''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

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

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 cones are green maturing yellow-brown, pear-shaped, long and diameter, broadest near the apex. They open when mature to release the small, long, winged seeds. Like the related genus '' Taxodium'', it produces ' cypress knees', or pneumatophores, when growing in water, thought to help transport oxygen to the roots.

Distribution and habitat

''G. pensilis'' is native to

subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Geographical z ...

southeastern

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 ...

, from Fujian west to southeast Yunnan, and also very locally in northern Vietnam and

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

. It typically grows in river banks, ponds and

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

s, growing in water up to deep.

Conservation

The species is nearly

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

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 paddies where its roots help to stabilise the banks by reducing soil erosion. There appear to be no remaining wild plants in China and few of those in Vietnam are seed-bearing. A population of Chinese swamp cypress was recently discovered in central Laos.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''.

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 Coastal Georgia Botanical Gardens is a former USDA plant-introduction station that has developed into a 51-acre botanical garden. It is located is Chatham County, Georgia, south of Savannah. History The garden's collection began in the late 18 ...

, 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

References

External links

Arboretum de Villardebelle: photo of cone
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3496220 Cupressaceae Critically endangered plants Plants described in 1873 Trees of China Flora of Guangxi Trees of Vietnam Trees of Laos Deciduous conifers