Glyptostrobus pensilis, known in Chinese as 水松 (Shuǐ sōng), and also Chinese swamp cypress, is an endangered conifer, and the sole living species in the genus Glyptostrobus.
Description
It is a medium-sized to large
tree, reaching tall and with a trunk diameter of up to , possibly more. The
leaf are
deciduous, spirally arranged but twisted at the base to lie in two horizontal ranks, long and broad, but long and scale-like on shoots in the upper crown. The
conifer cone are green maturing yellow-brown,
pear-shaped, long and diameter, broadest near the apex. They open when mature to release the small, long, winged
. Like the related genus
Taxodium, it produces '
', or pneumatophores, when growing in water, thought to help transport
oxygen to the
.
Distribution and habitat
G. pensilis is native to
subtropical southeastern
China, from
Fujian west to southeast
Yunnan, and also very locally in Central
Vietnam and down to central
Laos, where stands exist in the Nakai-Nam Theun area.
[ It typically grows in river banks, and , growing in water up to deep.
]
Conservation
The species is nearly Extinction in the wild due to overcutting for its valuable decay-resistant, scented wood, but it is also fairly widely planted along the banks of rice paddy field where its roots help to stabilise the banks by reducing soil erosion.[McGuire, D. (28 May 2015). Saving the Endangered Chinese Swamp Cypress. Earth Island Journal. Retrieved 15 June 2019.] The species is found in several botanical gardens around the world.[Gymnosperm Database: Glyptostrobus. Retrieved 15 June 2019.] It was previously reported that there were four specimens of this tree growing in Bank Hall Gardens, Lancashire, United Kingdom, but it has now been confirmed that they are in fact the swamp or bald cypress from the southeastern USA, Taxodium distichum.
Remarkable specimens
The largest known cultivated tree is located at the Christchurch Botanic gardens in New Zealand. The tree measures tall, wide and in girth.
Gallery
File:Glyptostrobus pensilis2.jpg|Unripe cone
File:Glyptostrobus pensilis 2007.06.28 10.10.35-p6280031.jpg|Ripe cones
File:Coastal Georgia Botanical Gardens, Chinese Water Fir glyptostrobus pencilis.jpg|Seedling in the Coastal Georgia Botanical Gardens, US
File:Glyptostrobus pensilis - Oregon Garden - Silverton, Oregon - DSC00137.jpg|Young tree in the Oregon Garden in autumn; it is deciduous
Glyptostrobus pensilis - Oregon Garden - Silverton, Oregon - DSC00136.jpg|Close-up of autumn foliage
File:Glyptostrobus pensilis - UC Davis Arboretum - DSC03391.JPG|A wet environment
Image:Chinese Swamp Cypress in Nanhua Temple.jpg|400- to 500-year-old trees in Nanhua Temple
File:Glyptostrobus pensilis1.jpg|Bark of trunk
External links
