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Metasequoia glyptostroboides at the Morris Arboretum

Kate Deregibus
Horticulture Section Leader


There are many magnificent trees growing on the grounds of the Morris Arboretum, but few can inspire the imaginations of all who come to know them, more than the remarkable Metasequoia or Dawn Redwood. It is known from the study of fossils, that 30 million years ago, Metasequoia grew abundantly in both North America and Asia, but this tree was thought to have become extinct on both sides of the Pacific, roughly 5 to 2 million years ago.

In the early 1940’s, a time when China was at war with Japan, a small number of living Metasequoias were found in a remote valley of central China’s Szechuan Province. By the end of the decade, the Arnold Arboretum in Boston had helped to organize and finance expeditions of Chinese botanists to collect the seeds of these newly discovered trees. A portion of the first shipment of these seeds was sent from The Arnold to the Morris Arboretum in 1948 and their successful germination resulted in the two venerable trees growing today on the slope above the swan pond.

A later shipment of seed collected from the original Chinese trees reached the Morris Arboretum in 1949, as the People's Republic of China was being established and the doors to that part of the world were closing. The Metasequoias grown from these seeds along with others, can now be found growing in the sculpture garden here at the Arboretum. This exceptional grove of trees was planted in 1953 by Dr. Hui-Lin Li, a native of Suchow, China, who was then the staff taxonomist and later became director of the Arboretum. Clearly Dr. Li recognized the ideal conditions in which to grow Metasequoia - in full sun and directly adjacent to a small, rocky stream which provides them with a constant supply of moisture.

Seedlings from the Arboretum’s historic Metasequoias, which grow happily in less than ideal conditions given supplemental watering, will be available as a member’s dividend plant at next year’s plant sale if you would like to grow one of your own.