Thuja sutchuenensis
| Thuja sutchuenensis | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Gymnospermae |
| Division: | Pinophyta |
| Class: | Pinopsida |
| Order: | Cupressales
|
| Family: | Cupressaceae |
| Genus: | Thuja |
| Species: | T. sutchuenensis
|
| Binomial name | |
| Thuja sutchuenensis | |
Thuja sutchuenensis, the Sichuan thuja, is a species of endemic in Chengkou County (Chongqing Municipality, formerly part of Sichuan province), on the southern slope of the Daba Mountains.[1][3]
Description
It is a small or medium-sized tree, reaching possibly 20 m tall,[2] though no trees of this size are currently known. The foliage forms in flat sprays with scale-like leaves 1.5–4 mm long, green above, and with narrow white stomatal bands below. The cones are oval, green ripening brown, 5–8 mm long and 3-4.2 mm broad (opening to 7 mm broad), with 8-10 overlapping scales.[3]
Discovery and rediscovery
It was first described in 1899 from specimens collected by the
extinct due to over-cutting for its valuable scented wood. A small number of specimens were however rediscovered in 1999, growing on very inaccessible steep ridges close to (or at the same site) where Farges had first found it.[1]
The area of its occurrence has now been designated a Special Protection Area in order to protect the species.
References
- ^ . Retrieved 11 January 2018.
- ^ a b Fu, Liguo; Yu, Yong-fu; Adams, Robert P.; Farjon, Aljos. "Thuja sutchuenensis". Flora of China. Vol. 4. Retrieved 2 May 2013 – via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
- ^ .