8/4/2023 0 Comments Metasequoia uv mapping![]() Here I see my good old friends again: the earliest living Metasequoia trees to be planted outside of their native valleys in China. I am lucky for having the chance to conduct research at the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, and design interesting morphological and physiological experiments. I was astonished by the great quantity of leaves produced and sent drifting back to earth every year! When you look at the distant mountains, you see such beautiful scenery-standing out against the green background are coppery red Metasequoia trees growing towards the blue sky. When I visited the Metasequoia population in Lichuan City, Hubei in late autumn 2018, I preferred going through the smaller paths in the forest, which were covered in thick “snows”-the fallen leafy shoots of the dawn redwood. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 264: 64-74. Morphological comparison of fossilized Metasequoia leafy shoots and female cones from central Yunnan with those of modern trees. Now it grows naturally only in the narrow boundary of Hubei, Chongqing, and Hunan Provinces in Central China, where the monsoon season is weaker and precipitation in spring is greater than in central Yunnan. ![]() Zhou with my belief that the fossil was actually Metasequoia! At last we found evidence that the intensification of Asian monsoons caused Metasequoia’s disappearance from Yunnan. After numerous excavations at the field outcrop, I opened a siltstone and a very beautiful female cone appeared. His paleoecology group found Metasequoia-like leafy shoots in central Yunnan: a great find! So I went to Yunnan, and became a post-doctoral fellow under his direction. Zhe-kun Zhou, a botanist and palaeobotanist at the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, CAS. In the spring of 2011, I received an exciting email from Professor Dr. These proved useful in finishing my PhD thesis: “Morphology and anatomy of Metasequoia leaves and their environmental significance: evidence from comparative studies of fossils and “living fossil.” Shigeru Miki’s slices of Metasequoia fossils. In 2010, at the Third International Metasequoia Symposium in Osaka, Japan, I visited the Osaka Museum of Natural History and was lucky to see Dr. I also found a method to prepare the brittle cuticle of the fossil leaves. When I observed them under the microscope, I found exciting morphologies similar to the fossils. ![]() In order to compare the leaf morphologies of the fossils and living trees, I climbed two Metasequoia trees to the top to collect samples. I was fascinated by the evolution of their leaf morphology and the immense beauty of their micro-morphology. Through these excellently preserved fossils I could travel deep into the ancient ages. They collected many Metasequoia fossils around the world, from the Canadian Arctic to Japan and from the Palaeocene to Pleistocene. She is a Metasequoia specialist and cooperates with Dr. I became a PhD student of Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in 2006, and did my Metasequoia research with Professor Qin Leng. Metasequoia growing near the Hunnewell Building Visitor Center at the Arnold Arboretum. They grow in front of the teaching building, a great example of Chinese traditional architecture, and they create a peaceful environment for study. When I became an undergraduate student at Sichuan University in Chengdu, China in 1999, I first saw real Metasequoia trees. At that time I knew its name was Shui-Shan (水杉, meaning “water fir” in Chinese). It looked so fresh and light, and quickly attracted my attention. The green, feather-like, leafy shoots were displayed against the clear water of a lake. Our first meeting was in a primary school textbook. Metasequoia glyptostroboides (dawn redwood) is my favorite plant.
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