Calocedrus macrolepis | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Gymnosperms |
Division: | Pinophyta |
Class: | Pinopsida |
Order: | Cupressales |
Family: | Cupressaceae |
Genus: | Calocedrus |
Species: | C. macrolepis |
Binomial name | |
Calocedrus macrolepis | |
Calocedrus macrolepis, commonly known as Chinese incense-cedar; is a species of conifer native to southwest China (Guangdong west to Yunnan), northern Vietnam, northern Laos, extreme northern Thailand and northeastern Myanmar. [2] [3] [4]
It can grow to a medium-size tree 25–35 m tall, with a trunk up to 2 m diameter. The bark is orange-brown weathering greyish, smooth at first, becoming fissured and exfoliating in long strips on the lower trunk on old trees. The foliage is produced in flattened sprays with scale-like leaves 1.5–8 mm long; they are arranged in opposite decussate pairs, with the successive pairs closely then distantly spaced, so forming apparent whorls of four; the facial pairs are flat, with the lateral pairs folded over their bases. The upper side of the foliage sprays is glossy green without stomata, the underside is white with dense stomata. [2]
The seed cones are 10–20 mm long, pale purple with a whitish wax coating, with four (rarely six) scales arranged in opposite decussate pairs; the outer pair of scales each bears two winged seeds, the inner pair(s) usually being sterile; the cones are borne on a 1–2 cm long peduncle covered in very small (1 mm) scale leaves. The cones turn brown when mature about 8 months after pollination. The pollen cones are 4–8 mm long. [2]
It is closely related to Calocedrus formosana , with the latter often treated as a variety of C. macrolepis. [3] They differ most obviously in the shorter cone stem, only 5 mm long, of C. formosana. [2]
The species is still fairly widespread and frequent in the wild, though threatened by over-harvesting for its valuable wood; it is also extensively planted within its native range for wood production. [2] It is categorised by the IUCN as Vulnerable. [1]
Cupressaceae is a conifer family, the cypress, with worldwide distribution. The family includes 27–30 genera, which include the junipers and redwoods, with about 130–140 species in total. They are monoecious, subdioecious or (rarely) dioecious trees and shrubs up to 116 m (381 ft) tall. The bark of mature trees is commonly orange- to red-brown and of stringy texture, often flaking or peeling in vertical strips, but smooth, scaly or hard and square-cracked in some species.
Platycladus is a monotypic genus of evergreen coniferous trees in the cypress family Cupressaceae, containing only one species, Platycladus orientalis, also known as Chinese thuja, Oriental arborvitae, Chinese arborvitae, biota or Oriental thuja. It is native to northeastern parts of East Asia and North Asia, but is also now naturalised as an introduced species in other regions of the Asian continent.
Calocedrus, the incense cedar, is a genus of coniferous trees in the cypress family Cupressaceae first described as a genus in 1873. Three species are native to eastern Asia and one to western North America.
Chamaecyparis pisifera is a species of false cypress, native to central and southern Japan, on the islands of Honshū and Kyūshū.
Microbiota is a monotypic genus of evergreen coniferous shrubs in the cypress family Cupressaceae, containing only one species, Microbiota decussata. The plant is native and endemic to a limited area of the Sikhote-Alin mountains in Primorskiy Krai in the Russian Far East. Microbiota is not to be confused with the range of microorganisms of the same name. The genus name was derived from micro-, meaning "small", + Biota, the genus name for a closely related conifer, a species formerly called Biota orientalis, now renamed Platycladus orientalis.
Glyptostrobus pensilis, known in Chinese as 水松, and also Chinese swamp cypress, is an endangered conifer, and the sole living species in the genus Glyptostrobus.
Tetraclinis is a genus of evergreen coniferous trees in the cypress family Cupressaceae, containing only one species, Tetraclinis articulata, also known as Thuja articulata, sandarac, sandarac tree or Barbary thuja, endemic to the western Mediterranean region.
Calocedrus decurrens, with the common names incense cedar and California incense cedar, is a species of coniferous tree native to western North America. It is the most widely known species in the genus, and is often simply called incense cedar without the regional qualifier.
Cupressus funebris, the Chinese weeping cypress, is a species of cypress native to southwestern and central China. It may also occur naturally in Vietnam.
Calocedrus formosana is a conifer endemic to Taiwan.
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.
Chamaecyparis formosensis is a species of Chamaecyparis, endemic to Taiwan, where it grows in the central mountains at moderate to high altitudes of 1000–2900 m. It is threatened by habitat loss and over-cutting for its valuable timber.
Juniperus semiglobosa, the Himalayan pencil juniper, is a species of juniper native to the mountains of Central Asia, in northeastern Afghanistan, westernmost China (Xinjiang), northern Pakistan, southeastern Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, western Nepal, northern Republic of India, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. It grows at altitudes of 1,550–4,420 metres.
Juniperus tibetica, the Tibetan juniper, is a species of juniper, native to western China in southern Gansu, southeastern Qinghai, Sichuan, and Tibet Autonomous Region, where it grows at high to very high altitudes of 2,600–4,900 metres. This species has the highest known elevation treeline in the northern hemisphere.
Libocedrus austrocaledonica is a species of Libocedrus, endemic to New Caledonia, occurring mainly in the southern half of the island, at 750–1,400 m altitude in montane cloud forest scrub.
Libocedrus bidwillii, also called pāhautea, kaikawaka or New Zealand cedar, is a species of Libocedrus, endemic to New Zealand. It is in the cypress family Cupressaceae.
Libocedrus chevalieri is a species of conifer in the cypress family, Cupressaceae. It is endemic to New Caledonia, occurring in three small, isolated populations on low mountain summits at 650–1,620 m altitude in cloud forest scrub on serpentine soils. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Libocedrus plumosa, with the common name kawaka, is a species of Libocedrus that is endemic to New Zealand.
Libocedrus yateensis is a species of Libocedrus, endemic to New Caledonia, occurring in a few small, isolated populations in low-elevation riverside sites at 150–600 m elevation in rainforest scrub. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Chamaecyparis taiwanensis is a species of cypress, native to the mountains of Taiwan, where it grows at altitudes of 1300–2800 m.