This is a fossilized short branch of a dawn redwood (Metasequoia occidentalis) from Montana.
The Tree genus Metasequoia was until the discovery of a relict population in 1941 in China only known from fossil specimens. The dawn redwood is a classical example of a living fossil.
The today living species Metasequoia glyptostroboides all the year green. The short branches with the nedels become red- brown when the fall in autumn. | 
