''Cephalotaxus oliveri'' is a

conifer Conifers are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single ...

ous shrub or small tree in the family

Taxaceae Taxaceae (), commonly called the yew family, is a coniferous family which includes six extant and two extinct genera, and about 30 species of plants, or in older interpretations three genera and 7 to 12 species. Description They are many-bran ...

. It is native to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

and possibly to

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

and eastern

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Description

Shrubs or small trees up to 4 m tall. The bark is yellow to grayish brown and scaly. The leafy branchlets are oblong-elliptic in outline. Leaves are borne at 55-70° to branchlet axis. The pollen-cone is borne on the lower side and toward the distal end of terminal branchlets. The buds develop before the subtending leaves expand. Seeds cones are solitary. Seeds are obovoid, ovoid, or almost globose. Pollination occurs Mar-Apr while seeds mature from Aug-Oct.http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200005485 Flora of China vol 4 p 85 retrieved on 26 Jan 2015

Habitat and ecology

''Cephalotaxus oliveri'' occurs in subtropical evergreen and deciduous broad-leaved forests, coniferous and mixed forests, at altitudes between 300 and 1,800 meters above sea level. It is an understorey shrub, occurring in the shrub layer mixed with several genera of angiosperms such as ''

Rhododendron ''Rhododendron'' (; from Ancient Greek ''rhódon'' "rose" and ''déndron'' "tree") is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are nati ...

'', ''

Camellia ''Camellia'' (pronounced or ) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae. They are found in eastern and southern Asia, from the Himalayas east to Japan and Indonesia. There are more than 220 described species, with some controversy ...

'', ''

Cotoneaster ''Cotoneaster'' is a genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, native to the Palaearctic region (temperate Asia, Europe, north Africa), with a strong concentration of diversity in the genus in the mountains of southwestern China an ...

'', ''

Deutzia ''Deutzia'' ( or ) is a genus of about 60 species of flowering plants in the family Hydrangeaceae, native to eastern and central Asia (from the Himalayas east to Japan and the Philippines), and Central America and also Europe. By far the highest ...

'', ''

Lonicera Honeysuckles are arching shrubs or twining vines in the genus ''Lonicera'' () of the family Caprifoliaceae, native to northern latitudes in North America and Eurasia. Approximately 180 species of honeysuckle have been identified in both contin ...

'', ''

Berberis ''Berberis'' (), commonly known as barberry, is a large genus of deciduous and evergreen shrubs from tall, found throughout Temperateness, temperate and subtropical regions of the world (apart from Australia). Species diversity is greatest in S ...

'', ''

Buddleia ''Buddleja'' (; ''Buddleia''; also historically given as ''Buddlea'') is a genus comprising over 140 species of flowering plants endemic to Asia, Africa, and the Americas. The generic name bestowed by Linnaeus posthumously honoured the Revere ...

'', ''

Euonymus ''Euonymus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the staff vine family, Celastraceae. Common names vary widely among different species and between different English-speaking countries, but include spindle (or spindle tree), burning-bush, strawb ...

'', ''

Hydrangea ''Hydrangea'', () commonly named the hortensia, is a genus of over 75 species of flowering plants native to Asia and the Americas. By far the greatest species diversity is in eastern Asia, notably China, Korea, and Japan. Most are shrubs tall, ...

'', ''

Prunus ''Prunus'' is a genus of trees and shrubs, which includes (among many others) the fruits plums, cherries, peaches, nectarines, apricots, and almonds. Native to the North American temperate regions, the neotropics of South America, and the p ...

'' and other species.

Uses

This species is exploited for its bark, twigs, roots and seeds, which contain anti-carcinogenic alkaloids, for medicinal purpose. It is also cultivated as an ornamental shrub both in and outside China.

Status

This species has a wide range and a large population, but it has experienced population reduction of more than 30% over the last 90–100 years due to exploitation of the plant for medicinal purposes and the loss of habitat due to deforestation by logging and

agricultural expansion Agricultural expansion describes the growth of agricultural land (arable land, pastures, etc.) especially in the 20th and 21st centuries. The agricultural expansion is often explained as a direct consequence of the global increase in food and ene ...

. The reduction is likely to continue, so this species is listed as Vulnerable based on the past declines.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3439520 Flora of China

oliveri Oliveri ( Sicilian: ''Oluveri'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Messina in the Italian region Sicily, located about east of Palermo and about west of Messina. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 2,076 and an are ...

Vulnerable plants