The sequoias, or redwoods, are conifers
that include the largest organisms ever to
have lived on the planet. Members of the
cypress family Taxodiaceae (see opposite),
they were an important part of the extensive
Mesozoic forests that were roamed by the
dinosaurs, although today their distribution
in the wild is much restricted. In fact,
Metasequoia, the dawn redwood or 'water
fir', was known as Mesozoic fossils from
China, until a small stand of living trees was
discovered in an isolated valley in Szechwan
province, China, in 1941. For fossil plant
experts at the time, it was like discovering a
living dinosaur! The cones are small and
ball-like. During the past two centuries,
American sequoias have been planted in
parks and gardens around the world.