Cephalotaxus fortunei
Encyclopedia
Cephalotaxus fortunei, commonly called the Chinese Plum Yew, simply Plum Yew, Chinese Cowtail Pine or in Chinese as San Jian Shan , is a coniferous shrub or small tree in the plum yew family
. It is native to northern Burma and China
, but is sometimes grown in western gardens where it has been in cultivation since 1848.
that appears purplish in places with rough square scales and long shreds peeling off. The new shoots remain green for three years after emerging and are ribbed. The branches are slightly pendulous, while the branchlets are obovate, obtriangular or almost rectangular in outline, measuring from 4 to 21 cm long by 3 to 20 cm wide.
The bud
s are about 4 mm in length, globular in shape and dark green in colour. They are covered with acute, glossy reddish brown scale-like leaves which remain on the base of the shoot into the following year. The leaves
themselves are glossy on the adaxial surface, i.e. the upper-side, and a deep yellowish-green to dark green in colour. They are borne almost horizontally from the branchlet. They are the longest leaves in the genus, typically measuring 3.5 to 12.5 cm, though they can be as short as 1.5 cm, by 3.2 to 5 mm wide, though they sometimes are as narrow as 1.5 mm. They are linear-lanceolate in shape, distally gradually attenuate, i.e. tapering to a point at the end. Their outline is falcate, or sickle-like, to more or less straight and flat. The texture is somewhat leathery, but generally they are quite soft and flexible. The midvein is 0.2 to 0.5 mm wide on the abaxial surface, or underside, showing two broad and grey stomatal bands that are 0.8 to 2.1 mm wide with 13 to 24 rows of stomata, though the individual stomata are not readily visible to the naked eye. The leaf base is cuneate, or wedge-shaped, to shortly attenuate, while the apex is cuspidate, or fine pointed. The cusp, or terminal point on the leaves, measures 0.5 to 2 mm, though it often breaks off. The petiole
is short at 0.5 to 2 mm in length.
The pollen cone is actually a capitula
, or a conglomerate, of 6 to 14 cones
, and is whitish in colour. They can either be distinctly pedunculate, or stalked, with the peduncle measuring 2 to 5 mm, or sessile, i.e. unstalked, to subsessile, i.e. partially stalked, with the peduncle measuring 0 to 2 mm. They are globose in shape and are 6 to 10 mm in diameter. The bracts are ovate in shape with the largest of them being roughly 2 mm long by 2.5 mm wide with a more or less entire margin, though the margin is sometimes erose, or jagged, and their apex is acute. There are between 6 and 16 microsporophylls present with each containing with 3 or 4 pollen sacs. The seed cones are borne together in groups of 3 to 6. They are pendunculate with the peduncle being 3 to 12 mm in length. The seed scales measure approximately 1.5 mm. The aril
of the fruit is initially yellow or green, though it turns to purple when ripe. The fruit
s measure 1.4 to 2.5 cm long by 0.9 to 1.5 cm wide and have several indistinct striations or prominent longitudinal ridges. The apex of the fruit is very shortly mucronate, i.e. terminanting in a sharp tip. The seed
s are ellipsoid in shape and are 1.3 to cm 2.4 long by 0.7 to 1.4 cm wide. There are 11 haploid chromosomes present with the tree's DNA
.
Cephalotaxaceae
The family Cephalotaxaceae is a small grouping of conifers, with three genera and about 20 species, closely allied to the Taxaceae, and included in that family by some botanists. They are restricted to east Asia, except for two species of Torreya found in the southwest and southeast of the USA;...
. It is native to northern Burma and China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, but is sometimes grown in western gardens where it has been in cultivation since 1848.
Description
C. fortunei is a shrub or small tree growing to as high as 20 m with a diameter at breast height of about 20 cm. They are usually multi-stemmed with an open and loosely rounded crown. In cultivation they tend to grow on a single stem that is often leaning and bare towards the bottom, but with dense foliage on the upper half. They have reddish brown barkBark
Bark is the outermost layers of stems and roots of woody plants. Plants with bark include trees, woody vines and shrubs. Bark refers to all the tissues outside of the vascular cambium and is a nontechnical term. It overlays the wood and consists of the inner bark and the outer bark. The inner...
that appears purplish in places with rough square scales and long shreds peeling off. The new shoots remain green for three years after emerging and are ribbed. The branches are slightly pendulous, while the branchlets are obovate, obtriangular or almost rectangular in outline, measuring from 4 to 21 cm long by 3 to 20 cm wide.
