"living fossil". Appearance The bark and foliage are similar to Sequoia, but Metasequoia is deciduous like Taxodium distichum (bald cypress), and, similarly, older specimens form wide buttresses on the lower trunk. It is a fast-growing tree to 130–150 feet (40–45 m) tall and 6 feet (2 m) in trunk diameter in cultivation so far (with the potential to grow even higher). The leaves are opposite, 0.4-1.25 inches (1–3 cm) long, and bright fresh green, turning foxy red-brown in fall. The pollen cones are 0.25 inch (6 mm) long, produced on long spikes in early spring; they are only produced on trees growing in regions with hot summers. The cones are globose to ovoid, 0.6-1.0 inches (1.5-2.5 cm) in diameter with 16–28 scales, arranged in opposite pairs in four rows, each pair at right angles to the adjacent pair; they mature in about 8–9 months after pollination. Metasequoia has experienced morphological stasis for the past 65 million years: the modern Metasequoia glyptostroboides appears identical to its late Cretaceous ancestors. History The fossil of this genus was discovered by Shigeru Miki in 1939. In 1941, Miki published the description of the fossil plant which he gave the name "Metasequoia". In the winter of the same year, a Chinese botanist Toh Gan (干铎）discovered an unusual big tree in Modaoxi (磨刀溪; presently, Moudao (谋道), in Lichuan County, Hubei). The locals called this tree shui-sha (水桫). Because it was winter, the tree already lost all its leaves, so no specimens were collected by Mr. Gan. In 1942, another botanist, Mr. Zhan Wang (王战) visited Modaoxi and collected living specimens. Mr. Wang believed this tree belonged to a known species Glyptostrobus pensilis (水松） and filed the specimens away. In 1945, Mr. Wang showed the specimens to botanist Wan Chun Cheng (郑万钧). Mr. Cheng determined that the tree did not belong to Glyptostrobus pensilis, but was a new species. Mr. Cheng then sent a specimen to prominent botanist H.H.Hu, the director of Fan Memorial Institute of Biology. Hu, despite the chaos of war between China and Japan, was still keeping track of international botanic literature. Hu recognized the living specimen was of the same genus of Miki's fossil genus ''Metasequoia''. After more study, Hu and Cheng published the new species Metasequoia glyptostroboides (Hu et Cheng) in May 1948 in the Bulletin of Fan Memorial Institute of Biology. The discovery of a "living fossil" instantly attracted attention from