Dawn Redwood Documentary

Dawn Redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides, also known as "Shui Shan" in Chinese) is an ancient relative of other two native Redwood trees in California (namely, the Coast Redwood and Giant Sequoia). Dawn Redwood was well known for many years from the fossils that it had been the dominant trees in the northern hemisphere approximately 70 million years ago and believed to be extinct during the Miocene. For example, the following is a usual sample picture of such a fossil stones.

So, when a small forest of such living trees was discovered in the mountains of Sichuan-Hubei provinces in China during 1940s, the world of botany was joyful with excitement. An effort of saving this "living fossil" from the fate of extinction was then coordinated among both Chinese and American botanic scientists. Harvard University's Arnold Arboretum became the center for planting the first Dawn Redwood trees and distributing its seeds outside China (the Arboretum was so proud of this effort and they even made the tree into its logo). Here is one picture showing the living foliage of Dawn Redwood with the fossil one and you would be amazed by its similarity.

Now, Dawn Redwood species is protected as "national treasure" of China (like the Giant Panda). It is truly a very usual ancient tree genus, just like the other famous China-native "living fossil" - Ginkgo. Unlike the two evergreen American Redwoods, Dawn Redwood is a kind of deciduous conifer and its leaves turn to reddish brown and fall in the Fall Season. Here is just a stunning picture of its beautiful foliage.

If you'd like to learn more about this fascinating tree and interesting history of its discovery, you may follow the links here to read about it.

• http://www.metasequoia.org/
• http://www.skidmore.edu/gis/research/metasequoia/MetaStory.htm
• http://www.conifers.org/cu/me/index.htm
  

I made up my mind to take pictures of Dawn Redwood trees I could find in Beijing. The following is a resulted collection of photos to record the journey of my searching for the tree since last week.

These three Dawn Redwood trees are unfortunately dead now. They are actually believed to be among the first batch of seedlings nurtured and planted in Beijing since its discovery. They're just outside the old Lamarck Building of former National Institute of Botany (now Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences). The location is actually now inside the park of Beijing Zoo.

Here is another look of the three dead trees in their full length. They're still standing there to remind us sadly how vulnerable the species could be without diligent care from us tree lovers.

That's the locked entrance to the abandoned shabby building (which was built in 1934 in memory of and hence named after French biologist Lamarck Jean Baptiste (1744- 1829).

The notice of locked-up and closed-down from the Institute of Botany is posted on the wall at the entrance.

Fortunately, four other Dawn Redwood trees planted probably at similar time in the Courtyard of Tsinghua University have survived and are growing well into big trees now after about 60 years. Two trees are standing tall on each side of the main entrance to the Courtyard.

A closer look of the two Dawn Redwood trees in the right corner.

Further closer look of the other two trees on the left side.

The name tag on the tree even includes the names of the two Chinese scientists who had discovered and identified the species (Hsen-Hsu Hu and Wan-Chun Cheng).

It is Spring time so the trees are just beginning to sprout new leaves.

Very interestingly one may find - at another quiet corner of the Courtyard, a small young tree of Coast Redwood was just planted. Hopefully it would grow up into a giant some years later.

One may also find quite a lot of young Dawn Redwood trees along the stream bank of the Cherry Gully in the Beijing Botanic Garden.

They're just young and small now and will take quite some years to grow into big trees.

Apparently, the tags on the tree indicated they're just planted in 2007.