''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 ''Glyptostrobus'' is a small genus of conifers in the family Cupressaceae (formerly in the family Taxodiaceae). The sole living species, '' Glyptostrobus pensilis'', is native to subtropical southeastern China, from Fujian west to southeast Yun ...

''.

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

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 A cone is a three-dimensional geometric shape that tapers smoothly from a flat base (frequently, though not necessarily, circular) to a point called the apex or vertex. A cone is formed by a set of line segments, half-lines, or lines con ...

are green maturing yellow-brown,

pear Pears are fruits produced and consumed around the world, growing on a tree and harvested in the Northern Hemisphere in late summer into October. The pear tree and shrub are a species of genus ''Pyrus'' , in the family Rosaceae, bearing the po ...

-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 knee A cypress knee is a distinctive structure forming above the roots of a cypress tree of any of various species of the subfamily Taxodioideae, such as the bald cypress. Their function is unknown, but they are generally seen on trees growing in s ...

s', or pneumatophores, when growing in water, thought to help transport oxygen to the roots.

Distribution and habitat

''G. pensilis'' is native to subtropical southeastern China, from Fujian west to southeast Yunnan, and also very locally in northern Vietnam and Laos. It typically grows in river banks, ponds and swamps, growing in water up to deep.

Conservation

The species is nearly extinct 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 A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

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 Bank Hall Gardens comprise of curtilage at Bank Hall, in Bretherton, Lancashire, England. The gardens contain specimen trees including a yew thought to be the oldest in Lancashire. Many architectural features, statues, low garden walls, conserv ...

, 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, 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 Nanhua Temple () is a Buddhist monastery of the Chan Buddhism, one of Five Great Schools of Buddhism where Huineng, the Sixth Patriarch of Chan Buddhism, once lived and taught. It is located in the town of Maba (), Qujiang District, southeast o ...

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