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Taiwania cryptomeroides

Interesting Facts

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Description

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Family Cupressaceae

Trees or shrubs evergreen , monoecious or dioecious. Leaves decussate or in whorls of 3, scalelike and then often dimorphic with flattened facial leaves and keeled lateral leaves, or needlelike particularly in juvenile plants , often with an abaxial resin gland . Pollen cones terminal or axillary , solitary, maturing and shed annually; microsporophylls 6-16, decussate or whorled , each bearing (2 or) 3-6(-9) pollen sacs ; pollen wingless. Seed cones usually terminal, solitary, globose , ovoid , or oblong , dehiscent or indehiscent when mature in 1st or 2nd(or 3rd) year; cone scales developing after ovules originate in bract axils; bracts almost completely enveloped by cone scales, free only at apex; ovules 1-numerous per bract axil, erect ; cone scales of mature cones 3-16, flat or peltate, woody, leathery, or succulent, 1-20-seeded. Seeds winged or not; wings derived from seed coat . Cotyledons usually 2, rarely 3-6. Germination epigeal.

Nineteen genera and ca. 125 species: worldwide; eight genera (one introduced ) and 46 species (16 endemic, 13 introduced) in China.[1]

Genus Taiwania

Trees evergreen , monoecious; main branches horizontally spreading ; branchlets pendulous, slender, long; winter buds small. Leaves spirally arranged , dimorphic : those of old branchlets densely arranged, subulate , scalelike, upwardly curved , triangular or quadrangular in cross section , with stomatal bands present on both surfaces, base short, decurrent, apex acute or obtuse , apiculate ; those of young trees and new branchlets "S"-shaped-ovate or subulate, ± quadrangular in cross section, laterally compressed , apex straight to incurved , sharply pointed . Pollen cones borne in terminal clusters ; microsporophylls many, spirally arranged; microsporangia 2-4, ovate . Seed cones terminal, solitary, erect , small; bracts rudimentary ; ovules 2 per bract axil; cone scales of mature cones cuneately narrowed into claw and ± flat proximally, broadening distally into an exposed, rounded-spatulate, transversely convex portion, leathery, margin subentire , hyaline , densely and microscopically puberulent with extremely short, 2- or 3-celled hairs (margin thus appearing finely lacerate at low magnification), apical portion small, ± incurved, obtusely truncate , concavely notched , with small, protruding mucro . Seeds flat, with narrow, lateral wings , base and apex both notched. Cotyledons 2.

One species: China, N Myanmar.[2]

Taxonomy

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Similar Species

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Members of the genus Taiwania

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 2 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus:

T. cryptomerioides (Formosan Redwood) · T. cryptomerioides var. flousiana (Formosan Redwood)

More Info

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Further Reading

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Notes

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Contributors

Identifiers

Footnotes

  1. Liguo Fu, Yong-fu Yu, Robert P. Adams & Aljos Farjon "Cupressaceae". in Flora of China Vol. 4 Page 62. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
  2. "Taiwania". in Flora of China Vol. 4 Page 55. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
Last Revised: 7/25/2012