Common Names
Yakushima white pine. Japanese: Amami-goyomatsu (Koidzumi 1924), Yakutane-goyo, Amami-goyo (Takehara 1976).Taxonomic notes
Syn. Pinus armandii var. amamiana (Koidzumi) Hatus. 1974. Commonly treated under this name, but now accepted as a distinct species (Farjon 1998), allied not to P. armandii but to P. morrisonicola and P. parviflora (Frankis 1989).Description
"Tree up to 25 m height, 1 m in diameter; bark of young tree greyish, smooth; of older tree scaly; branchlet brown, glabrous; buds oblong-ovoid with brown scales; leaves five in basal sheath, 5-8 cm long, resin canals 3; cones short stalked, oblong-ovoid, 5-8 cm long; seeds about 12 mm long, have no wing." (Takehara 1976). Also cited as "shoots . . . pubescent or glabrous" (Koidzumi 1924). Shoots with scattered dark brown pubescence; cones glossy orange-brown; seeds with a rudimentary 0.5-1 mm wing (herbarium material at Kew).
Range
Extreme S Japan: a local endemic confined to the islands of Yakushima and Tanegashima, at low altitudes. USDA hardiness zone 9.
Observations
In cultivation in parks in Kagoshima City, Kyushu, S Japan.
Remarks
Much of the population is now protected in Yakushima National Park, following earlier exploitation for timber (Takehara 1976).
Citations
Frankis, M. P. 1989. Some interesting, unusual and recently described pines. Conifer Society of Australia Newsletter 5: 12-15.
Koidzumi, G. 1924. Contributiones ad cogitionem Florae Asiae Orientalis. Bot. Mag. Tokyo 38: 88-113 (p. 113).
Takehara, H. 1976. Pinus armandii var amamiana Hatusima. Forest Genetics Resources Information 5: 28-29.
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This page is from the Gymnosperm Database
URL: http://www.conifers.org/pi/pin/amamiana.htm
Edited by Christopher J. Earle
Last modified on 16-Oct-2002