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Article: Tracing the Roots
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- March 5, 1989
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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You'd think a plant that grows only in some small part of the
world would be forever limited to that region and could never adapt
to quite a different climate.
When the first metasequoia trees were found in the 1940s in
western China, they were limited to a small valley, though later some
outlying specimens were discovered. The tree is ancient and had been
known only in fossil rocks. Once, however, this tree had been
widespread in temperate climates.
You might guess, therefore, that the world's climates had
changed and that now this tree could survive only in the valley,
which (you would guess) had a microclimate unique in Asia or perhaps
the world.
On the contrary, the tree grows ...