Cathaya argyrophylla

This is the only known specimen in Canada (which will be) planted outdoors.

The genus Cathaya was only known as a fossil until 1955 when Chinese botanists discovered living plants. Found in the mountain regions growing on limestone outcrops in areas of heavy summer rainfall. Now known to occur in a few scattered populations in central China and considered rare, but not endangered.

Botanically this is a very unusual conifer, a relic species, differing but with similarities to the following genus groups: Abies, Picea, Pseudotsuga, Tsuga, Larix and Cedrus. From an ornamental perspective the long wide needles of Cathaya are very attractive and resemble a tropical version of Sciadopitys. The word "argyrophylla" translates to silvery leaves, the lush green leaves are indeed a beautiful silver underneath.

Look for this young tree in a container near the entrance of the Garden Gallery, near the Information Centre.

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Metasequoia glyptostroboides (Dawn Redwood)

.The California redwood (Sequoia) has similar bark and foliage but the Metasequoia genus is deciduous. Two trees are planted near the Children's Pavilion and you will notice the buttresses on the lower trunk are beginning to form. The trees grow well in temperate climates and may grow to more than 40 m (130 ft).

A small stand of these trees was discovered in China in 1944. What is quite unusual is the Metasequoia was first found as a fossil and described and named before living specimens were known to exist. An expedition from the Arnold Arboretum in 1948 collected seeds and within a short period seedlings were available for arboreta around the world.

In the early 1950s the Ross family acquired seedlings from the City of Victoria Parks Department and planted them at The Gardens.

Wollemi nobilis

The only known specimen in Canada to be planted outdoors, and at 10 feet it is likely the largest.

The Wollemi Pine belongs to the 200-million year old Araucariaceae family. Discovered 150 kilometres north-west of Sydney in a rainforest gorge within what is now Wollemi National Park. The tree at The Butchart Gardens is from the original cuttings of the "Bob Makinson" tree, named after the coordinator of the Centre for Plant Conservation at the Botanic Gardens Trust in Sydney.

This pine is a conifer with attractive, unusual dark green foliage, bubbly bark and a growth habit that typically sprouts multiple trunks.

The Wollemi Pine can be found on the Concert Lawn as you circle about heading towards the Rose Garden.