Metasequoia glyptostroboides

Dawn Redwood. A living fossil. A fast growing deciduous tree with feathery pinnate leaves of bright green turning golden in autumn. The tree is also noted for its contorted trunk with mahogany bark. It is reliably hardy and grows to 8m in 10 years. This tree was thought to be extinct until it was discovered growing in Szechuan in 1941 by a Chinese botanist. Previously it was only known from fossil records dating back 70 million years.

In the autumn, these trees turn bronze and drop their leaves. Dawn redwood leaped from the stage of botanical exploration to worldwide cultivation in record time. The Wollemi pine (Wollemia nobilis, Araucariaceae) discovered in 1994 within 50 miles of Sydney, thought to have been extinct since the Carboniferous Era, is repeating this performance.

Metasequoia has proved an easy tree to grow in temperate regions, and is now widely planted as an ornamental tree. Planted specimens have already reached 25-40 m in height and 1-1.3 m in diameter, despite being in cultivation for under 60 years. This rapid rate of growth has led to consideration for using the tree in forestry plantations.

It has been discovered that Metasequoia will thrive in standing water, much like the Bald Cypress, Taxodium, and if left branched to the ground in full sun, will develop the large, contorted boles that have made it famous. Limbing at an early age will prohibit this formation later on.