 Evolutionary scientists caught up with the real world in 1944 when they acknowledged the tree's existence. In 1947, Chinese botanists sent dawn redwood seeds to Harvard University. Today, the dawn redwood is a popular landscape tree across America. This slender tree, with its gently drooping branches and bright green feathery-looking needles, looks like a living Chinese painting. It grows up to four feet per year. Unlike most conifers, the dawn redwood drops its needles in the fall.