This specimen displays a fossilized short branch of the ancient dawn redwood Metasequoia occidentalis, found in 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.

Location: