Nothotsuga

Last updated

Nothotsuga
Nothotsuga longibracteata 1.jpg
Nothotsuga longibracteata
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Gymnosperms
Division: Pinophyta
Class: Pinopsida
Order: Pinales
Family: Pinaceae
Subfamily: Abietoideae
Genus: Nothotsuga
Hu ex C.N.Page
Type species
Nothotsuga longibracteata
(W.C.Cheng) Hu ex C.N.Page
Synonyms
  • ×Tsugo-keteleeriavan Campo & Gaussen

Nothotsuga is a genus of coniferous trees in the family Pinaceae endemic to China. Nothotsuga contains only one species, Nothotsuga longibracteata, commonly known as the bristlecone hemlock, which is found in southeastern China, in southern Fujian, northern Guangdong, northeast Guangxi, northeast Guizhou, and southwest Hunan.

Contents

Description

N. longibracteata is an evergreen tree reaching 30 m (100 ft) tall. The leaves are flat, needle-like, 1.2–4 cm (0.5–1.6 in) long and 1–2 mm (0.04–0.08 in) broad, very similar to those of Tsuga. The cones are very similar to those of Keteleeria, but smaller, 2.5–5 cm (1–2 in) long, erect, and mature in about 6–8 months after pollination.

Taxonomy

In many respects, Nothotsuga is intermediate between the genera Keteleeria and Tsuga . It was discovered in 1932, and at first treated as Tsuga longibracteata, being classified in its own genus in 1989 when new research indicated how distinct it is from other species of Tsuga - by the larger, erect cones with exserted bracts, and (like Keteleeria) male cones in umbels, and from Keteleeria by the shorter leaves and smaller cones.

Conservation

It is a very rare tree listed as a near-threatened species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature due to historical deforestation, though it is now protected. [1]

Related Research Articles

<i>Pseudotsuga</i> Genus of conifers in the family Pinaceae

Pseudotsuga is a genus of evergreen coniferous trees in the family Pinaceae.

<i>Cedrus</i> Genus of plants (coniferous trees)

Cedrus, common English name cedar, is a genus of coniferous trees in the plant family Pinaceae. They are native to the mountains of the western Himalayas and the Mediterranean region, occurring at altitudes of 1,500–3,200 m in the Himalayas and 1,000–2,200 m in the Mediterranean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Larch</span> Genus of deciduous conifers in the family Pinaceae

Larches are deciduous conifers in the genus Larix, of the family Pinaceae. Growing from 20 to 45 metres tall, they are native to the cooler regions of the northern hemisphere, where they are found in lowland forests in the high latitudes, and high in mountains further south. Larches are among the dominant plants in the boreal forests of Siberia and Canada. Although they are conifers, larches are deciduous trees that lose their needles in the autumn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pinaceae</span> Family of conifers

The Pinaceae, or pine family, are conifer trees or shrubs, including many of the well-known conifers of commercial importance such as cedars, firs, hemlocks, larches, pines and spruces. The family is included in the order Pinales, formerly known as Coniferales. Pinaceae are supported as monophyletic by their protein-type sieve cell plastids, pattern of proembryogeny, and lack of bioflavonoids. They are the largest extant conifer family in species diversity, with between 220 and 250 species in 11 genera, and the second-largest in geographical range, found in most of the Northern Hemisphere, with the majority of the species in temperate climates, but ranging from subarctic to tropical. The family often forms the dominant component of boreal, coastal, and montane forests. One species, Pinus merkusii, grows just south of the equator in Southeast Asia. Major centres of diversity are found in the mountains of southwest China, Mexico, central Japan, and California.

<i>Tsuga</i> Genus of conifers

Tsuga is a genus of conifers in the subfamily Abietoideae of Pinaceae, the pine family. The common name hemlock is derived from a perceived similarity in the smell of its crushed foliage to that of the unrelated plant poison hemlock. Unlike the latter, Tsuga species are not poisonous.

<i>Cathaya</i> Genus of conifers

Cathaya is a genus in the pine family, Pinaceae, with one known living species, Cathaya argyrophylla. Cathaya is a member of the subfamily Laricoideae, most closely related to Pseudotsuga and Larix. A second species, C. nanchuanensis, is now treated as a synonym, as it does not differ from C. argyrophylla in any characters.

<i>Cedrus deodara</i> Species of plant

Cedrus deodara, the deodar cedar, Himalayan cedar, or deodar, is a species of cedar native to the Himalayas.

<i>Pseudolarix amabilis</i> Species of deciduous conifers in the family Pinaceae

Pseudolarix amabilis is a species of coniferous tree in the pine family Pinaceae. The species is commonly known as golden larch, but being more closely related to Keteleeria, Abies and Cedrus, is not a true larch (Larix). P. amabilis is native to eastern China, occurring in small areas in the mountains of southern Anhui, Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan, Hubei and eastern Sichuan, at altitudes of 100–1,500 m (328–4,921 ft). The earliest known occurrences are of compression fossils found in the Ypresian Allenby Formation and mummified fossils found in the Late Eocene Buchanan Lake Formation on Axel Heiberg Island.

<i>Tsuga heterophylla</i> Species of conifer

Tsuga heterophylla, the western hemlock or western hemlock-spruce, is a species of hemlock native to the west coast of North America, with its northwestern limit on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska, and its southeastern limit in northern Sonoma County, California. The Latin species name means 'variable leaves'.

<i>Tsuga mertensiana</i> Species of tree found in western North America

Tsuga mertensiana, known as mountain hemlock, is a species of hemlock native to the west coast of North America, found between Southcentral Alaska and south-central California.

<i>Keteleeria</i> Genus of conifers

Keteleeria is a genus of three species of coniferous trees in the family Pinaceae first described as a genus in 1866.

<i>Pseudolarix</i> Genus of deciduous conifers in the family Pinaceae

Pseudolarix is a genus of coniferous trees in the pine family Pinaceae containing three species, the extant Pseudolarix amabilis and the extinct species Pseudolarix japonica and Pseudolarix wehrii. Pseudolarix species are commonly known as golden larch, but are not true larches (Larix) being more closely related to Keteleeria, Abies and Cedrus. P. amabilis is native to eastern China, occurring in small areas in the mountains of southern Anhui, Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan, Hubei and eastern Sichuan, at altitudes of 100–1,500 m (328–4,921 ft). P. wehrii is described from fossils dating to the Early Eocene (Ypresian), of Western North America where it is found in the Eocene Okanagan Highlands Allenby and Klondike Mountain Formations. The youngest known occurrence is of mummified fossils found in the Late Eocene Buchanan Lake Formation on Axel Heiberg Island. P. japonica is known from Middle Miocene to Pliocene sediments in Japan and Miocene deposits of Korea. Fossils assigned to Pseudolarix as a genus date possibly as old as the Early Cretaceous Hauterivian stage in Mongolia.

Pseudotaxus chienii, the whiteberry yew, is a species of plant in the yew family, Taxaceae. It is the sole species in the genus Pseudotaxus, but closely related to the other yews in the genus Taxus. It is endemic to southern China, occurring in northern Guangdong, northern Guangxi, Hunan, Southwest Jiangxi and southern Zhejiang.

<i>Tsuga caroliniana</i> Species of conifer

Tsuga caroliniana, the Carolina hemlock, is a species of hemlock endemic to the United States.

<i>Keteleeria davidiana</i> Species of conifer

Keteleeria davidiana is a coniferous evergreen tree native to Taiwan and southeast China, in the provinces of Gansu, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hubei, Hunan, Shaanxi, Sichuan, and Yunnan. It also occurs in the very northern part of Vietnam. The tree is restricted to hills, mountains, and valleys at elevations of 200–1500 m. Generally, it grows in regions with a more continental climate than the other two Keteleeria species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abietoideae</span> Subfamily of the conifer family Pinaceae

Abietoideae is a subfamily of the conifer family Pinaceae. The name is from the genus Abies (firs), which contains most of the species in the genus. Six genera are currently assigned to this subfamily: Abies, Cedrus, Keteleeria, Nothotsuga, Pseudolarix, and Tsuga.

<i>Larix griffithii</i> Species of conifer

Larix griffithii, the Sikkim larch, is a species of larch, native to the eastern Himalaya in eastern Nepal, Sikkim, western Bhutan and southwestern China, growing at 1,800–4,100 metres (5,900–13,500 ft) in altitude.

<i>Tsuga dumosa</i> Species of conifer

Tsuga dumosa, commonly called the Himalayan hemlock or in Chinese, Yunnan tieshan, is a species of conifer native to the eastern Himalayas. It occurs in parts of Nepal, India, Bhutan, Myanmar, Vietnam and Tibet. Within its native range the tree is used for construction as well as for furniture. In Europe and North America, it is occasionally encountered as an ornamental species and was first brought to the United Kingdom in 1838.

<i>Tsuga chinensis</i> Species of conifer

Tsuga chinensis, commonly referred to as the Taiwan or Chinese hemlock, or in Chinese as tieshan, is a coniferous tree species native to China, Taiwan, Tibet and Vietnam. The tree is quite variable and has many recognised varieties, though some are also maintained to be separate species by certain authorities. The tree was recently discovered in the mountains of northern Vietnam, making that the southernmost extension of its range.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laricoideae</span> Subfamily of plants

The Laricoideae are a subfamily of the Pinaceae, a Pinophyta division family. They take their name from the genus Larix (larches), which contains inside most of the species of the group and is one of only two deciduous genera of the pines complex. Ecologically important trees, the Laricoideae form pure or mixed forest associations often dominant in the ecosystems in which they are present, thanks also to their biological adaptations to natural disturbances, to reproductive strategies put in place and high average longevity of the individuals. Currently are assigned to this subfamily three genera and its members can be found only in Northern Hemisphere. The various species live for the most part in temperate or cold climates and are the more northerly conifers; some constitute an important source of timber and non-timber forest products.

References

  1. 1 2 Farjon, A., Christian, T. & Zhang, D 2013. Nothotsuga longibracteata. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2015.2. Downloaded on 02 September 2015.

Further reading