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''Metasequoia glyptostroboides'', the dawn redwood, is a fast-growing, endangered coniferous tree, the sole living species of the genus ''Metasequoia'', one of three species in the subfamily Sequoioideae. It is native to Lichuan county in the Hubei province of China. Although shortest of the redwoods, it grows to at least in height. ==History== Though once common across the northern hemisphere, the Dawn Redwood was originally considered extinct. The genus ''Metasequoia'' was first described in 1941 as a fossil of the Mesozoic Era, and none of the fossils discovered were less than 1.5 million years old. Dr. Shigeru Miki (1901–1974), a paleo-botanist from Kyoto University, identified a divergent leaf form while studying fossil samples of the family Cupressaceae and realized he was looking at a new genus, which he named ''Metasequoia'', meaning "like a sequoia." That very same year, however, a forester named T. Kan happened across an enormous living specimen while performing a survey in Sichuan and Hubei provinces. Though unaware of Miki’s new genus, he recognized the unique traits of the tree. It formed part of a local shrine, where villagers called it ''Shui-shan'' 水杉 or "water fir".〔Bartholomew, Bruce, D. E. Boufford, and S. A. Spongberg. "Metasequoia glyptostroboides--Its present status in central China." Journal of the Arnold Arboretum 64.1 (1983): 105-128.〕 In 1943, Zhan Wang (1911–2000), a Chinese forestry official, collected samples from an unidentified tree in Modaoxi, China (presently, Moudao, Lichuan County, Hubei)—now believed to be the same tree Kan discovered. The samples were determined to belong to a tree as yet unknown to science, but World War II postponed further study. It wasn’t until 1946 that anyone connected Miki's genus and the living samples. Professors Wan Chun Cheng and Hu Xiansu made the pivotal connection and provided the specific epithet "''glyptostroboides''," after its resemblance to the Chinese swamp cypress (''Glyptostrobus''). In 1948 the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University funded an expedition to collect seeds from Kan's original tree and, soon after, distributed seeds and seedlings to various universities and arboreta worldwide for growth trials. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Metasequoia glyptostroboides」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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