Metasequoia glyptostroboides Hu & W.C. Cheng

Dawn redwood

About plant names...

Dawn redwood is native to China. It is the only member of genus Metasequoia, and one of only three living species of redwoods. It was believed extinct until living specimens were discovered in an isolated part of China, in 1944. It remains critically endangered. The rather unhappy-looking specimen in photo 9 was planted in 1981, not far from Redwood National and State Parks. The other photos here are of a robust tree planted about 30 years ago at a friend's home in MA.

Identification: Trees reach 148' (45 m). Develops a broad, rounded crown. This tree is deciduous, while the other two varieties of redwood are evergreens. Leaves remind me of hemlocks. Small branchlets about 3" (7.5 cm) long consist of many needle-like leaves, each about ⅜" (1.2 cm) long and ¹/₁₆" (1.6 mm) wide. Cones are ½-⅞" (1.5-2.5 cm) in diameter, with 16-28 scales.

1 · 3/22/2011 · Hoyt Arboretum, Portland, Ore­gon · By Heather Kent, Evan Griffith

2 · 8/4/2013 · Barry’s, Acton, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 6 × 4½" (14 × 11 cm)

The redwoods:

	Sequoia sempervirens	Sequoiadendron giganteum	You are here Metasequoia glyptostroboides
Common Name	coast redwood	giant sequoia	dawn redwood
Plant	Up to 377' (115 m) tall, living up to 2,200 years.	164-279' (50-85 m) tall.	Up to 148' (45 m) high, up to 6½' (2 m) in diameter.
Leaves	Needles ¹/₃₂-1" (1-30 mm) long, in a branching configuration or in opposite pairs. Photos of mature sun-illuminated foliage (left) and shade foliage. Photos by Christopher J. Earle.	¹/₁₆-³/₁₆" (3-6 mm) long, arranged in spiral whorls.	Small branchlets 3" (7.6 cm) long, with needle-like leaves about ⅜" (1.2 cm) long and ¹/₁₆" (1.6 mm) wide.
Stem	Bark up to 12" (30 cm) thick at base.	Bark, up to 3' (91 cm) thick at the bottom of the tree, is fibrous and furrowed.	Bark reddish brown when young, becoming fissured an gray.
Fruit	Oval, ½-1¼" (1.5-3.2 cm), with 15-25 spirally arranged scales.	Cones are 1½-2½" (4-7 cm) long.	Cones are ½-⅞" (1.5-2.5 cm) in diameter, with 16-28 scales.
Range/ Zones
Type	Wild	Wild	Wild

Online References:

(under?) Monumental Trees

Wikipedia

Floridata.com

The University of Connecticut Plant Database

The Virginia Tech Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation

Plants for a Future, a resource and information centre for edible and otherwise useful plants

Oregon State University

Harvard University's Arnold Arboretum

3 · 8/4/2013 · Barry’s, Acton, Mass­a­chu­setts

4 · An experimental planting. · 7/8/2016 · Dunstable Rural Land Trust, Dunstable, Mass­a­chu­setts

5 · An experimental planting. · 7/8/2016 · Dunstable Rural Land Trust, Dunstable, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 25 × 21" (63 × 52 cm)

6 · An experimental planting. · 7/8/2016 · Dunstable Rural Land Trust, Dunstable, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 21 × 14" (52 × 34 cm)

7 · An experimental planting. · 7/8/2016 · Dunstable Rural Land Trust, Dunstable, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 21 × 28" (52 × 70 cm)

8 · An experimental planting. · 7/8/2016 · Dunstable Rural Land Trust, Dunstable, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 21 × 14" (52 × 34 cm)

Metasequoia glyptostroboides description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 5 Oct 2021.

© FloraFinder.org. All rights reserved.

9 · On a sign at the rest stop: A distant relative of the coast redwood, the dawn redwood was thought to be extinct until living specimens were discovered in an isolated part of China in 1944. Rare among conifers, the dawn redwood is deciduous. Of three redwoods planted in 1981, the dawn redwood is the smallest, seldom exceeding a height of 140 feet and a diameter of six feet. · 8/28/2007 · Rte 199 State Park Info Place, Crescent City, Cali­fornia
≈ 11 × 7½' (3.5 × 2.3 m)

10 · 8/4/2013 · Barry’s, Acton, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 16 × 24" (39 × 59 cm)

11 · 8/4/2013 · Barry’s, Acton, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 7 × 9" (16 × 22 cm)

12 · 8/4/2013 · Barry’s, Acton, Mass­a­chu­setts

13 · 8/4/2013 · Barry’s, Acton, Mass­a­chu­setts

Range:

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