![]() ![]() In July 1947, the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University provided $250 to fund an expedition by Zheng Wanjun's assistant Hua Jingchan (Ching-Shan Hwa 1921–present) to collect seeds for the arboretum from the Metasequoia type tree in Moudao, and trees in the nearby Metasequoia Valley (Shuishaba Valley). Professors Zheng Wanjun (Cheng Wan-Chun) and Hu Xiansu (Hu Hsien-Hsu) made the pivotal connection between Miki's fossil genus and the living samples in 1946, and provided the specific epithet " glyptostroboides", after its resemblance to the Chinese swamp cypress ( Glyptostrobus). The samples were determined to belong to a tree yet unknown to science, but World War II postponed further study. In 1943, Wang Zhan (Chan Wang, 1911–2000) of the National Bureau of Forest Research, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forests, Chongqing, collected samples from an unidentified tree in the village of Moudao ( 谋道 镇 formerly Motaochi, Maodaoqi or Modaoxi) in Lichuan County, Hubei province-now believed to be the same tree Kan discovered. This tree formed part of a local shrine, where villagers called it Shuǐshān 水杉 or "water fir". Unfortunately, while he collected some plant material, he did not attempt to identify or publish his findings. ![]() Though unaware of Miki's new genus, he recognized the unique traits of the tree. In the same year, Kan Duo (Toh Kan, 1903–1961), professor of Forest Management, National Central University, Chongqing, (formerly Chungking) observed an enormous living specimen while performing a survey in Sichuan and Hubei provinces. He realized he had discovered a new genus, which he named Metasequoia, meaning "like a sequoia". Shigeru Miki from Kyoto University identified a divergent leaf form. While studying fossil samples of the family Cupressaceae, Dr. When the genus Metasequoia was first described in 1941, it was from Mesozoic Era fossils, none of which were less than 150 million years old. Metasequoia glyptostroboides (dawn redwood) bonsai treeĪlthough it was commonly known from the fossil record from across the northern hemisphere, the dawn redwood was considered extinct until the mid-twentieth century. ![]()
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