attended Hyde Park Academy High School, and began to cultivate his interest in ornith ...
, and donated by an unnamed donor to H. Spencer Lewis's widow for this purpose. In North Carolina, a private endeavor is working to create a ''Metasequioa'' reserve on 50 acres of uplands in the
Sauratown Mountains The Sauratown Mountains, which are sometimes called "the mountains away from the mountains", are an isolated mountain range located within Stokes and Surry counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The vast majority of the range is located i ...
. Portland, Oregon, is home to some of the oldest dawn redwoods in the US. One specimen planted in the
Hoyt Arboretum Hoyt Arboretum is a public park in Portland, Oregon, which is part of the complex of parks collectively known as Washington Park. The arboretum is located atop a ridge in the Tualatin Mountains west of downtown Portland. Hoyt has 12 miles of ...
in 1948 was 103' tall at last measurement and in 1952 earned the distinction of being the first dawn redwood to bear cones in the Western Hemisphere in 6–8 million years. A dawn redwood was planted at
Southern Illinois University Carbondale Southern Illinois University (SIU or SIUC) is a public research university in Carbondale, Illinois. Founded in 1869, SIU is the oldest and flagship campus of the Southern Illinois University system. The university enrolls students from all 50 s ...
in
Carbondale, Illinois Carbondale is a city in Jackson and Williamson Counties, Illinois, United States, within the Southern Illinois region informally known as "Little Egypt". The city developed from 1853 because of the stimulation of railroad construction into the ...
by William Marberry in 1950 and remains there to this day.


Gallery

File:Autumn metasequoia glyptostroboides.JPG, Displaying autumn foliage in
Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Greater Victoria area has a population of 397,237. Th ...
, Canada File:Metasequoia Glyptostroboides2.jpg, The trunk of an adult tree File:MetasequoiaGlyptostroboides.jpg, The buttressed base of the trunk. File:Urweltmammutbaum Kurztrieb.jpg, Pollen (or "male") cones File:Dawn Redwood - Summer Foliage.jpg, A specimen at
Croxteth Hall Croxteth Hall is a country estate and Grade II* listed building in the West Derby suburb of Liverpool, England. It is the former country estate and ancestral home of the Molyneux family, the Earls of Sefton. After the death of the sevent ...
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Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
: summer foliage File:Dawn Redwood - Autumn.jpg, Same specimen: autumn foliage File:Metasequoias planted in 1950.jpg, Dawn redwoods in
Spokane Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Ca ...
, WA File:Metasequoia glyptostroboides in Sagamihara Park IMG 4025.jpg, ''Metasequoia glyptostroboides'' in
Sagamihara is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city has an estimated population of 723,470, with 334,812 households, and a population density of 1,220 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Sagamihara is the third-most-populous city ...
Park File:Metasequoia glyptostroboides IMG 4102.jpg, Contour of ''Metasequoia glyptostroboides'' File:Metasequoia glyptostroboides Eindhoven 27 MG 3524.jpg, ''Metaseqoia glyptostroboides'' used as street trees in
Eindhoven Eindhoven () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, located in the southern province of North Brabant of which it is its largest. With a population of 238,326 on 1 January 2022,Peabody Museum of Natural History The Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale University is among the oldest, largest, and most prolific university natural history museums in the world. It was founded by the philanthropist George Peabody in 1866 at the behest of his nephew Othn ...
, Volume 48, Issue 2 31 October 2007, pp. 179–426

* Bartholomew, Bruce, D. E. Boufford, and S. A. Spongberg. "Metasequoia glyptostroboides--Its present status in central China." Journal of the Arnold Arboretum 64.1 (1983): 105-128. * Farjon, A. (2005). ''Monograph of Cupressaceae and Sciadopitys''. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. . * Hanks, D.A. ''Crescent Ridge Dawn Redwoods Preserve'' (2005). http://www.dawnredwood.org * Jahren, A. H. & Sternberg, L. S. L. (2003). Humidity estimate for the middle Eocene Arctic rain forest. ''Geology'' May 200
pdf file
* * *   * Williams C.J., LePage, B.A., Vann D.R., Tange, T., Ikeda, H., Ando, M., Kusakabe, T., Tsuzuki, T. and T. Sweda. (2003). Structure, allometry, and biomass of plantatio
''Metasequoia glyptostroboides''
in Japan. ''Forest Ecology and Management'', 180(103): 287-301

* Williams C.J., Johnson A.H., LePage, B.A., Vann D.R. and T. Sweda. 2003. Reconstruction of Tertiary Metasequoia Forests II. Structure, Biomass and Productivity of Eocene Floodplain Forests in the Canadian Arctic.
Paleobiology Paleobiology (or palaeobiology) is an interdisciplinary field that combines the methods and findings found in both the earth sciences and the life sciences. Paleobiology is not to be confused with geobiology, which focuses more on the interactio ...
, 29(2): 271-292


External links


''Metasequoia'' in ''The Gymnosperm database''

Crescent Ridge Dawn Redwoods Preserve

The metasequoia organisation

More information on the Dawn Redwood, including largest specimens

Giant redwoods in the U.K.

Notes on the dawn redwood
from the Arnold Arboretum, including a link to a summary of archival materials on the discovery of the dawn redwood. {{Authority control Metasequoia, glyptostroboides Endemic flora of China Flora of Hubei Flora of Sichuan Trees of China Plants described in 1948 Garden plants of Asia Ornamental trees Critically endangered flora of Asia Deciduous conifers