This plate shows two fossil leaf branches of the dawn redwood of the species Metasequoia occidentalis from Montana. The larger leaf measures about 62 mm long and the smaller one circa 45 mm.

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.

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