Nothotsuga

Nothotsuga is a genus of coniferous trees in the family Pinaceae endemic to China. Nothotsuga contains only one species, Nothotsuga longibracteata, commonly known as the bristlecone hemlock, which is found in southeastern China, in southern Fujian, northern Guangdong, northeast Guangxi, northeast Guizhou, and southwest Hunan.

Nothotsuga
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Division: Pinophyta
Class: Pinopsida
Order: Pinales
Family: Pinaceae
Subfamily: Abietoideae
Genus: Nothotsuga
Hu ex C.N.Page
Species:
N. longibracteata
Binomial name
Nothotsuga longibracteata
(W.C.Cheng) Hu ex C.N.Page

Description

N. longibracteata is an evergreen tree reaching 30 m (100 ft) tall. The leaves are flat, needle-like, 1.2–4 cm (0.5–1.6 in) long and 1–2 mm (0.04–0.08 in) broad, very similar to those of Tsuga. The cones are very similar to those of Keteleeria, but smaller, 2.5–5 cm (1–2 in) long, erect, and mature in about 6–8 months after pollination.

Taxonomy

In many respects, Nothotsuga is intermediate between the genera Keteleeria and Tsuga. It was discovered in 1932, and at first treated as Tsuga longibracteata, being classified in its own genus in 1989 when new research indicated how distinct it is from other species of Tsuga - by the larger, erect cones with exserted bracts, and (like Keteleeria) male cones in umbels, and from Keteleeria by the shorter leaves and smaller cones.

Conservation

It is a very rare tree listed as a near-threatened species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature due to historical deforestation, though it is now protected.[1]

References
  1. Farjon, A., Christian, T. & Zhang, D 2013. Nothotsuga longibracteata. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2015.2. Downloaded on 02 September 2015.

Further reading
  • Jin-xing, Lin (1995). "Wood and Bark Anatomy of Nothotsuga (Pinaceae)". Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden. 82 (4): 603–609. doi:10.2307/2399841. JSTOR 2399841.
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