Common Names
Japanese Douglas Fir (2).Taxonomic notes
Syn: Abies japonica Rovelli; Tsuga japonica Shirasawa (2).Description
Trees to 30 m tall and 150 cm dbh, "the trunk clear of branches for about two-thirds the height of the tree. Bark dull reddish-brown, becoming greyish on very old trees, fissured into narrow plates. Winter buds very conspicuous, spindle-shaped as in other species, with shining brown, non-resinous scales. Young shoots without down, grey, becoming darker with age. Leaves pale green, pectinate, straight or slightly curved, about [2.5 cm] long, notched at the apex, upper surface grooved from base to apex, lower surface with 2 broad white bands of stomata. Cones the smallest of the genus, ovoid, [3.8-4.5 cm] long, [2.5 cm] in diameter, brown with glaucous patches when young, chocolate-brown at maturity; scales 15-20, woody, about [2 cm] long, slightly concave, margin minutely toothed or entire; bracts short, with the three-lobed terminal portion strongly reflexed over the scale below, the central awn-like lobe narrower and longer than the short, blunt, lateral lobes. Seed [1 cm] long, shining dark brown above, pale mottled brown beneath; wing short, broad, dark brown. ... Distinguished from other species by its hairless shoots and small cones" (2).Range
SE Japan (1), "where it is a rare and local tree restricted to a few localities in the provinces of Tosa, Ku, and Yamato. It grows in mixed forests between [300-900 m] elevation" (2).Big Tree
Oldest
Dendrochronology
Ethnobotany
Observations
Remarks
Citations
(1) Silba 1986.(2) Dallimore & Jackson 1967.
[Pseudotsuga] [Pinaceae] [home]
This page is from the Gymnosperm Database
URL: http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Canopy/2285/pi/ps/japonica.htm
Edited by Christopher J. Earle
E-mail:earlecj@earthlink.com
Last modified on 3-Jan-1999