A Deciduous Conifer?

14 years ago

Saw this tall, vase-shaped tree near the Connecticut River in a park yesterday, 2/1/2012. The tree is definitely not dead in that its branches are very supple and appear to have a greening/budding aliveness. There are green needles under the tree, each about 1.5" long that resemble those of a Yew and there are many cones. The bark at the base resembles cedar, but nothing else about the older tree looks like cedar. New sucker shoots from the base and trunk are very alive. Anyone know what it is? A large shrub perhaps?

{{gwi:330573}}

Thanks for looking,

Jane

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (9)

hogmanay
14 years ago
I suspect it is a Dawn Redwood.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metasequoia
Metasequoia glyptostroboides

Those lower branches are habit, not suckers.

I'm often wrong on tree ID though :P
salicaceae
14 years ago
Definitely Metasequoia.
Related Professionals
Selma Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Chicago Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Middletown Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Huntsville Landscape Contractors · Oklahoma City Landscape Contractors · Longview Landscape Contractors · Ottumwa Landscape Contractors · Harrisburg Landscape Contractors · Santa Barbara Landscape Contractors · Billings Landscape Contractors · Missoula Landscape Contractors · Amherstburg Landscape Contractors · Dayton Home Additions · Champaign Home Additions · Las Vegas Home Additions
denninmi
14 years ago
Ah, that tree is just a baby, probably 10-15 years old and it has a long way to grow yet. Too bad it looks like its all messed up in the trunk, like something damaged the top and multiple leaders formed that weren't properly cut back to one.

It's going to be way more than a large shrub -- they can get to at least 200 feet tall in their native China.

My 20 year old tree is half again as tall as the one in the photo, based upon the picture (although those are at times deceiving).
rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
14 years ago
corunum, you need to revisit this tree in the summer when it will have regained all of it's foliage, and then again in the fall when it glows with fall color.
corunum z6 CT
Original Author
14 years ago
Thank you all so very much! Redwood in Connecticut did not enter my thinking inasmuch it (I think) is not plentiful here. I did Google images of this variety and it certainly is a beautiful tree, one I do not have room enough grow, regretfully. And yes, rhizo, I agree, I will happily revisit this park to see the tree in its other seasonal dress. Again, thanks to all of you for such nice, accurate, and quick responses.

Kindly,
Jane
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
14 years ago
i dont care where you post... but there is a conifer forum.. and we post pix of all kinds of conifers..

dawn redwood is the common name.. not quite what peeps would call a redwood per se ... but within the family i suppose ...

its a metasequoia .. not a redwood ... words mean things.. so as to avoid getting confused while discussing such

and i thought they were rare in MI .. until i planted one.. and started seeing them all over the place....

there are many deciduous dwarf larches [which would be larix] that will fit in many a garden ... and they are blue .. go figure... check out the link

good luck on your journey of discovery ...

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: link
Iris GW
14 years ago
Baldcypress - Taxodium distichum is another deciduous conifer.
taxo_man
14 years ago
Nice find. I live close to the CT river. Do you happen to know which park the tree was in? I would love to check it out in person. : )

J
corunum z6 CT
Original Author
14 years ago
A lively forum with excellent information - wonderful! Thanks so much.

ken - the dwarfs are great. Now I'm in the wrong forum and off topic, but I do have two Sid Waxman (Univ. of CT) dwarf pinus strobis that are special to me.

taxo - this tree is in Haddam Meadows State Park on Saybrook Rd., Rte. 154.