Cupressus chengiana

Common Names

Min jiang bai mu [Chinese] (Fu et al. 1999).

Taxonomic Notes

The var. chengiana has syn. C. fallax Franco 1968; C. c. var. kansouensis Silba 1994; C. c. var. wehchuanhsiensis Silba 1994 (Farjon 1998).

The variety jiangensis (N. Zhao) Silba 1981 has syn. C. jiangensis N. Zhao 1980 (Farjon 1998).

Description

"Trees to 30 m tall; trunk to 1 m d.b.h.; branchlets densely arranged, not glaucous, terete, ultimate ones spreading, ascending, or drooping but not pendulous, stout, 1.2-2 mm in diam. Leaves in 4 ranks, scalelike, 1-1.5 mm on ultimate branchlets, arched (gibbous) and with a conspicuous, often darker central abaxial gland, apex usually slightly obtuse, dull green, not glaucous. Pollen cones 2-4 mm; microsporophylls 12-16. Seed cones brown or reddish brown when ripe, not glaucous, globose to subglobose or oblong-ovoid, 1.2-2 cm in diam.; cone scales 8-14, each fertile scale with numerous seeds; bracts with a small, free mucro at apex. Seeds ovate-triangular, flattened, 3-5 � 2-4 mm. 2n = 22*" (Fu et al. 1999).

Range

China: S Gansu and the Min He watershed of Sichuan (type variety); Sichuan (var. jiangensis) (I'm not sure, but with a name like that it probably occurs in the Jinsha Jiang area) (Farjon 1998); at 800-2,900 m elevation (Fu et al. 1999). Var. jiangensis is listed as critically endangered by the IUCN.

Big Tree

Oldest

Dendrochronology

Ethnobotany

Observations

Remarks

Citations

See Also

Farjon (2005) provides a detailed account, with illustrations.

S. Y. Hu. 1964. Taiwania 10: 57.