Chinese crescent fir
| Chinese crescent fir | ||||||||||||
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Chinese crescent fir ( Cryptomeria japonica var. Sinensis ) |
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| Cryptomeria japonica var. Sinensis | ||||||||||||
| Sieve. & Zucc. |
The Chinese sickle fir ( Cryptomeria japonica var. Sinensis , syn .: Cryptomeria japonica var. Fortunei ) is a variety of the sickle fir ( Cryptomeria japonica ). Some authors list it as an independent species, Cryptomeria fortunei . It is endemic to China .
description
Habitus
The Chinese crescent fir grows up to 40 meters high and reaches chest height diameters of up to 2 meters. It will be over 500 years old. The straight trunk ends in an oval crown. The branches are between 2 and 3 meters long and stand at an angle of 70 to 85 ° from the trunk. It forms both short shoots and long shoots . Old trees have a reddish-brown bark that comes off in strips.
Foliage
The needles of the Chinese crescent fir are short-sub-like with pointed apex and are arranged alternately or spirally. Their length depends on both the branch position and the age of the tree. They are shortest and snug at the ends of the branches, while they are longest in the middle of the branch. Depending on the position, they are between 1 and 2.4 centimeters long. Stomata can be found on all four sides of the needle. They stay on the tree for two to three years.
Flowers, cones and seeds
The Chinese crescent fir is single-sexed ( monoecious ) and becomes manable at around 20 years of age. The flowering period extends from March to April. The long, elliptical male cones can be found individually in leaf axils at the branch ends. They are up to 7 millimeters long. The female cones are found at the ends of short shoots. The rounded to spherical cones reach a diameter of 1.2 to 2 centimeters and consist of about 20 scales. They ripen in October / November. In the upper part, the cone scales have 4 to 5 short, triangular thorns. The triangular and tapering cover scales are only half as long as the seed scales. Under each seed scale there are 2 yellowish-brown, flat-elliptical seeds. The seeds are 4 to 6.5 millimeters long and 2 to 3.5 millimeters wide and have narrow wings. The thousand grain weight is between 3.9 and 4.2 grams. The germination rate is around 20%.
root
The Chinese sickle fir is a shallow root . It has a well-developed system of lateral roots. Their roots penetrate to depths of up to 1.5 meters. Most roots form at a depth of 40 to 80 centimeters. The root system reaches a diameter of up to 8 meters.
Wood
The red-brown heartwood stands out clearly from the yellowish-white to yellowish-brown sapwood . The wood is light, straight grain and fragrant. The bulk density with a wood moisture content of 15% is 0.34 to 0.36 g / cm³.
Distribution and location
There is no precise information about the natural range in China . It is said to extend from Mount West Tianmu in Zhejiang Province southwest to Huang Shanin in Anhui Province and to the Lu Shan Mountains in Jiangxi Province . From there it extends southeast to Nanping in Fujian Province . The Chinese crescent fir is artificially grown in Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi, Sichuan , Hunan , Hubei , Guizhou , Yunnan , Guangdong , Guangxi , Jiangsu , Anhui, Shandong and Henan provinces .
It is a tree species of the temperate-humid climate with annual rainfall over 1,000 mm. The mean temperature of the coldest month, January, is above freezing point. It settles in mountainous areas with high humidity, a lot of fog and cool summers. Cultivation in the lowlands failed due to the high temperatures and low humidity in the summers. It prefers deep, fresh and well-drained soils. It is a light tree species, but as a young tree it can also tolerate little shade.
Diseases and pests
Only three pests are known to cause significant losses. The fungus Cercospora cryptomeriae leads to needle browning and loss of shoots in seedlings and young trees. The bark fungus Mirschkia tuberculifera forms cancer-like swellings on branches that lead to death. The caterpillars of the butterfly Hoenimmenia roesleri eat needles and bark and separate young shoots.
use
The wood of the Chinese crescent fir is used as construction wood and for building bridges. It is also used to make furniture and agricultural equipment.
Systematics
The taxonomic position of the Chinese sickle fir is controversial. It is described in the " Flora of Japan " as a variety of the sickle fir ( Cryptomeria japonica ), Cryptomeria japonica var. Sinensis . In the book " Trees of Great Britain and Ireland " the species is described as Cryptomeria japonica var. Fortunei . As an independent species, Cryptomeria fortunei , it is mainly considered in Chinese literature. The inwardly curved needle tips, the smaller cones , the number of seeds per cone and the number of cone scales are named as morphological differences to the crescent fir.
swell
- Schütt, Weisgerber, Schuck, Lang, Stimm, Roloff: Lexicon of Conifers . Nikol, Hamburg 2008, ISBN 3-933203-80-5 , p. 135-139 .