June 22, 200916 yr Hmm.. Metasequoia glyptostroboides. Meta prefix means 'information about'... so it's something used to describe a Toyota Sequoia--like a type of catalog or something? Edited June 22, 200916 yr by Cubical-aka-Moltar
June 22, 200916 yr Author Its closest living relatives are: Sequoiadendron giganteum and Sequoia sempervirens Two rather famous trees.
June 22, 200916 yr Author a plant Brilliant! Ok, ok, I'll post the details a bit later. This plant is interesting for two unusual reasons.
June 23, 200916 yr Author Here's the deal: The tree is the Dawn Redwood. The first unusual thing about it is that it is a deciduous conifer. Meaning that, unlike most conifers (pine, spruce, fir, etc.) it is not evergreen. The Dawn Redwood turns a copper color in the late fall and drops its leaves for the winter. The second unusual thing about the Dawn Redwood is that it is one of the oldest living species of tree in the world. In fact, the entire genus (metasequoia) was thought to be extinct until the 1940s when a grove was discovered in China. The tree really is a "living fossil", and only this one species is known to exist outside of the fossil record. It's one of my favorite trees.
June 23, 200916 yr That is very interesting, got a few photos of it? I had no idea a deciduous conifer existed.
June 23, 200916 yr Author That is very interesting, got a few photos of it? I had no idea a deciduous conifer existed. I haven't found many good pics on the web yet. There are other deciduous conifers (Bald Cypress, Larch, etc.) but not many. I'm going to look again for good pics.
June 23, 200916 yr Author Some decent shots here: http://www.bomengids.nl/uk/soorten/Metaseq...wn_redwood.html But it's from Europe and they grow a bit differently there.
June 23, 200916 yr I prefer Taxodium distichum, the North American Bald Cypress. One of the few deciduous conifers of North America, Bald Cypress is a large tree to over 100 feet tall and a straight trunk to 8 feet in diameter, with numerous ascending branches. Young trees display a narrow, conical outline, but old trees have a swollen, fluted base, a slowly tapering trunk, and a broad, open, flat top. In swamps they develop distinctive woody growths from the root system called "knees." This tree is a native of the southeast United States, from Texas to Delaware. I have 3 on my property in Delaware because they remind me of Texas. I have noticed them creeping into Chester and Delaware counties Pennsylvania, I suppose that's because the climate is warming, not sure. Bald Cypress Tree Bald Cypress Cone Delaware has the Northern most Cypress Swamp Edited June 23, 200916 yr by Pontiac Custom-S
June 23, 200916 yr Author The Taxodiums have always been hardy here and are an interesting genus in the same family. I find that they lack the grace of the Metasequoia though.
June 23, 200916 yr Wow.... cool stuff. Always nice to learmn something new at random. This is the kind of stuff that makes C&G fun, unprovoked tangents we go on just for the $h!s & giggles. It's why Al Gore invented the internet one day back in 1992 after feasting on a Spotted Owl Sandwich & shooting a Right Whale in the face with a forked harpoon.
June 23, 200916 yr Author I can oblige with a plant thread anytime. Next up: Sciadopitys verticillata
June 23, 200916 yr I can oblige with a plant thread anytime. Next up: Sciadopitys verticillata Do you have fascination for pines and conifers? Isn't that a Japanese pine?
June 23, 200916 yr Author Do you have fascination for pines and conifers? Isn't that a Japanese pine? Not really, but Sciadopitys was once considered to a member of the same family as Metasequoia. I actually like mamy, many, types of woody plants. And yes, it is Japanese and commonly called a pine - but it isn't actually a pine. In fact, it has its own family all by itself.
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