Line drawing; for full size image go to the Flora of China (Wu and Raven 1999).
Common Names
Kawakami fir (Silba 1986), Taiwan fir (Liu 1970), 冷杉 (leng3 shan2) [Chinese] (L. Angot email 2006.09.11).
Taxonomic notes
Syn: A. mariesii var. kawakami Hayata.
Description
"A shrub or pyramidal tree 15-35 m. tall, 0.5-1 m. in girth, with a straight, erect trunk. Bark smooth and resinous, gray-white, becoming gray-brown and scaly. Branchlets deeply grooved, yellowish-gray to dark brown, with brown pubescence. Buds ovoid, very resinous, brown to reddish, scales obtuse, to 1 mm. in diameter. Leaves pointing forwards, curving outwards and upwards, overlapping above, strongly grooved above, dark green above, whitish below, 1.5-3 cm. long by 1.7 mm. wide; stomata near the apex above, in 7-8 lines below; apex notched. Male strobili cylindrical, to 1.5 cm. long. Female cone broadly cylindric, apex rounded and somewhat depressed, 6-7.5 cm. long by 3.7-4 cm. wide, purple-violet at maturity; bracts hidden, about 1/2 height of the scale, lobed. Seeds blackish, wing to 1.6 cm. long" (Silba 1986).
Range
Taiwan: widespread at 2900 to 3950m, 120°51'E to 121°19'E by 23°13'N to 24°28'N, in Abies-Juniperus-Rhododendron shrub forest and Yushania stands. Found in Sheipa, Yushan, and Taroko National Parks (HAST Database).
Big Tree
Oldest
Dendrochronology
Ethnobotany
Observations
Shei-Pa, Taroko and Yushan National Parks look like good places to see it.
Remarks
See Also
Farjon (1990) provides a detailed account, with illustrations.
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This page is from the Gymnosperm Database
URL: http://www.conifers.org/pi/ab/kawakamii.htm
Edited by Christopher J. Earle
Last modified on 2007.11.15