It's either a 'dawn of redwood' (Metasequoa gliptostroboides) or a Bald cypress (Taxodium disectum). There are only a few possiblities with dicidous conifers. Maybe if you could also include a photo of the tree itself that might be able to narrow it down. I'm really not too familiar with the taxonomy of these trees but I'm pretty sure it one of those two. -G

Thanks for the help mrgreengenes. With the names you gave me, I was able to do some searches and found some really interesting info. It is dawn of redwood. I may be wrong, but bald cypress is more to the Southern States and I don't think it would grow naturally in zone 5.

I was able to collect some seeds and am going to try to grow one hopefully as a bonsai. I'll let you know in about 10 years how its going.

Thanks again for your help.

You're welcome.

Believe it or not here in Chicago bald cypress does just fine in the landscape. As a matter a fact there is one about twenty feet tall outside my building at work. We're zone five. They can be found up and down the Mississippi river and even naturally along the shores of Illinois. There is one somewhere along the Illinois shore that is suppose to be in the 1000 year old range if I remember correctly it's in a state park. But you are correct in saying that zone 5 is pretty much the extent of there range.

I'm sure that in some of your reading you found that Dawn of Redwood is native to China and was thought to be extinct until some time around the mid 1960's. So chances are if you've found a metasequoa it's been planted there.

Good luck with your project. I'm sure it'll be fun. :) -G

Dawn Redwood. There is no "of".

Greengenes,

what part of chicago are you from? I live about 40 minutes south.

Matt

Thanks for the correction Zube100. It sounds like it's history is similar to the Ginko tree. Prehistoric, known by fossils, found in China in the mid 20th century and now making a come-back in North America.

Thanks for all the input.
Jim

I'm not sure which is which, but of Dawn Redwood and BC leaflets one is opposite, one isnt. I can't really make out in the pic if its opposite or not but you should be able to and might help to id it?

I live in Aurora. In Will county, but still Aurora. It's really not centrally located for either Prairie state or Midwest but I'll take it over nothin. Where abouts south are you?

Hi there,

I live in the tinley/orland area.

matt

I am a little slow in getting to this post, but the identification between Bald Cypress (Taxodium) versus Dawn Redwood (Metasequoia) is not that hard. The Bald Cypress has alternating leaflets where a Dawn Redwood has opposite. From the picture it appears to me to be a Bald Cypress, but I do have a hard time focusing n the picture.

If you found it growing wild odds are it is Bald Cypress. It is true that they are not normally found in Zone 5 naturally, they were at one time native in this Zone and today they do quite well in Zone 5. There is, I understand, a natural stand of them in Southern Illinois but I can't confirm that.

Being a Quasi-native tree the possibility of it going feral from some landscape source is more likely than the Dawn Redwood. Either way both trees make nice bonsai.

Vance Wood.

yes it's Bald Cypress. Dawn Redwood doesn't have cones like that! and the foliage is not like that ether. Cones of dawn redwood are very small and rare.
take your cone and brake it open and plant the insides (they often don't look much like seeds. And they won't require dormence (cold) just plant them! they will come up looking a little like pines. six to eight cotyledons. I grew hundreds of them! one was my fav. bonsai for 28 years, enjoy

~Brian
PS: you can put their pot in basin of standing water the second year after they come up. that way you won't have to water them all the time. or keep in grownd to thiken trunk.