Description
This is a species of Metasequoia leaf called landsdorfii.
Fossils of the metasequoia were first described in 1941.
This Rare Alaska Fossil Metasequoia is also commonly called Dawn Redwood. But these trees are now extinct. They do have modern relatives but this species is gone except for the fossil record.
The fossil dawn redwood a fast-growing conifer tree, but until other redwoods like the sequoia it is deciduous and will shed its leaves in autumn. It could grow up to 200 feet tall, having a trunk 6 feet wide. The dawn redwood has bark and foliage that resemble that of the California redwood,
Fossilized leaves of the dawn redwood can be found in Eocene and Miocene aged rocks throughout Oregon as well as neighboring states such as Washington, Idaho and Montana. Its fossils are particularly abundant in Oregon near the Painted Hills and the towns of Mitchell and Fossil. This one however was found in Alaska.
During the Paleocene and Eocene vast forests of Metasequoia extended quite far north, equivalent to where Northern Canada lies today. At the time temperatures on Earth were significantly warmer. Because of that, the dawn redwood forests would have been growing in a warm, “tropical” environment.
This Eocene Rare Fossil Metasequoia was found in the Chickaloon Formation, Miner Roop Strip Mine near Eska, Alaska.
This leaf is 1 3/4 inches long on an irregular matrix1 1/4 by 3 inches.
