Metasequoia glyptostroboides Dawn Redwood

Dawn Redwood is a conifer which is native to China where it occurs as a very local Tertiary relict, palaeo-endemic population of about 2,000 trees in the Shui Shan Valley.  It has only been known to science since 1941 and was introduced to Britain a few years later in 1948. Consequently all individuals in Britain are less than 70 years old and most are much less than this. However, Dawn Redwoods grows very quickly and maiden trees are often fine, large specimens. Unlike most conifers, it is a deciduous tree and fossil evidence suggests that in the late Tertiary period, prior to the onset of the Ice Age, it was widespread in central and eastern North Eurasia. Extant trees in China are often referred to as ‘living fossils’. Two notable trees that occurred in the Swansea University Botanic Gardens succumbed to disease by Honey Fungus (Armillaria mellea) in the 1990s and were felled.  A notable maiden occurs on the Penrice Estate, Gower.