Mother of Gardens
DAWN REDWOOD
Metasequoia glyptostroboides
This prized redwood has been called a "living fossil" and is a testament to why
China's flora is so diverse. Like many other plants in China, this species
survived the last Ice Age, when glaciation wiped out similar flora in North
America and Europe. Until 1948, the genus Metasequoia was known only
from the fossil record, but a small stand of trees discovered in the
Sichuan-Hubei region proved to belong to this ancient genus. Thanks to seed and
saplings collected in China, the dawn redwood now flourishes in gardens
throughout the world.