Sargent spruce

Sargent spruce
	Sargent spruce ( Picea brachytyla ) illustration
Systematics
Family :	Pine family (Pinaceae)
Subfamily :	Piceoideae
Genre :	Spruce trees ( Picea )
Subgenus :	Picea
Section :	Omorika
Type :	Sargent spruce
Scientific name
	Picea brachytyla
	( Franch. ) E. Pritz.

The Sargent spruce ( Picea brachytyla ) is a species of the pine family (Pinaceae). It is native to China, northern Myanmar , northeastern India and Bhutan .

description

Sargent spruce ( Picea brachytyla )

The Sargent spruce grows as an evergreen tree that can reach stature heights of 30 to 50 meters and diameters of 1 to 2 meters at chest height . The pyramidal crown becomes irregularly cylindrical with age. The branches are drooping. The gray to gray-brown bark is divided lengthways into thick, square plates separated by cracks. But it can also flake off in irregularly shaped scales. The bark of the twigs is pale yellow to brownish yellow and changes color with age from brownish yellow to brown to a gray color.

The winter buds are egg-shaped to conical-egg-shaped. The straight or slightly curved, flattened needles are 1 to 2.5 centimeters long and between 1 and 1.5 millimeters wide. They are slightly keeled on both the top and bottom and their end is pointed or spiky. On the upper side of the leaf there are two white or pale stomatal bands with five to seven stomatal lines each. The needles are slightly pressed on the tops of the branches. On the lower side they are arranged protruding to almost comb-shaped.

The flowering season of the Sargent spruce extends from April to May and the seeds ripen from September to October. The cones are elongated-egg-shaped with a length of 6 to 12 centimeters and a thickness of 3 to 4 centimeters. They are initially green or red to purple-brown and turn brown towards maturity and can have a purple hue. The seed scales have a wedge-shaped base and are elongated, obovate to diamond-shaped, with a length of 1.4 to 2.2 centimeters and a width of 1.1 to 1.3 centimeters. The outer edges of the scales are usually bent back, but can also be elongated. The seeds have a wing and together with it they grow to around 1.2 centimeters.

The number of chromosomes is 2n = 24.

Distribution and location

The natural distribution area of the Sargent spruce extends from China over the north of Myanmar to the Assam Himalayas in India and Bhutan . In China, the distribution area includes southern Gansu , southern Shaanxi , northwestern Hubei , Sichuan , northwestern Yunnan and the southeastern part of the Tibet Autonomous Region .

The Sargent spruce thrives at altitudes of 1,300 to 3,800 meters. The species grows in cool, damp forests on mountain slopes, in valleys and in river valleys , which are characterized by the monsoon climate . The annual rainfall is between 1000 and 2500 mm, depending on the location. They are mainly found on gray-brown podsol soils in mountainous areas. Mixed stands are usually formed with firs ( Abies ), with the Chinese larch ( Larix potaninii ), the Likiang spruce ( Picea likiangensis ) and with various hemlocks ( Tsuga ). In western Sichuan, the species can also be found together with the Chinese red birch ( Betula albosinensis ), shrub-like growing bamboo species and with various rhododendrons ( rhododendrons ).

use

The wood is used as construction wood as well as for the manufacture of aircraft, machines and pulp . The Sargent spruce is used for reforestation .

Systematics

The Sargent spruce is assigned to the subgenus Picea and the section Omorika within the genus of the spruces ( Picea ) .

It was first described as Abies brachytyla in 1899 by Adrien René Franchet in Journal de Botanique (Morot) , Volume 13 (8), page 258. Ernst Georg Pritzel transferred the species in 1900 to Botanical Yearbooks for Systematics, Plant History and Plant Geography , Volume 29 ( 2), pages 216-217 as Picea brachytyla in the genus Picea .

