Dawn Redwood is a remarkable living fossil known from the fossil record for over 90 million years and believed extinct until its rediscovery in a remote Chinese valley in 1944. Unlike its redwood relatives, it is deciduous, dropping its feathery, soft needles each autumn in a blaze of russet-orange color. It has since been widely planted as an ornamental worldwide and occasionally naturalized in moist bottomlands in eastern North America. The wild population in China's Hubei province is critically endangered, making cultivated specimens outside China important conservation reservoirs.
Best time to see a Dawn Redwood
The best time to see a Dawn Redwood is April–August, when about 66% of U.S. sightings happen, based on 91 research-grade iNaturalist observations.
Not certain it is a Dawn Redwood? What plant is this? walks through what to check first and the lookalikes that catch people out.
Recent Dawn Redwood sightings near you
Live, research-grade observations from iNaturalist. Allow location to center the map on you.
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