If the species had been discovered later, it might have become extinct before being investigated. The tree faces considerable risks of extinction in its wild range due to deforestation, however it has been planted extensively in arboreta worldwide, where it has proved a popular and fast-growing ornamental plant. It is a particularly well-known example of a living fossil species. In 1941, the genus Metasequoia was reported by paleobotanist Shigeru Miki as a widely distributed extinct genus based on fossils, before attracting considerable attention a few years later when small populations were found alive in central China. Although the shortest of the redwoods, it can grow to 120 ft (37 m) in height. It now survives only in wet lower slopes and montane river and stream valleys in the border region of Hubei and Hunan provinces and Chongqing municipality in south-central China, notably in Lichuan county in Hubei. It is the sole living species of the genus Metasequoia, one of three genera in the subfamily Sequoioideae of the family Cupressaceae. Metasequoia glyptostroboides, the dawn redwood, is a fast-growing, endangered deciduous conifer.
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