The species is divided into up to two varieties :

Picea brachytyla var. Brachytyla is the nominate form . It has a longitudinally fissured, gray bark and the immature cones are green. It occurs from southeastern Tibet to China. Synonyms are Picea pachyclada Patschke and Picea sargentiana Rehder & EH Wilson .
Picea brachytyla var. Complanata (Masters) WC Cheng ex Rehder occurs from Arunachal Pradesh to western Sichuan and northwestern Yunnan. It has a pale gray to gray bark that flakes off in irregular scales and the immature cones are red to purple brown. Synonyma are Picea complanata Masters , Picea ascendens Patschke and Picea brachytyla subsp. complanata (mast.) Silba .

Hazard and protection

Both the Sargent spruce and the variety Picea brachytyla var. Complanata are classified as "endangered" in the IUCN Red List . Heavy logging is mentioned as the main danger . In both entries, however, it is pointed out that a new check of the risk is necessary.

Web links

Commons : Sargent spruce ( Picea brachytyla ) - Collection of images, videos and audio files

swell

Christopher J. Earle: Picea brachytyla. In: The Gymnosperm Database. www.conifers.org, November 23, 2012, accessed on March 16, 2013 .
Liguo Fu, Nan Li, Thomas S. Elias & Robert R. Mill: Pinaceae . Picea. In: Wu Zhengyi, Peter H. Raven & Hong Deyuan (eds.): Flora of China . Cycadaceae through Fagaceae. Volume 4. Science Press and Missouri Botanical Garden Press, Beijing and St. Louis 1999, ISBN 0-915279-70-3 , Picea brachytyla , pp. 31 (English, Picea brachytyla - online - this printed work is online with the same text).

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Christopher J. Earle: Picea brachytyla. In: The Gymnosperm Database. www.conifers.org, November 23, 2012, accessed on March 16, 2013 .
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Liguo Fu, Nan Li, Thomas S. Elias & Robert R. Mill: Pinaceae . Picea. In: Wu Zhengyi, Peter H. Raven & Hong Deyuan (eds.): Flora of China . Cycadaceae through Fagaceae. Volume 4. Science Press and Missouri Botanical Garden Press, Beijing and St. Louis 1999, ISBN 0-915279-70-3 , Picea brachytyla , pp. 31 (English, Picea brachytyla - online - this printed work is online with the same text).
↑ ^a ^b ^c Picea brachytyla at Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, accessed March 16, 2013.
↑ ^a ^b Rafaël Govaerts (Ed.): Picea. In: World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP) - The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved April 13, 2019.
↑ Picea brachytyla in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2012. Posted by: Conifer Specialist Group, 1998. Accessed March 16, 2013.
↑ Picea brachytyla var. Complanata in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2012. Posted by: Conifer Specialist Group, 1998. Accessed March 16, 2013.

[Conifers-1] Christopher J. Earle: Picea brachytyla. In: The Gymnosperm Database. www.conifers.org, November 23, 2012, accessed on March 16, 2013 .

[FOC-2] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Liguo Fu, Nan Li, Thomas S. Elias & Robert R. Mill: Pinaceae . Picea. In: Wu Zhengyi, Peter H. Raven & Hong Deyuan (eds.): Flora of China . Cycadaceae through Fagaceae. Volume 4. Science Press and Missouri Botanical Garden Press, Beijing and St. Louis 1999, ISBN 0-915279-70-3 , Picea brachytyla , pp. 31 (English, Picea brachytyla - online - this printed work is online with the same text).

[Tropicos-3] Picea brachytyla at Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, accessed March 16, 2013.

[WCSP-4] Rafaël Govaerts (Ed.): Picea. In: World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP) - The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved April 13, 2019.

[IUCN-5] Picea brachytyla in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2012. Posted by: Conifer Specialist Group, 1998. Accessed March 16, 2013.

[IUCN1-6] Picea brachytyla var. Complanata in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2012. Posted by: Conifer Specialist Group, 1998. Accessed March 16, 2013.