Trees of the World
| English name: | DAWN REDWOOD |  |
| Polish name: | METASEKWOJA CHIŃSKA | |
| Latin name: | Metasequoia glyptostroboides Hu et W.C.Cheng | |
| Natural habitat: |
China (Chongqing). It often grows next to rivers and on marshes, hence it is sometimes called the "water larch" |
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| Height: |
in its natural habitat: up to 35-50 m |
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| Characteristics: | The bark peels off in fibrous strips. Shoots are regular, opposite, divided into lignifying long shoots and non-lignifying short shoots, which fall in autumn along with the needles. Needles are light-green and soft, up to 1.5 cm in length, 2-ranked. In autumn, the needles change color to orange-brown. Cones are globose, about 2 cm long. They hang down from side branches and fall after the seeds scatter. | |
| Additional information: | The species used to be described as extinct, and its fossilized remains were found in North America, China and Japan. Based on this, it was believed to be widespread during the Tertiary period, and afterwards went extinct. At first, it was classified as Sequoia. Morphological analysis of the remains, however, have proved that the species is different from Sequoias. The new species was then called metasequoia. In 1941 it came as a huge surprise when living Metasequoias were found! This tree is the oldest Metasequoia in the Arboretum, grown from the first batch of seeds which were sent to Poland in 1948. | |
