Dawn Redwood Bonsai Tree
(metasequoia glyptostrobides)

Really the most exciting of the Redwoods is the Dawn Redwood, a native of Manchuri China. Thought to be extinct, but re-discovered in the 1940's. The Dawn Redwood is a true Redwood. Like our Redwoods they are a living fossil as isolated "relic" species from a long time ago when there were vast forests of them. Seeds were introduced in the U.S. in 1948, and has been increasingly poipular as an ornamental tree. The foliage is more lacey than our native Redwood but what is very different about the Dawn Redwood is that it is deciduous. In the fall the light green sprays turn yellow, then bronze, and fall off. Only the Larches do that.