Location: Left side of Walker Hall

Board Feet: 406.8

Green Weight: 2,822.3 kg

Dry Weight: 1,411.2 kg

Carbon Sequestered ~ 705.6 kg

Height: 71.1 ft

Trunk Circumference: 58.7 in

Of the three redwoods, this is the only type of redwood that is deciduous (sheds its leaves annually). This tree will lose its needles every fall!

The Dawn Redwood was thought to be extinct until 1941, known only from the fossil record. Dawn Redwoods have been around since when dinosaurs still roamed the Earth!

These trees are only found growing naturally in the Hubei province of China.

How many of the trees on this list hung out with dinosaurs? While this particular Dawn Redwood is much younger, the species is ancient — in fact, the species is known as a living fossil. This tree is a transplant native to south-central China where it is known as “water-fir” or “water pine.”

Despite looking like an evergreen, this tree is a deciduous conifer, and loses its leaves every fall. Its tiny cones actually take two or three years to grow fully; mature ones are about the size of a marble. You can actually eat its needles — they are high in Vitamin C — but we don’t recommend it.