The Dawn Redwood was growing in prehistoric times.

It was known to have existed 225

million years ago through the fossil record, but until 1942 was believed to be extinct. After
the discovery of a few specimens in China, seeds were collected and distributed to botanic
gardens around the world. Including Melbourne.

The reason it is called Dawn Redwood is because of its age in that it existed in the dawn
of history.

The dawn redwood is a living testimony to the surprises still to be found in nature. When
dinosaurs roamed the earth, it is believed that trees in the Redwood family were very
abundant.

Dawn redwood was one of those known only as a fossil until 1941, when it was discovered
growing in a remote valley of the Szechwan province of China.

The bright green, feathery leaves turn orange-brown or reddish-brown in the autumn.

Dawn Redwood is a deciduous conifer with small cones.

The species is native to Central China where it is found along what are now cultivated river
valleys or in the moist bottoms of ravines.

Dawn redwood is now classified as endangered. Its natural habitat is surrounded by

cultivated fields

While the trees were possibly used for timber this is now prohibited. Since its identification
in 1945 it has been very successful as an ornamental tree

The oldest is believed to be 600 years old found in China.

Due to the tree’s recent discovery, many of its potential uses are still unknown and
unexplored. Expeditions to the tree’s native habitat have shown that the species has been
used by local farmers for rafts and houses, as well as myths from the river valley area
where the trees are used to predict that season’s harvest based on the cones’ locations on
the tree.

However, much about this tree is still unknown, especially since the dawn redwood is what
is known as a living fossil, which means that the tree’s closest relatives are found only in
fossils, shrouding the chemical properties and physical adaptations of the tree in further
mystery. In the dawn redwood, we see a species that has survived from the time of the
dinosaurs until the modern era, demonstrating the stalwart nature and strength of trees.