Although the exact cause of their decline is unknown, habitat alteration вЂ“ such as the conversion of large tracts of land from forest to agricultural fields вЂ“ was likely an important factor. Scientists believe that these trees were once quite widespread throughout the Northern Hemisphere. This has led many to call the tree a вЂњliving fossil.вЂќ Interestingly, the fossilized trees were almost identical to the modern species, meaning that these trees have changed very little over the last 65 million years. However, a few years later, conservationists working in southwestern China found several living specimens. In 1941, paleobotanists identified dwarf redwoods fossils, but they were thought to be extinct. However, you can distinguish between the two by noting the leaf arrangement: Dwarf redwood leaves are arranged oppositely, while those of bald cypresses are arranged in alternate fashion. Both species are most common in riparian or flood plain habitats. The shape of their leaves and tendency to form wide, buttressed trunks (the trunks of some specimens exceed 15 feet in diameter), causes some to mistake these trees for bald cypresses (Taxodium distichum).

The leaves of dwarf redwoods are bright green in the spring and summer, but they turn yellow, red or orange in the autumn in the winter, the trees appear as majestic skeletons, devoid of leaves.

Unlike their taller cousins, who keep their leaves all year long, dwarf redwoods are deciduous trees, which shed their leaves in the winter. Some botanists even contend that the dwarf redwood is the direct ancestor of the coastal redwood.ДЄlthough smaller than the other two types of redwood, the term вЂњdwarfвЂќ is somewhat misleading, as these trees may reach 200 feet in height. The sole living species of its genus, dwarf redwoods are very attractive conifers, who are quite similar to coastal redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens). The dwarf or dawn redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides) is one of three species that bears the redwood moniker.

Amber glow metasequoia