The bud
Bud
In botany, a bud is an undeveloped or embryonic shoot and normally occurs in the axil of a leaf or at the tip of the stem. Once formed, a bud may remain for some time in a dormant condition, or it may form a shoot immediately. Buds may be specialized to develop flowers or short shoots, or may have...
s are about 4 mm in length, globular in shape and dark green in colour. They are covered with acute, glossy reddish brown scale-like leaves which remain on the base of the shoot into the following year. The leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
themselves are glossy on the adaxial surface, i.e. the upper-side, and a deep yellowish-green to dark green in colour. They are borne almost horizontally from the branchlet. They are the longest leaves in the genus, typically measuring 3.5 to 12.5 cm, though they can be as short as 1.5 cm, by 3.2 to 5 mm wide, though they sometimes are as narrow as 1.5 mm. They are linear-lanceolate in shape, distally gradually attenuate, i.e. tapering to a point at the end. Their outline is falcate, or sickle-like, to more or less straight and flat. The texture is somewhat leathery, but generally they are quite soft and flexible. The midvein is 0.2 to 0.5 mm wide on the abaxial surface, or underside, showing two broad and grey stomatal bands that are 0.8 to 2.1 mm wide with 13 to 24 rows of stomata, though the individual stomata are not readily visible to the naked eye. The leaf base is cuneate, or wedge-shaped, to shortly attenuate, while the apex is cuspidate, or fine pointed. The cusp, or terminal point on the leaves, measures 0.5 to 2 mm, though it often breaks off. The petiole
Petiole (botany)
In botany, the petiole is the stalk attaching the leaf blade to the stem. The petiole usually has the same internal structure as the stem. Outgrowths appearing on each side of the petiole are called stipules. Leaves lacking a petiole are called sessile, or clasping when they partly surround the...
is short at 0.5 to 2 mm in length.
The pollen cone is actually a capitula
Head (botany)
The capitulum is considered the most derived form of inflorescence. Flower heads found outside Asteraceae show lesser degrees of specialization....
, or a conglomerate, of 6 to 14 cones
Conifer cone
A cone is an organ on plants in the division Pinophyta that contains the reproductive structures. The familiar woody cone is the female cone, which produces seeds. The male cones, which produce pollen, are usually herbaceous and much less conspicuous even at full maturity...
, and is whitish in colour. They can either be distinctly pedunculate, or stalked, with the peduncle measuring 2 to 5 mm, or sessile, i.e. unstalked, to subsessile, i.e. partially stalked, with the peduncle measuring 0 to 2 mm. They are globose in shape and are 6 to 10 mm in diameter. The bracts are ovate in shape with the largest of them being roughly 2 mm long by 2.5 mm wide with a more or less entire margin, though the margin is sometimes erose, or jagged, and their apex is acute. There are between 6 and 16 microsporophylls present with each containing with 3 or 4 pollen sacs. The seed cones are borne together in groups of 3 to 6. They are pendunculate with the peduncle being 3 to 12 mm in length. The seed scales measure approximately 1.5 mm. The aril
Aril
An aril is any specialized outgrowth from the funiculus that covers or is attached to the seed. It is sometimes applied to any appendage or thickening of the seed coat in flowering plants, such as the edible parts of the mangosteen and pomegranate fruit, the mace of the nutmeg seed, or the...
of the fruit is initially yellow or green, though it turns to purple when ripe. The fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
s measure 1.4 to 2.5 cm long by 0.9 to 1.5 cm wide and have several indistinct striations or prominent longitudinal ridges. The apex of the fruit is very shortly mucronate, i.e. terminanting in a sharp tip. The seed
Seed
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
s are ellipsoid in shape and are 1.3 to cm 2.4 long by 0.7 to 1.4 cm wide. There are 11 haploid chromosomes present with the tree's DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
.