Like most things in nature, the trees featured on today’s homepage are worth a closer look. This species, known as the dawn redwood, was thought for hundreds of years to be extinct. Unlike other redwood trees (picture the towering evergreen giants that grow on California’s coast), this redwood is deciduous; in the fall its needles turn a brilliant orange, and then fall to the ground. Fossils of the species are common in the Northern Hemisphere, but there was no known evidence that it existed after the Miocene Epoch, which ended more than 5 million years ago. The tree was thought to have been long extinct until 1944, when a giant dawn redwood was discovered in south central China. More were found in surrounding lowlands, and today the tree is a popular ornamental in many parts of the world. The trees in our image, from Zhongshan, China, are standing in a shallow lake, which reflects the blue sky above.
The story of a rediscovered redwood
Today in History
More Desktop Wallpapers:
-
Mexico celebrates its Independence Day
-
Red squirrel in Cairngorms National Park, Scotland
-
Ostuni, Apulia, Italy
-
Gujō Hachiman Castle, Gifu prefecture, Japan
-
2022 FIFA World Cup
-
Frozen beauty
-
Black History Month
-
Tom Turkey takes Manhattan
-
It’s Opening Day for Major League Baseball
-
Hanging out on a limb
-
Bridge over the River Tara
-
A hidden jewel in Croatia
-
No, it s not a leaf. Happy Look-alike Day
-
Glass footbridge in Zhangjiajie, China
-
Sanxiantai Dragon Bridge in Taitung, Taiwan
-
Headed to the High Country
-
Horseshoe Bend, Arizona
-
Independence Day of the Argentine Republic
-
World Children s Day
-
Happy Halloween!
-
The Cathedral of Florence, Italy
-
I see one!
-
Happy Independence Day!
-
Once in a pink moon
-
Midsummer in Sweden
-
Eye of the cave
-
Ruins of St. Dwynwens Church, Ynys Llanddwyn, Wales
-
International Day for Biosphere Reserves
-
Celebrating Chile’s Independence Day
-
World Population Day