Tree of the Month - Dawn Redwood

Posted on: 04 July 2024

The Redwood on the main campus was planted in 1986 and now stands at 19m high with a girth of 1.6m.  It currently stores 740 kg of carbon, however when mature it can store up to 5000 kg. They are fast growing and can reach a height of up to 35m quite quickly, which is almost the length of the Ha’penny Bridge.  The largest known specimen is about 50m tall with a girth of 7m.  The specimen in the West Arboretum at the College Botanic Gardens is estimated to be at least 25m tall, though its girth is very narrow. It was planted sometime between 1967 and 1980.

The Dawn Redwood is native to Central China near the Sichuan-Hubei border and is from the family Cupressaceae which contains up to 30 genera. It is also known as  水杉 shui shan in Chinese which literally translates to Water Fir. You’ll find them on shady and moist sites close to streams or in Ravines.

This genus was first only known about by fossil evidence and was considered extinct until recently, however a small population was discovered by Chinese Forester Gan Duo in 1941. At the time of discovery, around three trees were sampled and went on to produce the seed source for all the trees outside of China. Western gardens saw their arrival around 1948.

From studies conducted by palaeobotanists, it was discovered that during the late Cretaceous and Tertiary eras, the Metasequoia species formed a key component of the northern forests that occupied the area at the time, even in what is now the Arctic. Metasequoia glyptostroboides is one of the few living deciduous conifers. The family Cupressaceae contains three deciduous genera: Glyptostrobus, Metasequoia and Taxodium.

The Dawn Redwood has established itself as a huge urban and rural favourite for tree planting. When mature it forms a very large and statuesquely pyramidal tree. It is quite tolerant of air-pollution and tolerant of quite a range of soil types, but does best closer to riparian areas or close to wetlands which is where the largest specimens can be found. The tree itself has soft and spongy bark and soft, lush pale green feathery foliage.  The trunk of the specimen at the College Botanic Gardens is fluted into interesting shapes, and the bark is wonderfully coloured.  We hope you get a chance to view these wonderful trees. 

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