Cathaya

Cathaya is a genus in the pine family, Pinaceae, with one known living species, Cathaya argyrophylla.[2] Cathaya is a member of the subfamily Laricoideae, most closely related to Pseudotsuga and Larix. A second species, C. nanchuanensis, is now treated as a synonym,[3] as it does not differ from C. argyrophylla in any characters.

Cathaya
Temporal range: 30.0–0 Ma
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Division: Pinophyta
Class: Pinopsida
Order: Pinales
Family: Pinaceae
Subfamily: Laricoideae
Genus: Cathaya
Chun & Kuang
Species:
C. argyrophylla
Binomial name
Cathaya argyrophylla
Chun & Kuang

Cathaya is confined to a limited area in southern China, in the provinces of Guangxi, Guizhou, Hunan and southeast Sichuan. It is found on steep, narrow mountain slopes at 950–1800 m altitude, on limestone soils. A larger population has been reduced by over-cutting before its scientific discovery and protection in 1950.

The leaves are needle-like, 2.5–5 cm long, have ciliate (hairy) margins when young, and grow around the stems in a spiral pattern. The cones are 3–5 cm long, with about 15–20 scales, each scale bearing two winged seeds.

One or two botanists, unhappy with the idea of a new genus in such a familiar family, tried to shoehorn it into other existing genera, as Pseudotsuga argyrophylla and Tsuga argyrophylla.[4] It is however very distinct from both of these genera, and these combinations are not now used.

The Butchart Gardens in Victoria, British Columbia had a small living specimen. The tree died in 2017.

Fossil record

Cathaya sp. fossils are described from the early Pleistocene of southern Portugal.[5] They are abundant in European brown coal deposits dating from between 10–30 million years ago.

References
  1. Conifer Specialist Group (1998). "Cathaya argyrophylla". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 1998. Retrieved 6 May 2006.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  2. "Cathaya". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanical Gardens Kew. Retrieved 2018-11-07.
  3. "Cathaya nanchuanensis". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanical Gardens Kew. Retrieved 2018-11-07.
  4. "Cathaya argyrophylla". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanical Gardens Kew. Retrieved 2018-11-07.
  5. Forest Context and Policies in Portugal: Present and Future Challenges by Fernando Reboredo – Springer, 28. aug. 2014 – ISBN 978-3-319-08455-8
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