Line drawing; for full size image go to the Flora of China (Wu and Raven 1999).

Common Names

Lijiang spruce; Lijiang yunshan [Chinese] (Farjon 1990).

Taxonomic notes

Syn: Abies likiangensis Franch.; Picea yunnanensis hort. ex Wilson. Four varieties here recognized (all from Farjon (1990)):

Picea likiangensis var. rubescens Rehder & Wilson (syn: P. balfouriana Rehder et Wilson; Picea likiangensis var. balfouriana (Rehder et Wilson) Slavin; P. sikangensis Cheng; P. balfouriana f. bicolor Cheng).

Picea likiangensis var. hirtella (Rehder & Wilson) Cheng ex Chen (syn: P. hirtella Rehder et Wilson; P. balfouriana var. hirtella (Rehder et Wilson) Cheng)

Picea likiangensis var. linzhiensis Cheng et Fu (syn: P. likiangensis var. linzhiensis f. bicolor Cheng et Fu)

Picea likiangensis var. montigena (Masters) Chenx ex Chen (syn: P. montigena Masters).

Description

Range

China: W Sichuan, SE Xizang, NW Yunnan (Farjon 1990).

Observations

Can easily be found in mountain valleys in the vicinity of Kangding, Sichuan, where are found the type locales for several varieties first collected by E.H. Wilson (Farjon 1990).

Remarks

Var. montigena is listed as endangered: "A useful timber tree restricted to a small area of high-altitude coniferous forest in south-west Sichuan. Levels of exploitation of both the tree and the forest in general have caused population declines. There are no signs of the pressure easing and no protection measures are enforced." Var. hirtella is listed as vulnerable: "This variety is restricted to high-altitude coniferous forests in the mountains of west Sichuan and neighbouring Tibet. The tree provides a useful timber and levels of exploitation of both it and the forest in general have caused serious habitat fragmentation and population declines" (World Conservation Monitoring Centre - Trees).

Zhuoxuan Lu, Yuhua Wang, Xiaolu Zhang, Helena Korpelainen, and Chunyang Li. 2009. Genetic variation of isolated Picea balfouriana populations from the southeast of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Annals of Forest Science 66:607-616. Available: http://www.afs-journal.org/articles/forest/abs/2009/06/f08277/f08277.html, accessed 2009.10.14.

This page is from the Gymnosperm Database
URL: http://www.conifers.org/pi/pic/likiangensis.htm
Christopher J. Earle
Last modified on 2009.10.14