Dawn Redwood from China

Dawn Redwood from China. (Metasequoia glyptostroboides). This small grove of Dawn Redwood is somewhat reminiscent of the few stands that occur in its native homeland, China. Known only through paleobotanical records prior to 1945, living specimens of this almost extinct plant were discovered in that year in remote localities in west-central China near the Szechuan-Hupeh border. The first few seeds sent to the United States went to the Arnold Arboretum which arranged for a major collection of seed in 1947. From that introduction, seedlings were widely distributed in 1948 to arboretum and botanic gardens throughout the temperate zones of the world., In its homeland, Dawn Redwood becomes more than 100 feet high and grows along streams and moist places. It makes a loose narrow cone, is deciduous, and the feathery foliage is bright green in summer much like that of a hemlock, turning to a mixture of brilliant pink and gold as the needles drop in autumn. It is then that one can see the broad buttress-like base which is so characteristic of this tree., Dawn Redwood grows best in a moist, well-drained acid soil similar to the requirements for hemlock. Recently (1963) the National Arboretum made a selection from among the trees growing on the grounds and named it 'National'. It is a particularly narrow conical tree located in the deciduous azalea area., You will want to walk into this grove because it is such an unusual tree with a unique history, having been on earth some 50 million years in remote parts of China and yet brought to our attention only within this century.