This slab showcases a fossil short shoot of the dawn redwood Metasequoia occidentalis from Montana.
The tree genus Metasequoia was initially known only from fossil discoveries, until a relict population of this "living fossil" was discovered in China in 1941. The extant species, Metasequoia glyptostroboides, is not evergreen. In winter, the short shoots of the dawn redwood turn reddish-brown, much like deciduous trees, and are shed. |
