Primeval world - Giant sequoia

Seeds: 60  / Botanical name: Metasequoia glyptostroboides

The rediscovered fossil

The dawn redwood is deciduous and reaches a height of up to 30 meters – in its natural habitat, it can grow up to 50 meters tall. Its base appears distinctly broadened. Young dawn redwoods have a pyramidal crown, which becomes broad and rounded in older specimens. The bark of young trees is reddish-brown, while the trunks of older trees are gray to grayish-brown. The short shoots fall off in winter along with the needles. Of the ten species of its genus known from fossils dating back to the Cretaceous period, which were widespread across large parts of the Northern Hemisphere, only the dawn redwood has survived. It, too, was long considered extinct and could only be described based on fossils. However, living specimens were rediscovered in China in 1948.

its natural habitat in China. Since its rediscovery, however, it has been planted worldwide in parks as an ornamental tree. In its natural habitat, it is mainly found along streams and riverbanks, as well as in damp gorges.