''Picea asperata'' (dragon spruce; ) is a spruce native to western China, from eastern

Qinghai Qinghai (; alternately romanized as Tsinghai, Ch'inghai), also known as Kokonor, is a landlocked province in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. It is the fourth largest province of China by area and has the third smallest po ...

, southern Gansu and southwestern

Shaanxi Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see § Name) is a landlocked province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichuan (SW), Gansu (W), N ...

south to western

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 ...

Description

It is a medium-sized

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, whic ...

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 ...

growing to 25–40 m tall, and with a trunk diameter of up to 1.5 m. The shoots are orange-brown, with scattered pubescence. The leaves are needle-like, 1–2.5 cm long, rhombic in cross-section, greyish-green to bluish-green with conspicuous stomatal lines. 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 conn ...

are cylindric-conic, 6–15 cm long and 2–3 cm broad, maturing pale brown 5–7 months after pollination, and have stiff, rounded to bluntly pointed scales.

Varieties

It is a variable species with several varieties listed. These were first described as distinct species (and are still so treated by some authors), although they differ only in minor details, and some may not prove to be distinct at all if a larger population is examined: *''Picea asperata'' var. ''asperata''. Cones 6–12 cm; cone scales with a rounded apex. *''Picea asperata'' var. ''aurantiaca'' (syn. ''P. aurantiaca''). Shoots orange. *''Picea asperata'' var. ''heterolepis'' (syn. ''P. heterolepis''). Shoots hairless; cone scales with a rhombic apex. *''Picea asperata'' var. ''ponderosa''. Cones large, 12–15 cm. *''Picea asperata'' var. ''retroflexa'' (syn. ''P. retroflexa''). Shoots yellowish.

Conservation

The species is currently not listed as

threatened Threatened species are any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of ''critical depensa ...

, but recently population numbers have been declining due to

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated ...

caused by the

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

logging industry.

Uses

''Picea asperata'' is occasionally grown as an ornamental tree in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

and North America. It is also used in the production of stringed instruments.

Gallery

File:雲南雲杉 20190928194851 01.jpg, Photo taken in Yulong Snow Mountain, Yunnan, China.。 File:雲南雲杉 20190928194851 02.jpg, Photo taken in Yulong Snow Mountain, Yunnan, China.。

References

External links

Gymnosperm Database: ''Picea asperata''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3239660 asperata Endemic flora of China Trees of China Vulnerable flora of Asia Plants described in 1906