Featuring dawn redwood. Verified occurrence recorded by Redwood World. These two Dawn Redwood ( Metasequoia glyptostroboides ) sit on the edge of a car park adjacent to the Physic Garden. The Physic Garden is a small plot, just over a quarter of an acre, that is freely open to the public. It was given to Hampshire Gardens Trust in 1988 by Major John Bowen and is partly laid out with beds of herbs in a formal geometric pattern typical of 17th century physic gardens. These were used by early Apothecarists to grow medicinal plants. In October 2008 The Petersfield Post covered a debate about the identity of these two trees. Someone had, mistakenly I believe, claimed that they were Swamp Cyprus. The fact that the tiny leaves are in opposing pairs rather than alternately spaced along the stem differentiate the Dawn Redwood from the Swamp Cyprus. Both are deciduous pines which is why they are often confused. The article includes a quote from the Petersfield Physic Garden who also believe that the pair are indeed Dawn Redwood. They also confirmed that the trees " were planted in the early 1950s by Major Bowen and they officially became part of the Physic Garden in March 1988. "
Visit information
- Access
- Access unknown
- Last verified
- 10 Apr 2026
- Official site
- redwoodworld.co.uk/picturepages/petersfield2.htm
Redwood species here
Dawn redwood is a deciduous redwood from China, known from fossils before living trees were documented in the 1940s. It reached British collections soon afterwards and is now found in parks, botanic gardens, and arboreta, where its soft summer foliage and rusty autumn colour make it distinct from evergreen giant sequoias and coast redwoods.
Present. A deciduous conifer thought to be extinct until rediscovered in a remote Chinese province in 1941. Seeds were distributed to botanical gardens worldwide in the late 1940s. Unlike its evergreen relativ
Field observations
Photos
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Redwood at Petersfield - College Street
About this place
About Petersfield - College Street
Petersfield - College Street is located in Petersfield, Hampshire, England.
Species Present
Giant Sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum)
Native to the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, giant sequoias were introduced to Britain in the 1850s during the Victorian plant-collecting era. They are the world's most massive trees by volume and have thrived in the UK's mild, wet climate, often growing faster than in their native range. Many Victorian-era plantings now rival mature specimens in California.
Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens)
The tallest trees on Earth, coast redwoods can exceed 100 metres in their native California. Less common in Britain than giant sequoias, they prefer sheltered, moist locations and can still reach impressive heights in the UK. The tallest known coast redwood in Britain is over 50 metres.
Dawn Redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides)
A deciduous conifer thought to be extinct until rediscovered in a remote Chinese province in 1941. Seeds were distributed to botanical gardens worldwide in the late 1940s. Unlike its evergreen relatives, the dawn redwood loses its needles in winter, turning a striking copper-bronze in autumn.
Data sourced from Redwood World (redwoodworld.co.uk) and enriched by Redwood Finder.