Tree Tuesday - the Dawn Redwood

The Dawn Redwood is a living fossil

I've got a very cool tree for #treetuesday by @old-guy-photos.

The Dawn Redwood is an ancient tree species dating back to the late Cretaceous period... that means the time of Tyrannosaurus Rex! It was known from fossil records but thought to be extinct until it was rediscovered growing in a remote mountain valley in China in 1944. The scientific name is Metasequoia. This tree is not an evergreen but has needles which change colour and drop off in the fall, making it a kind of a cross between deciduous and coniferous trees.

Dawn Redwood in spring (April 2015)

The story gets better... apparently, all the trees alive today are descended from a single mother tree which is part of an ancient temple. Since the 40's the Dawn Redwood has been spread around the world as a fast-growing decorative tree. It doesn't grow nearly as large as other redwood trees but still gets pretty big.

Dawn Redwood.jpg

The same tree in autumn with orange needles. (Beacon Hill Park, Victoria, BC. Nov. 2013)

Finally, here is the same tree seen last week, waiting for new needles to sprout. Thanks for viewing my tree Tuesday photos.

Be sure to check out @old-guy-photos post from today:

https://steemit.com/treetuesday/@old-guy-photos/6v7fd4-a-terrific-tree-tuesday

Congratz, your post has been resteemed and, who knows, will maybe appear in the next edition of the #dailyspotlights (Click on my face if you want to know more about me...)

Thank you @pixresteemer!

I like how you took photos of the same tree during the different seasons @keithboone Should be full of lush leaves within the next month, hopefully. Happy 1st day of Spring!

Thank you, Nina! It wasn't planned, and the shots were taken years apart but I was glad to find I had these saved!

I'm taking this with me if you don't mind. The first two are my favorites. Those are exactly like in fairytales, I love them.

Thanks so much Erika, I really appreciate it!

What a wavy trunk! I love it.

Thanks, they are odd trees. There are a few of them planted here, none of which can be older than about 70 years. They are quite odd looking in the fall when the needles turn that deep orange. The first time I saw that I figured it was a dead "evergreen" tree.