Thought to have been extinct for millions of years, in 1941 living Dawn Redwoods were discovered in Szechuan, China.  Seeds from these trees were collected in 1947 by a Harvard University sponsored expedition, shipped to Boston and distributed among leading botanic gardens.  It was a mark of Frank Bailey’s reputation in horticultural circles that he was among the first to receive seedlings, and in 1982 a survey of trees from the original Harvard consignment reported that the largest tree at Bailey Arboretum was the finest of the lot.  In 2007 the International Metasequoia Society declared that this particular specimen has the largest girth of any Dawn Redwood in the world.

Today there are only a few small and scattered stands of indigenous Dawn Redwoods left in Hubei and Szechuan and the species is classified as “critically endangered” in the wild by the World Conservation Union.    Seedlings are periodically available for sale at Bailey Arboretum.  The mature trees can be enjoyed during all seasons, freshly green in the spring, they turn golden in the fall before losing their needles.  Other distinguishing features include a “ropy” trunk and a sharply pointed silhouette.

See www.botanic.cam.ac.uk for more information on Dawn Redwoods