The cones are globose to ovoid, 0.6-1.0 inches (1.5-2.5 cm) in diameter with 16–28 scales, arranged in opposite pairs in four rows, each pair at right angles to the adjacent pair they mature in about 8–9 months after pollination. The pollen cones are 0.25 inch (6 mm) long, produced on long spikes in early spring they are only produced on trees growing in regions with hot summers. The leaves are opposite, 0.4-1.25 inches (1–3 cm) long, and bright fresh green, turning foxy red-brown in fall. It is a fast-growing tree to 130–150 feet (40–45 m) tall and 6 feet (2 m) in trunk diameter in cultivation so far (with the potential to grow even higher). The bark and foliage are similar to Sequoia, but Metasequoia is deciduous like Taxodium distichum (bald cypress), and, similarly, older specimens form wide buttresses on the lower trunk. Before its discovery, the taxon was believed to have become extinct during the Miocene when it was discovered extant, it was heralded as a " living fossil".Īppearance Dawn redwood foliage - note opposite arrangement The trees are well known from late Cretaceous to Miocene strata, but no fossils are known after that. Large petrified trunks and stumps of the extinct Metasequoia occidentalis (sometimes identified as Sequoia occidentalis) also make up the major portion of Tertiary fossil plant material in the badlands of western North Dakota. It is also hypothesized that the change from evergreen to deciduous trait occurred before colonizing the high latitudes and was the reason Metasequoia was dominant in the north. During three months in the summer, the sun would shine continuously, while three months of the winter would be complete darkness. Given that the high latitudes in this period were warm and tropical, it is hypothesized that the deciduous trait evolved in response to the unusual light availability patterns, not to major seasonal variations in temperature. Metasequoia was likely deciduous by this time. During the Paleocene and Eocene, extensive forests of Metasequoia occurred as far north as Strathcona Fiord on Ellesmere Island and sites on Axel Heiberg Island (northern Canada) at around 80° N latitude. Fossils are known from the Cenomanian onwards. Metasequoia redwood fossils are known from many areas in the Northern Hemisphere more than 20 fossil species have been named (some were even identified as the genus Sequoia), but are considered as just three species, M. foxii, M. milleri, and M. occidentalis. Sequoioideae and several other genera have been transferred from the former family Taxodiaceae to Cupressaceae based on DNA analysis. M. glyptostroboides is the only living species in its genus, but three fossil species are known. Together with Sequoia sempervirens (coast redwood) and Sequoiadendron giganteum (giant sequoia) of California, Metasequoia is classified in the Cupressaceae subfamily Sequoioideae. Since its rediscovery in 1944, the dawn redwood has become a popular ornamental, with examples found in various parks in a variety of countries. Local villagers refer to the original tree from which most others derive as Shuǐshān (水杉), or "water fir", which is part of a local shrine. Although the shortest of the redwoods, it grows to at least 165 feet (50 meters) in height. The living species Metasequoia glyptostroboides is native to Lichuan county in Hubei province, China. It’ll either do that or grow another foot or two by then, LOL.Metasequoia, or dawn redwoods, is a genus of fast-growing deciduous trees, one of three species of conifers known as redwoods. Of course I could be completely wrong and the thing croaks in June or July. I gotta believe that a plant that lasts that long unchanged has a massive tolerance for otherwise-unfavorable growth conditions. Third - these things have survived for 270 million years in basically their present form. So my thought is that it should be able to get pretty much all the water it needs, and it does have small leaves. That said, it’s still just thick and wet. It drains moderately well in that, even during that giant rain where the picture above was taken, that whole pond was empty in a couple hours. The spot it’s in is a thick, mucky, nasty heavy soil that’s part clay and part alluvium. Second, in the desert - the general rule of thumb is that small leaves + more water = higher heat tolerance. It can be 115 in the day and 65 at night. It may do fine or it may be problematic.įirst, where I’m at in Wickenburg, it cools off substantially at night, even in the summer. Looks like you’ll have plenty of water, I don’t know how well they tolerate AZ heat though. They are really cool, I have also seen some very large ones in Utah. There are couple of them close to my house here in Akron at an arboretum.
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