Merrill, Director of Harvard's Arnold Arboretum, that a large, deciduous conifer which is likely new genus in the Cupressaceae (cypress family) had been discovered near Moudao.
Hu, who had received his PhD from Harvard University in 1925 and considered the founder of modern taxonomy in China, alerted Elmer D.
In mid-April 1946 he sent specimens to Hsen-Hen Hu (Xian-Su Hu, 1894-1968), director of the Fan Memorial Institute of Biology in Beijing for his opinion. Cheng concluded that the tree was a new genus and possibly a new family. In February 1946, he sent a graduate student to collect additional material from the strange conifer in Moudao. Cheng visited NBFR to examine other parts of the collected specimen. Wan-Chun Cheng, (Wanjunn Zheng, 1904-1983) a dendrology professor at NCU who immediately realized it was not Glyptostrobus but something new. Two years later, in 1945, Chan Wang gave part of his specimen including two cones to a teaching assistant from the National Central University (NCU) in Chongqing. Chan Wang (Zhang Wang, 1910-2000), chanced upon a deciduous, coniferous trees near a village, Moudao (Mo-tao-chi), in Sichuan Province (now administered by Hubei Province), he collected a specimen which he later identified as Glyptostrobus pensilis (Swamp Cypress), a common deciduous conifer in south China. In 1943, a Chinese forester from the National Bureau of Forest Research (NBFR) in Chongqing (Nanking), Mr. This publication was essentially unknown to Western scientists until after the World War II. The fossils had previously been confused with Taxodium (bald cypress) and Sequoia (redwoods). In 1941 Shigeru Miki (1903-1974), a Japanese paleobotanist, established a new genus, Metasequoia, to accommodate Pliocene fossils from deposits about five million years old. The account of the discovery and subsequent activities has since been updated and corrected by Jinshuang Ma in two publication, Aliso 21(2) :65-75(2002) and Harvard Papers in Botany 8(1):9-18 (2003) *Information from Michael A.The Story of the Discovery and Naming of Dawn RedwoodĪn excellent description of the discovery of Metasequoia glyptostroboides by scientists in the 1940s is in, A Reunion of Trees, by Stephen A. Native Range: eastern Szechuan and western Hupeh China
#Metasequoia glyptostroboides dawn redwood full
Lower slightly lighter in color, raised midribīark: reddish brown when young>darker, fissured, and exfoliating with ageĬulture: moist, deep, well-drained soil full sun little to no pruning appears to tolerate very wet sites Leaves: opposite, deciduous, flattened, straight or slightly curved, 1/2", upper bright green, Metasequoia glyptostroboides Bibliography and Other Resources-coming soonįlower: monoecious male flowers are racemes or panicles up to a foot long, female flowers are solitaryįruit: pendulous cones, globose or cylindrical, 3/4 to 1 1/4", 14-28 scales, mature in 5-7 monthsīuds: 1/4" ovoid or ellipsoid, bud scales light reddish or yellowish brown, opposite They are fast-growing, so even though our specimen is small, we might live to see it reach impressive height. It's exciting to have one planted in Maxwell and I hope it does well. Before dropping its leaves, it can have incredible fall color, especially when lit up on a sunny day. See more resources at the bottom of the page.ĭawn Redwood is a massive tree, but it has a soft delicate texture. And don't miss Doug Hank's wonderfully obsessive site about his planting project in North Carolina. Check out the web site for the latest info including annual conference information. A quick overview on Wikipedia can get you started and the compilation of historic and contemporary articles published as "Metasequoia After Fifty Years" by the Arnold Arboretum's Arnoldia in 1998-1999 will give you the best history available. The story of the discovery of a handful of remnant trees in Hubei Province and subsequent explorations is one of the most fascinating tales in modern botany. The literature concerning Metasequoia glyptostroboides is vast and well worth exploring. With the reopening of China to botanists in the late 1970s, new seed sources were available to bring in fresh genetic material. The oldest Metasequoia in the country were all propagated from these seeds. In 1946, the Arnold Arboretum obtained seeds from China and distributed them throughout the country. Its rediscovery in a remote mountainous region of China in the early 1940s rocked the botanical world. Larix decidua (European Larch) | Taxodium distichum (Baldcypress) | Metasequoia glyptostroboides (Dawn Redwood)īack to Deciduous Conifer main page Metasequoia glyptostroboides (Dawn Redwood)Īn ancient tree dating back over 65 million years that once covered much of North America, the Dawn Redwood was thought to be long extinct.
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