Keteleeria evelyniana

Keteleeria evelyniana
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Pinophyta
Class: Pinopsida
Order: Pinales
Family: Pinaceae
Genus: Keteleeria
Species: K. evelyniana
Binomial name
Keteleeria evelyniana
Mast.

Keteleeria evelyniana (Evelyn keteleeria, Chinese: 云南油杉; pinyin: Yúnnán yóushān, Vietnamese: Du sam) is a species of conifer native to southern China, Laos and Vietnam. It can become 40 metres (130 ft) tall.[1]

Taxonomic notes

Syn: K. delavayi Van Tieghem 1891; K. dopiana Flous 1936; K. roulletii Flous 1936; K. hainanensis Chun et Tsiang 1963; K. evelyniana var. pendula Hsueh 1983.[1] Farjon (1989)[2] provides a thorough taxonomic review of the genus.

Range and ecology

Laos, Vietnam (as far south as the Plateau of Lang Bian near Da Lat), and China: SW Sichuan, Yunnan (where it probably intergrades with K. davidiana), and possibly the central mountains of Hainan.[1]

K. evelyniana grows in Vietnam at elevations above 500 metres (1,600 ft)[3] and is shade intolerant, prefers neutral soils, and is typically associated with Pinus spp. or with species of Fagaceae and Lauraceae.[1] It is the most widespread conifer in NW Vietnam.[3]

Cultivation and uses

Timber is insect resistant and is useful for construction and household furniture making.[3] Used in construction, railroad ties, mine timbering and sundry house implements. The seeds are rich in essential oil that can be used for burning and soap manufacturing. The tree can also be used in medicine.[1]

In mid-December 2009, a Keteleeria evelyniana located in Seattle's Washington Park Arboretum was cut down. It was thought that the unknown person who was responsible for the cutting down of the tree took it for a Christmas tree. The tree was planted in 1998, transplanted from China's Yunnan province.[4]

In 2013, the species was listed as vulnerable on The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species after a 2010 assessment which found the tree's population to be in significant decline and fragmented.[5]

Remarks

Listed (as K. roulletii) as threatened in Vietnam by the World Conservation Monitoring Centre.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Christopher J. Earle (2011). "Keteleeria evelyniana". The Gymnosperm Database. Retrieved 9 April 2012.
  2. Farjon, Aljos (1989). "A second revision of the genus Keteleeria Carrière (Taxonomic notes on Pinaceae II)". Notes of the Royal Botanical Garden Edinburgh. 46 (1): 81–99.
  3. 1 2 3 Luu, Nguyen Duc To; Philip Ian Thomas (2004). Conifers of Vietnam. ISBN 1 872291 64 3.
  4. "Rare conifer cut down in Seattle Arboretum". Associated Press. 2009-12-10.
  5. Thomas, P. (2010). "Keteleeria evelyniana". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 4 April 2014.

Further reading

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