Torreya taxifolia
Encyclopedia
Torreya taxifolia, commonly known as the Florida torreya, gopher wood, stinking yew, or stinking cedar (although not closely related to the true yews
or cedars), is a rare and endangered species
found in the Southeastern United States
, at the state border region of northern Florida
and southwestern Georgia
.
It is the type species
of the genus Torreya
. Torreya taxifolia became one of the first federally listed endangered plant species in the United States in 1984; the IUCN lists the species as critically endangered. A survey conducted in 2000 estimated the population of T. taxifolia to be between 500 and 4000 individuals.
tree
that may reach heights of 15 to 20 meters. The trees are conical in overall shape, with whorled branches and stiff, sharp pointed, needle-like leaves
2-3.5 cm long and 3 mm broad. The male (pollen
) cones
are 5-7 mm long, grouped in lines along the underside of a shoot. The female (seed
) cones are single or grouped two to five together on a short stem; minute at first, they mature in about 18 months to a drupe
-like structure with the single large nut
-like seed 2-3.5 cm long surrounded by a fleshy covering, dark green to purple at full maturity in the fall. The leaves and cones have a strongly pungent resinous odor when crushed, leading to its popular names "stinking yew" and "stinking cedar".
s within Torreya State Park
, along the east bank of the Apalachicola River in the Florida Panhandle
and immediately adjacent southernmost Georgia
. Most stands are composed of immature trees of less than 2 meters tall. The population of mature trees crashed in the 1950s, possibly due to the introduction of a still uncharacterised fungal
disease. Up to 11 species of fungi attack T. taxifolia, including species of Physalospora and Macrophoma. Fungicide
treatment has been shown to be effective for fungal infection, with plants showing renewed growth after treatment. Recovery of the species may be inhibited by postglacial global warming, as it is best adapted to the cooler, moister climate found in this area during the last ice age
. It may not have been able to move north in the postglacial warming, due to poor dispersal abilities.
to use private seed stock to establish groves of Torreya taxifolia trees in the southern Appalachians and points north, such that viable seeds will then be available for rewilding
this tree onto private lands far enough north and at high enough elevations to resist the diseases already brought about by global warming
in its endemic habitat in Florida. The idea is that Torreya taxifolia for some reason was unable to migrate on its own back north from its "ice age pocket refuge" in northern Florida, and that assisted migration
will thus help this species return to its traditional interglacial range in the Appalachian Mountains. The January 2007 issue of Conservation Magazine depicted Torreya taxifolia as the lead candidate for assisted migration owing to global warming. The May/June 2008 issue of "Orion Magazine" includes an in-depth review of the controversy, pro and con, of assisted migration for T. taxifolia.
.
, in northern Georgia and at the Biltmore Gardens in Asheville, North Carolina
, where it is regenerating naturally. The proposed best course to save the species from extinction is to plant groves of it in these areas.
Taxus
Taxus is a genus of yews, small coniferous trees or shrubs in the yew family Taxaceae. They are relatively slow-growing and can be very long-lived, and reach heights of 1-40 m, with trunk diameters of up to 4 m...
or cedars), is a rare and endangered species
Endangered species
An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...
found in the Southeastern United States
Southeastern United States
The Southeastern United States, colloquially referred to as the Southeast, is the eastern portion of the Southern United States. It is one of the most populous regions in the United States of America....
, at the state border region of northern Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
and southwestern Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
.
It is the type species
Biological type
In biology, a type is one particular specimen of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached...
of the genus Torreya
Torreya
Torreya is a genus of conifers comprising five or six species, treated in either the Cephalotaxaceae, or in the Taxaceae when that family is considered in a broad sense. Four are native to eastern Asia; the other two are native to North America. They are small to medium-sized evergreen trees...
. Torreya taxifolia became one of the first federally listed endangered plant species in the United States in 1984; the IUCN lists the species as critically endangered. A survey conducted in 2000 estimated the population of T. taxifolia to be between 500 and 4000 individuals.
Description
Torreya taxifolia is an evergreenEvergreen
In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant that has leaves in all seasons. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage during the winter or dry season.There are many different kinds of evergreen plants, both trees and shrubs...
tree
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
that may reach heights of 15 to 20 meters. The trees are conical in overall shape, with whorled branches and stiff, sharp pointed, needle-like 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....
2-3.5 cm long and 3 mm broad. The male (pollen
Pollen
Pollen is a fine to coarse powder containing the microgametophytes of seed plants, which produce the male gametes . Pollen grains have a hard coat that protects the sperm cells during the process of their movement from the stamens to the pistil of flowering plants or from the male cone to the...
) 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...
are 5-7 mm long, grouped in lines along the underside of a shoot. The female (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...
) cones are single or grouped two to five together on a short stem; minute at first, they mature in about 18 months to a drupe
Drupe
In botany, a drupe is a fruit in which an outer fleshy part surrounds a shell of hardened endocarp with a seed inside. These fruits develop from a single carpel, and mostly from flowers with superior ovaries...
