The Wild Garden: Hansen's Northwest Native Plant Database

Metasequoia glyptostroboides (Dawn Redwood)

Kingdom	:	Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom	:	Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision	:	Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division	:	Coniferophyta – Conifers
Class	:	Pinopsida
Order	:	Pinales
Family	:	Cupressaceae – Cypress family
Genus	:	Metasequoia Miki ex Hu & W.C. Cheng – dawn redwood
Species	:	Metasequoia glyptostroboides Hu & W.C. Cheng – dawn redwood

Note: Throughout the years I've written short articles for our website's home pages (home pages are the front page of a website) about these plants. They are now included at the bottom of this page, and are illustrated by botanical drawings and paintings, some of which are from books published from 1500 - 1900.

This tree grows fast when young. Bright green leaves. Grows to 100 ft tall. In the fall, the Dawn Redwood leaves turn a beautiful gold color before falling! What an addition to the native plant garden – a mysterious link to an ancient heritage!

Dawn Redwood, a Re-established Native Of The Pacific Northwest

Stretching back into the mysterious past, this tree grew widely in the area now know as the Pacific northwest. About sixteen million years ago, the ice age descended on this area and killed all the Dawn Redwood, leaving only fossils behind.

Then in 1941 in western China, botanists discovered a small stand of living Dawn Redwood! Subsequently, seed was brought to America and the plant is now available, nursery grown. What a wonderful true story – a survival miracle of Beauty and Grandeur!

From Homepage October 18, 2009

Whew! We are having a wildcat of a windy day! A short walk outdoors this afternoon didn't last as long as I thought it would when I started. The sun was shining and barely a driblet of rain seemed so inviting. It was truly a surprise to see how deceptive that image was from inside my cozy nest. I daresay there will not be a withered leaf or piece of litter left in place before this day is over.

Ah, it wasn't so bad.

Lady autumn has got her annual show of color well begun. I meant to go by the state capitol building today to see how the Dawn Redwoods (Metasequoia glyptostroboides) are faring there. The leaves are sculpted like regular evergreens so common here in the northwest.

But the looks are deceiving. They are soft as feathers! And before they bid farewell to the branches where they've grown, they change from brilliant green to softly golden and then a rich, deep color reminiscent of yellow diamonds

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