Dawn Redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides)

This living fossil is listed as Endangered by International Union for the Conservation of Nature with the tree surviving in 18 fragmented sites. Discovered in the 1940’s, Arnold Arboretum funded an expedition that collected 500-grams of seed and distributed germplasm throughout its growing region. The specimen at Spring Grove came from the original 1948 distribution. Dawn redwood is native to Hunan, Hubei, Chongqing provinces in China. Subsequent collections in the 1980’s proved that the initial collection secured 80% of the genetic spectrum. Spring Grove’s champion specimen measured 199 inches circumference, 94-feet in height, 51-feet in crown spread and 305-points