What is the scientific name of the dawn redwood?

The scientific name of the dawn redwood is Metasequoia glyptostroboides.

This species is a fast-growing, deciduous conifer and the sole living member of the genus Metasequoia. It belongs to the Cupressaceae family and the Sequoioideae subfamily, alongside the coast redwood and giant sequoia. Unlike those famous Californian redwoods, the dawn redwood loses its needle-like leaves in autumn, turning reddish brown before shedding them.

The name has an unusual history. Japanese paleobotanist Shigeru Miki described Metasequoia in 1941 from fossils and believed the genus extinct. Living trees were found in central China in the 1940s, and botanists later recognized that the specimens belonged to the fossil genus. The epithet glyptostroboides refers to the tree’s resemblance to Glyptostrobus, the Chinese swamp cypress.

Wild populations survive in wet valleys and stream habitats around Hubei, Hunan and Chongqing. The species is endangered in the wild, but its rapid growth and tolerance of wet soils have made it a popular ornamental tree in parks and gardens worldwide.