''Phoebe zhennan'' is a large species of

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

, up to tall, in the genus '' Phoebe'' of the family

Lauraceae Lauraceae, or the laurels, is a plant family that includes the true laurel and its closest relatives. This family comprises about 2850 known species in about 45 genera worldwide (Christenhusz & Byng 2016 ). They are dicotyledons, and occur ma ...

. The name "Zhennan" is the transcription of one of the tree's Chinese names, 桢楠. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

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 ...

where it occurs in

Guizhou Guizhou (; formerly Kweichow) is a landlocked province in the southwest region of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Guiyang, in the center of the province. Guizhou borders the autonomous region of Guangxi to t ...

Hubei Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The prov ...

, and

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...

provinces. The species is threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

, and so is under second-class national protection in China. In the past, wood from this tree, referred to as ''

nanmu Nanmu () is a precious wood that is unique to China and South Asia, and was historically used for boat building, architectural woodworking, furniture and sculptural carving in China. The Ming Dynasty-era writings indicate this wood as superior dura ...

'' in China was so valuable that only royal families could afford their use. Notably, whole logs of ''Phoebe zhennan'' wood were used to create pillars for the

Forbidden City The Forbidden City () is a Chinese palace, palace complex in Dongcheng District, Beijing, China, at the center of the Imperial City, Beijing, Imperial City of Beijing. It is surrounded by numerous opulent imperial gardens and temples includ ...

. The wood is particularly valuable when it has become semi-fossilized, and is then referred to as 烏木 Wu Mu, or "Black Wood". The price on the 2012 market could be as high as over $10,000 per cubic meter.

References

zhennan Endemic flora of China Trees of China Vulnerable plants Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Laurales-stub