Abies kawakamii (Hayata) Ito 1909

Common Names

Kawakami fir (1), Taiwan fir (5).

Taxonomic notes

Syn: A. mariesii var. kawakami Hayata.

Description

"A shrub or pyramidal tree 15-35 m. tall, 0.5-1 m. in girth, with a straight, erect trunk. Bark smooth and resinous, gray-white, becoming gray-brown and scaly. Branchlets deeply grooved, yellowish-gray to dark brown, with brown pubescence. Buds ovoid, very resinous, brown to reddish, scales obtuse, to 1 mm. in diameter. Leaves pointing forwards, curving outwards and upwards, overlapping above, strongly grooved above, dark green above, whitish below, 1.5-3 cm. long by 1.7 mm. wide; stomata near the apex above, in 7-8 lines below; apex notched. Male strobili cylindrical, to 1.5 cm. long. Female cone broadly cylindric, apex rounded and somewhat depressed, 6-7.5 cm. long by 3.7-4 cm. wide, purple-violet at maturity; bracts hidden, about 1/2 height of the scale, lobed. Seeds blackish, wing to 1.6 cm. long" (1).

Range

Taiwan: widespread at 2900 to 3950m, 120°51'E to 121°19'E by 23°13'N to 24°28'N, in Abies-Juniperus-Rhododendron shrub forest and Yushania stands. Found in Sheipa, Yushan, and Taroko National Parks (3).

Big Tree

Oldest

Dendrochronology

Ethnobotany

Observations

Shei-Pa, Taroko and Yushan National Parks look like good places to see it.

Remarks

Citations

(1) Silba 1986.
(2) Cheng & Fu 1987.
(3) Botanical Inventory Of Taiwan.
(4) Li 1975.
(4) Liu 1970.


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This page is from the Gymnosperm Database
URL: http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Canopy/2285/pi/ab/kawakamii.htm
Edited by Christopher J. Earle
E-mail:earlecj@earthlink.com
Last modified on 19-Jan-1999

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