Sciadopitys

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Sciadopitys
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous–Recent
Sciadopitys verticillata
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Gymnospermae
Division: Pinophyta
Class: Pinopsida
Order: Pinales
Family: Sciadopityaceae
Genus: Sciadopitys
Siebold & Zucc.
Species

Sciadopitys, commonly called umbrella pines, is a genus of a unique conifers now endemic to Japan. The sole living member of the family Sciadopityaceae is Sciadopitys verticillata, a living fossil.[citation needed] The oldest fossils of Sciadopitys are from the Late Cretaceous of Japan, and the genus was widespread in Laurasia during most of the Cenozoic, especially in Europe until the Pliocene.[1]

References