Cambridge University Botanical Gardens (Cambridgeshire)

Cambridge University Botanical Gardens is a marvellous place for the Redwood enthusiast to visit. Here you will find a collection of Wellingtonia (Giant Redwood) that includes one with some amazingly peculiar root structures (see the photographs above). It looks as though the main tree's roots merge into the base of two nearby trees, or as though the other two have sprouted from those roots of the main tree - something one might expect from the Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) but not from the Giant Redwood (Sequoiadendron giganteum)! Another peculiarity is something quite bizzare - they call it a Sequoia giganteum "Pendulum", but has been refered to elsewhere as a "Weeping Wellingtonia". It has the appearance of one large branch of a large tree just stuck in the ground and bent over. Very strange indeed. These gardens also house the first Dawn Redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboidese) planted in England - in 1949. The Dawn Redwood is a tree which likes very wet conditions, so you will find this and several others nestled around a large pond. This first tree is estimated as being 2.5 metres tall in 1954, then 17 meters in 1977, and now is around 22 metres. You can read more about Cambridge University Botanical Gardens on their website