Metasequoia glyptostroboides, commonly known as dawn redwood, is a deciduous coniferous tree that grows in a conical shape up to 100 feet tall. It is closely related to and resembles bald cypress (Taxodium) and redwood (Sequoia) trees.

1. The dawn redwood or just plain 'metasequoia' (Metasequoia glyptostroboides) is one of the three species of sequoia (together with the giant sequoia, Sequoiadendron giganteum and the coast redwood, Sequoia sempervirens). The foliage of this Asiatic conifer is very similar to that of the North American bald cypress (Taxodium distichum).
2. Miss Grace is the first dawn redwood with pendulous branches. This truly outstanding introduction has gracefully weeping branches with delicate, soft, gray-green foliage and a beautiful sculptural form. If staked, it can be rather tall and narrow. Left unstaked, it.

Larixdecidua (European Larch) | Taxodium distichum (Baldcypress) | Metasequoia glyptostroboides (Dawn Redwood)
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Metasequoia glyptostroboides (Dawn Redwood)

An ancient tree dating back over 65 million years that once covered much of North America, the Dawn Redwood was thought to be long extinct. Its rediscovery in a remote mountainous region of China in the early 1940s rocked the botanical world. In 1946, the Arnold Arboretum obtained seeds from China and distributed them throughout the country. The oldest Metasequoia in the country were all propagated from these seeds. With the reopening of China to botanists in the late 1970s, new seed sources were available to bring in fresh genetic material.

The literature concerning Metasequoia glyptostroboides is vast and well worth exploring. 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. 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. Check out the Metasequoia.org web site for the latest info including annual conference information. And don't miss Doug Hank's wonderfully obsessive site about his planting project in North Carolina. See more resources at the bottom of the page.

Dawn Redwood is a massive tree, but it has a soft delicate texture. Before dropping its leaves, it can have incredible fall color, especially when lit up on a sunny day. It's exciting to have one planted in Maxwell and I hope it does well. They are fast-growing, so even though our specimen is small, we might live to see it reach impressive height.

Metasequoia glyptostroboides Bibliography and Other Resources--coming soon

The Basics:

Height: 70-100'
Width: 25'
Habit: conical, pyramidal
Texture: feathery
Rate: fast
Flower: monoecious; male flowers are racemes or panicles up to a foot long, female flowers are solitary
Fruit: pendulous cones, globose or cylindrical, 3/4 to 1 1/4', 14-28 scales, mature in 5-7 months
Buds: 1/4' ovoid or ellipsoid, bud scales light reddish or yellowish brown, opposite
Leaves: opposite, deciduous, flattened, straight or slightly curved, 1/2', upper bright green,
lower slightly lighter in color, raised midrib
Fall Color: reddish brown, orange brown
Bark: reddish brown when young>darker, fissured, and exfoliating with age
Zone: 5-8
Culture: moist, deep, well-drained soil; full sun; little to no pruning; appears to tolerate very wet sites
Disease and Insects: not serious
Native Range: eastern Szechuan and western Hupeh China
Introduced to west: 1947-1948

*Information from Michael A. Dirr, Manual of Woody Landscape Plants, Champaign, IL: Stipes Publishing, 1998

Dawn Redwoods For Sale

Metasequoia glyptostroboides (Dawn Redwood) Gallery all photographs, Emily Levine

Metasequoia glytostroboides, the dawn redwood is a most exceptional species. Beautful verdant foliage in the spring, braided trunk relief and attractive orange needles in the fall. Thought to be extinct until discovered in one valley in China. Fast growing and disease resistant. Tolerates wet soils, but does well in most average soils, as well. This plant was at one time indigenous to our area (60 to 1.5 million years ago), but went extinct, likely due to a changing climate and competition with species more well adapted to the changing conditions. Zones 4 - 8.

Metasequoia Glyptostroboides Dawn Redwood

From Wikipedia:

Together with Sequoia sempervirens (Coast Redwood) and Sequoiadendron giganteum (Giant Sequoia) of California, M. glyptostroboides is classified in the subfamily Sequoioideae of the family Cupressaceae. Although it is the only living species in its genus, three fossil species are known. The other Sequoioideae and several other genera have been transferred from the Taxodiaceae to the Cupressaceae based on DNA analysis.

While the bark and foliage are similar to another closely related genus of redwoods, Sequoia, M. glyptostroboides differs from the coast redwood in that it is deciduous, like Taxodium distichum (bald cypress). Similar to Taxodium, older trees may form wide buttresses on the lower trunk. Metasequoia is a fast-growing tree, exceeding 35 m (115 ft) in height and 1 m (3.3 ft) in trunk diameter by the age of 50, in cultivation (with the potential to grow to even greater dimensions). The trunk forms a distinctive 'armpit' under each branch, making the trunk appear almost braided. The bark is vertically fissured and tends to exfoliate in ribbon-like strips.

The leaves are opposite, 1–3 cm (0.39–1.18 in) long, and bright fresh green, turning a foxy reddish brown in fall. The pollen cones are 5–6 mm (0.20–0.24 in) long, produced on long spikes in early spring; they are produced only on trees growing in regions with hot summers. The cones are globose to ovoid, 1.5–2.5 cm (0.59–0.98 in) in diameter with 16-28 scales arranged in opposite pairs in four rows, each pair at right angles to the adjacent pair; they mature in about 8–9 months after pollination.

Metasequoia Glyptostroboides

In Lichuan, Hubei, there is a dawn redwood forest consisting of barely 5,000 trees (by another count, around 5,400 trees, and some smaller groups (typically, under 30 trees each). Since its discovery, the dawn redwood has become something of a national point of pride, and it is protected under Chinese law and also planted widely. However, it is still listed as endangered in the wild. Cutting of trees or branches is illegal, but the demand for seedlings drives cone collection to the point that natural reproduction is no longer occurring in the dawn redwood forest. The species will continue to live in yards, parks and on roadsides all over China, but the M. glyptostroboides forest ecosystem could disappear when its mature trees die (probably not).

Metasequoia Glyptostroboides Gold Rush

Pizhou, Jiangsu boasts the longest dawn redwood avenue in the world. The avenue is approximately 60 km long with puportedly over one million trees.