Common Names

Dragon spruce (Farjon 1990); 云杉 yun shan [Chinese].

Taxonomic notes

Syn: P. aurantiaca (Silba 1986). Farjon (Farjon 1990) segregates P. aurantiaca as a distinct species in accordance with Cheng & Fu (1978), but recognizes that the issue is debatable. There are then three varieties; Picea asperata var. aurantiaca (Masters) B.K. Boom; Picea asperata var. heterolepis (Rehder & Wilson) Cheng ex Rehder (syn: P. heterolepis Rehder & Wilson; P. asperata var. nobilis Rehder & Wilson); and P. asperata var. ponderosa Rehder & Wilson.

Description

Range

China: SE Qinghai, NE of Qinghai Hu (Lake Kokonor), Gansu, Sichuan, Ningxia (Helan Shan), & SW Shaanxi (Farjon 1990).

Big Tree

Oldest

Dendrochronology

Ethnobotany

Observations

Remarks

Var. aurantiaca is listed by the WCMC as endangered. It is "confined to a small area west of Kangding in Sichuan. Forests in this area are increasingly under pressure from indiscriminate logging. Populations have declined and, as yet, there is no protection for the species" (World Conservation Monitoring Centre - Trees).

See Also