-like structure with the single large nut
Nut (fruit)
A nut is a hard-shelled fruit of some plants having an indehiscent seed. While a wide variety of dried seeds and fruits are called nuts in English, only a certain number of them are considered by biologists to be true nuts...
-like seed 2-3.5 cm long surrounded by a fleshy covering, dark green to purple at full maturity in the fall. The leaves and cones have a strongly pungent resinous odor when crushed, leading to its popular names "stinking yew" and "stinking cedar".
Habitat
Today, Torreya taxifolia is restricted to bluffs and ravineRavine
A ravine is a landform narrower than a canyon and is often the product of streamcutting erosion. Ravines are typically classified as larger in scale than gullies, although smaller than valleys. A ravine is generally a fluvial slope landform of relatively steep sides, on the order of twenty to...
s within Torreya State Park
Torreya State Park
Torreya State Park is a 12,000 acre Florida State Park, U.S. National Natural Landmark and historic site thirteen miles north of Bristol. It is located north of S.R 12 on the Apalachicola River, in northwestern Florida, at 2576 N.W. Torreya Park Road...
, along the east bank of the Apalachicola River in the Florida Panhandle
Florida Panhandle
The Florida Panhandle, an informal, unofficial term for the northwestern part of Florida, is a strip of land roughly 200 miles long and 50 to 100 miles wide , lying between Alabama on the north and the west, Georgia also on the north, and the Gulf of Mexico to the south. Its eastern boundary is...
and immediately adjacent southernmost Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
. Most stands are composed of immature trees of less than 2 meters tall. The population of mature trees crashed in the 1950s, possibly due to the introduction of a still uncharacterised fungal
Fungus
A fungus is a member of a large group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds , as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, Fungi, which is separate from plants, animals, and bacteria...
disease. Up to 11 species of fungi attack T. taxifolia, including species of Physalospora and Macrophoma. Fungicide
Fungicide
Fungicides are chemical compounds or biological organisms used to kill or inhibit fungi or fungal spores. Fungi can cause serious damage in agriculture, resulting in critical losses of yield, quality and profit. Fungicides are used both in agriculture and to fight fungal infections in animals...
treatment has been shown to be effective for fungal infection, with plants showing renewed growth after treatment. Recovery of the species may be inhibited by postglacial global warming, as it is best adapted to the cooler, moister climate found in this area during the last ice age
Ice age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
. It may not have been able to move north in the postglacial warming, due to poor dispersal abilities.
Assisted Migration to the southern Appalachians
Torreya Guardians is a volunteer group of citizen-naturalists, botanists, ecologists, and landowners that has formed with the mission of finding and implementing ways outside the jurisdiction of the Endangered Species ActEndangered Species Act
The Endangered Species Act of 1973 is one of the dozens of United States environmental laws passed in the 1970s. Signed into law by President Richard Nixon on December 28, 1973, it was designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of economic growth and...
to use private seed stock to establish groves of Torreya taxifolia trees in the southern Appalachians and points north, such that viable seeds will then be available for rewilding
Rewilding
Rewilding may refer to:* Rewilding , the return of habitats to a natural state* Rewilding , the reversal of human "domestication"* Rewilding , a thoroughbred racehorse...
this tree onto private lands far enough north and at high enough elevations to resist the diseases already brought about by global warming
Global warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
in its endemic habitat in Florida. The idea is that Torreya taxifolia for some reason was unable to migrate on its own back north from its "ice age pocket refuge" in northern Florida, and that assisted migration
Assisted migration
Assisted migration is the practice of deliberately populating members of a species from their present habitat to a new region with the intent of establishing a permanent presence there, generally in response to the degradation of the natural habitat due to human action...
will thus help this species return to its traditional interglacial range in the Appalachian Mountains. The January 2007 issue of Conservation Magazine depicted Torreya taxifolia as the lead candidate for assisted migration owing to global warming. The May/June 2008 issue of "Orion Magazine" includes an in-depth review of the controversy, pro and con, of assisted migration for T. taxifolia.
Cultivation and uses
In the 19th century, the tree was harvested for wood that was used as fenceposts, shingles, furniture and as a fuel for riverboats on the Apalachicola RiverApalachicola River
The Apalachicola River is a river, approximately 112 mi long in the State of Florida. This river's large watershed, known as the ACF River Basin for short, drains an area of approximately into the Gulf of Mexico. The distance to its farthest headstream in northeast Georgia is approximately 500...
.
Landscape
Cultivated specimens are, however, growing very well in cooler climates in the Appalachian MountainsAppalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains #Whether the stressed vowel is or ,#Whether the "ch" is pronounced as a fricative or an affricate , and#Whether the final vowel is the monophthong or the diphthong .), often called the Appalachians, are a system of mountains in eastern North America. The Appalachians...
, in northern Georgia and at the Biltmore Gardens in Asheville, North Carolina
Asheville, North Carolina
Asheville is a city in and the county seat of Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. It is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the 11th largest city in North Carolina. The City is home to the United States National Climatic Data Center , which is the world's largest active...
, where it is regenerating naturally. The proposed best course to save the species from extinction is to plant groves of it in these areas.