Evolution
In earth's history Taxodiaceae were widespread. They are known since the Jurassic and can be found as fossil from Tertiary times.
Taxodiaceae is a formerly recognized conifer family. It is today recognised as a paraphyletic grade of basal lineages within the Cupressaceae. It contains the following living genera:
As proposed, genera of the former Taxodiaceae are grouped in the following subfamilies within the larger Cupressaceae:
In earth's history Taxodiaceae were widespread. They are known since the Jurassic and can be found as fossil from Tertiary times.
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Conifers are a group of cone-bearing seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the division Pinophyta, also known as Coniferophyta or Coniferae. The division contains a single extant class, Pinopsida. All extant conifers are perennial woody plants with secondary growth. The great majority are trees, though a few are shrubs. Examples include cedars, Douglas-firs, cypresses, firs, junipers, kauri, larches, pines, hemlocks, redwoods, spruces, and yews. The division Pinophyta contains seven families, 60 to 65 genera, and more than 600 living species.
Taxodium is a genus of one to three species of extremely flood-tolerant conifers in the cypress family, Cupressaceae. The generic name is derived from the Latin word taxus, meaning "yew", and the Greek word εἶδος (eidos), meaning "similar to." Within the family, Taxodium is most closely related to Chinese swamp cypress and sugi.
The gymnosperms are a group of seed-producing plants that includes conifers, cycads, Ginkgo, and gnetophytes, forming the clade Gymnospermae. The term gymnosperm comes from the composite word in Greek: γυμνόσπερμος, literally meaning 'naked seeds'. The name is based on the unenclosed condition of their seeds. The non-encased condition of their seeds contrasts with the seeds and ovules of flowering plants (angiosperms), which are enclosed within an ovary. Gymnosperm seeds develop either on the surface of scales or leaves, which are often modified to form cones, or on their own as in yew, Torreya, Ginkgo. Gymnosperm lifecycles involve alternation of generations. They have a dominant diploid sporophyte phase and a reduced haploid gametophyte phase which is dependent on the sporophytic phase. The term "gymnosperm" is often used in paleobotany to refer to all non-angiosperm seed plants. In that case, to specify the modern monophyletic group of gymnosperms, the term Acrogymnospermae is sometimes used.
Metasequoia, or dawn redwood, is a genus of fast-growing deciduous trees, one of three species of conifers known as redwoods. The living species Metasequoia glyptostroboides is native to Lichuan county in Hubei province, China. Although the shortest of the redwoods, it grows to at least 165 feet in height. Local villagers refer to the original tree from which most others derive as Shuǐshān (水杉), or "water fir", which is part of a local shrine. Since its rediscovery in 1944, the dawn redwood has become a popular ornamental, with examples found in various parks in a variety of countries.
Metasequoia glyptostroboides, the dawn redwood, is a fast-growing, endangered deciduous conifer. It is the sole living species of the genus Metasequoia, one of three genera in the subfamily Sequoioideae of the family Cupressaceae. It now survives in the wild only in wet lower slopes and montane river and stream valleys in the border region of Hubei and Hunan provinces and Chongqing municipality in south-central China, notably in Lichuan county in Hubei. Although the shortest of the redwoods, it can grow to 167 ft (51 m) in height.
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.
Cryptomeria is a monotypic genus of conifer in the cypress family Cupressaceae, formerly belonging to the family Taxodiaceae. It includes only one species, Cryptomeria japonica. It used to be considered by some to be endemic to Japan, where it is known as Sugi. The tree is called Japanese cedar or Japanese redwood in English. It has been extensively introduced and cultivated for wood production on the Azores.
Taiwania, with the single living species Taiwania cryptomerioides, is a large coniferous tree in the cypress family Cupressaceae.
Cunninghamia is a genus of one or two living species of evergreen coniferous trees in the cypress family Cupressaceae. They are native to China, northern Vietnam and Laos, and perhaps also Cambodia. They may reach 50 m (160 ft) in height. In vernacular use, it is most often known as Cunninghamia, but is also sometimes called "China-fir". The genus name Cunninghamia honours Dr. James Cunningham, a British doctor who introduced this species into cultivation in 1702 and botanist Allan Cunningham.
Glyptostrobus is a small genus of conifers in the family Cupressaceae. The sole living species, Glyptostrobus pensilis, is native to subtropical southeastern China, from Fujian west to southeast Yunnan, and also very locally in northern Vietnam and Borikhamxai Province of eastern Laos near the Vietnam border.
Athrotaxis is a genus of two to three species of conifers in the cypress family, Cupressaceae. The genus is endemic to western Tasmania, where they grow in high-elevation temperate rainforests.
Sequoioideae, commonly referred to as redwoods, is a subfamily of coniferous trees within the family Cupressaceae. It includes the largest and tallest trees in the world. The subfamily achieved its maximum diversity during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.
Sequoia is a genus of redwood coniferous trees in the subfamily Sequoioideae of the family Cupressaceae. The only extant species of the genus is Sequoia sempervirens in the Northern California coastal forests ecoregion of Northern California and Southwestern Oregon in the United States. The two other genera in the subfamily Sequoioideae, Sequoiadendron and Metasequoia, are closely related to Sequoia. It includes the tallest trees, as well as the heaviest, in the world.
Sequoiadendron is a genus of evergreen trees, with two species, only one of which survives to the present:
Schubertia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Apocynaceae, first described as a genus in 1810. It is native to South America.
Metasequoia occidentalis is an extinct redwood species of the family Cupressaceae that is found as fossils throughout the Northern Hemisphere. It is one of three extinct species of Metasequoia that are currently recognized as valid.
Glyptostrobus europaeus is an extinct conifer species of the family Cupressaceae that is found as fossils throughout the Northern Hemisphere. The sole living species of Glyptostrobus was described from China in 1926. The name of the genus comes from the Greek "glypto" meaning grooved or carved, and "strobilus" meaning cone. The species name "europaeus" refers to the fact that it was first described from Europe.
Chamaecydin is a chemical compound with the molecular formula C30H40O3. It is made up of three six-membered rings and two five-membered rings and has one polar hydroxyl functional group. It is well preserved in the rock record and is only found in a specific family of conifers, the swamp cypress subfamily. The presence and abundance of chamaecydin in the rock record can reveal environmental changes in ancient biomes.
