Metasequoia in the context of "Metasequoia glyptostroboides"

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⭐ Core Definition: Metasequoia

Metasequoia, or dawn redwood, is a genus of fast-growing coniferous trees. It contains one extant (living) species, Metasequoia glyptostroboides, which is one of three extant species of conifers known as redwoods in the world. Metasequoia glyptostroboides is native to Lichuan county in Hubei, China. Although the shortest of the redwoods, it grows to at least 165 feet (50 meters) in height. Local villagers refer to the original tree from which most others derive as Shuǐshān (水杉), or "water fir", which is part of a local shrine. Since its rediscovery in 1944, the dawn redwood has become a popular ornamental, with examples found in various parks in a variety of countries.

Together with Sequoia sempervirens (coast redwood) and Sequoiadendron giganteum (giant sequoia) of California, Metasequoia is classified in the Cupressaceae subfamily Sequoioideae. M. glyptostroboides is the only living species in its genus, but three fossil species are known. Sequoioideae and several other genera have been transferred from the former family Taxodiaceae to Cupressaceae based on DNA analysis.

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👉 Metasequoia in the context of Metasequoia glyptostroboides

Metasequoia glyptostroboides, the dawn redwood, is a fast-growing, endangered deciduous conifer. It is the sole living species of the genus Metasequoia, one of three genera in the subfamily Sequoioideae of the family Cupressaceae. It now survives in the wild only in wet lower slopes and montane river and stream valleys in the border region of Hubei and Hunan provinces and Chongqing municipality in south-central China, notably in Lichuan county in Hubei. Although the shortest of the redwoods, it can grow to 167 ft (51 m) in height.

In 1941, the genus Metasequoia was reported by paleobotanist Shigeru Miki [jp] as a widely distributed extinct genus based on fossils, before attracting considerable attention a few years later when small populations were found alive in central China. It is a well-known example of a living fossil species. Modern dawn redwood appears identical to its late Cretaceous ancestors. The tree faces considerable risks of extinction in its wild range due to deforestation; however, it has been planted extensively in arboreta worldwide, where it has proved a popular and fast-growing ornamental plant. If the species had not been discovered when it was, it might have become extinct before being investigated.

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Metasequoia in the context of Redwood forest

Sequoia sempervirens (/səˈkwɔɪ.ə ˌsɛmpərˈvaɪrənz/) is the sole living species of the genus Sequoia in the cypress family Cupressaceae (formerly treated in Taxodiaceae). Common names include coast redwood, coastal redwood and California redwood. It is an evergreen, long-lived, monoecious tree living 1,200–2,200 years or more. This species includes the tallest living trees on Earth, reaching up to 115.9 m (380.1 ft) in height (without the roots) and up to 8.9 m (29 ft) in diameter at breast height. These trees are also among the longest-living trees on Earth. Before commercial logging and clearing began by the 1850s, this massive tree occurred naturally in an estimated 810,000 ha (2,000,000 acres) along much of coastal California (excluding southern California where rainfall is not sufficient) and the southwestern corner of coastal Oregon within the United States. Being the tallest tree species, with a small range and an extremely long lifespan, many redwoods are preserved in various state and national parks; many of the largest specimens have their own official names.

The name sequoia sometimes refers to the subfamily Sequoioideae, which includes S. sempervirens along with Sequoiadendron (giant sequoia) and Metasequoia (dawn redwood). Here, the term redwood on its own refers to the species covered in this article but not to the other two species.

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Metasequoia in the context of Taxodiaceae

Taxodiaceae is a formerly recognized conifer family. It is today recognised as a paraphyletic grade of basal lineages within the Cupressaceae. It contains the following living genera:

As proposed, genera of the former Taxodiaceae are grouped in the following subfamilies within the larger Cupressaceae:

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Metasequoia in the context of Sequoia (genus)

Sequoia is a genus of redwood coniferous trees in the subfamily Sequoioideae of the family Cupressaceae. The only extant species of the genus is Sequoia sempervirens in the Northern California coastal forests ecoregion of Northern California and Southwestern Oregon in the United States. The two other genera in the subfamily Sequoioideae, Sequoiadendron and Metasequoia, are closely related to Sequoia. It includes the tallest trees, as well as the heaviest, in the world.

Several extinct species have been named from fossils, including Sequoia affinis (Western North America) and Sequoia magnifica (petrified wood from the Yellowstone National Park area).

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LINKED FROM (PARENTS)
← Redwood forest ← Metasequoia glyptostroboides ← Sequoia sempervirens ← Taxodiaceae ← Sequoia (genus)
LINKS TO (CHILDREN)
Coniferous → Metasequoia glyptostroboides → Pinophyta → Sequoioideae → Lichuan, Hubei → Hubei → Sequoia sempervirens → Sequoiadendron giganteum → Cupressaceae → Fossil → Taxodiaceae →