Metasequoia glyptostroboides (Dawn Redwood) is a fast growing tree in the conifer family Cupressaceae native to the Sichuan-Hubei region of China. It is the only living species in the genus Metasequoia, but several fossil species are known.

While the bark and foliage are similar to other redwoods, Metasequoia differs in that it is deciduous like the Bald Cypress (Taxodium distichum), and like that, older specimens form wide buttresses on the lower trunk. It is a fast-growing tree to 40-45 m tall and 2 m trunk diameter in cultivation so far (with the potential to grow to even greater heights). The leaves are opposite, 2-4 cm long, and bright fresh green, turning a foxy red-brown in fall. The cones are globose, 2-3 cm in diameter with 16-30 scales, arranged in opposite pairs in four rows, each pair at right angles to the adjacent pair.

Metasequoia was first described as a fossil from the Mesozoic Era, but in 1941 a small stand of an unidentified tree was discovered in China; due to World War II, these were not studied further until 1944 and only finally described as a new living species of Metasequoia in 1948. In 1948 the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University sent an expedition to collect seeds and, soon after, seedling trees were distributed to various universities and arboreta worldwide for growth trials.

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