Dawn Redwood
Arbor walk #73, Treekeeper ID #2196
The Dawn Redwood is considered a living fossil because it was only known due to the fossil remains from individuals that lived with the dinosaurs. It was not until the 1940’s that a small population was discovered in a remote valley of the Szechwan province of China. The Arnold Arboretum, partnering with Chinese botanists, brought the seeds to North America, and it has since become a widely planted tree.
This specific cultivar is named after Missouri Botanical Garden’s previous director Dr. Peter Raven and its founder Henry Shaw. The cultivar is different from normal Dawn Redwoods; it has a more pyramidal growth pattern, deeply furrowed bark, lower branching, has better resistance to common leaf-disease, and more.
| Common Name | Dawn Redwood |
|---|---|
| Latin Name | Metasequoia glyptostroboides |
| Indigenous Name(s) | |
| Cultivar/Variety | ‘Raven’ |
| Commercial Name | SHAW’S LEGACY |
Global Distribution
GPS Coordinates
N/A
Percent Concrete
N/A
Distance to Buildings
| Year | Close Building #1 | Close Building #2 | Close Building #3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Wheeler House, 22.56 m | Shepley House, 25.41 m | Park Residential, 45.98 m |
Distance to Other Species
| Year | Close Species #1 | Close Species # 2 | Close Species # 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Dawn Redwood, 5.76 m | Dawn Redwood, 7.25 m | Dawn Redwood, 12.21 m |
Standard Measurements
| Year | Height (m) | DBH (cm) | Crown Diameter N-S (m) | Crown Diameter E-W (m) | Average Crown Diameter (m) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 10.7686 | 20.60 | 3.67 | 3.38 | 3.525 |
| 2023 | 13.93 | 29.9 | 5.2 | 4.6 | 4.9 |
Nests and Pests
| Year | Description |
|---|---|
| 2020 | Some green algae covering trunk bark |
Leaf Identification
The leaves of the Dawn Redwood are linear, feathery, and fern-like. They look like pinnately compound leaves, but are actually many flat leaves that are oppositely arranged on a branchlet. A branchlet is explained in the Twigs and Buds Identification section for this tree. It is sometimes referred to as a two-ranked leaf arrangement. They are a light green in the spring, dark green in the summer, and reddish-bronze in the fall.
Twig and Bud Identification
The twigs of the Dawn Redwood are reddish-brown. The Dawn Redwood also has a special kind of twig called a branchlet. The branchlets are green and hold the actual leaves. It looks somewhat like the rachis of a pinnately compound leaf, and they also fall off when the leaves do. Sometimes the twigs are called persistent branchlets, and the branchlets are called deciduous branchlets. The buds of the deciduous branchlets are reddish-brown.
Bark Identification
The Dawn Redwood’s bark is reddish-brown and forms vertical, shredding strips.
Cone Identification
The staminate cones of the Dawn Redwood are light brown, ovoid, and hang in long clusters. The ovulate cone is waxy, blue-green, and hang alone on a long stalk. The ovulate cone matures into dark brown and separates into distinct scales that contain small winged seeds.
‘Raven’ Identification
This cultivar differs from the wild tree by having an uniform pyramidal growth habit, low branching habit with branches uniformly spaced, deeply furrowed bark, better resistance to foliar diseases, and a more vigorous growth rate.
