Cunninghamia konishii Hayata

Shrub, or tree: evergreen; erect; 50 m maximum height; monoecious. Trunk: 3 m maximum diameter. Bark: grey, red, brown, or black; smooth – scaly, peeling off in strands, or furrowed. Crown: rather open; columnar to narrowly conical (pyramidal). Branches: horizontal, or drooping. Ultimate branchlets: 40–300 mm long; arranged 3-dimensionally; roundish in cross-section.

 

Leaves: only adult leaves on adult plants; needle-like (linear: flattened in cross-section). Needle leaves: 8–35 mm long; 1.5–5 mm wide; arranged spirally; arranged in 2 rows, not exact in one plane; spreading; bright, or dark green; tip acute; with two white stripes; with 7–15 stomata rows.

 

Male cones: at close quarters; 12–18 male cone scales; oblong; yellow or bright brown. Male cone scales: arranged spirally; 2–4 pollen sacs per male cone scale.

 

Female cones: 18–30 mm long; 12–35 mm wide; 32–65 cone scales; depressed-globose, 2-lobed, globose, or ovoid; cone-like (open after maturity); woody; not disintegrating after maturity; bright; young cones greenish. Female cone scales: arranged spirally; inserted on different levels in mature cones; without several small additional cone scales on the female cone; tip acute; umbo absent. Columella: absent.

 

Seeds: 2–8 mm long; 1–5 mm wide; 60–80 seeds per cone; bright brown – black; 2–4 seeds per female cone scale; flattened. Seed wings: 0.5–2 mm wide; 2 (almost) equal wings.

 

Supplement: maturity in the first year; 2 cotyledones; 22 chromosomes (2n). Cultivation: cultivated in Germany; cultivated outdoor in the Ruhr Area (hardiness zone 7); Distribution: Asia: China, Taiwan, Laos, Vietnam. IUCN Red List: not listed. Synonyms: Cunninghamia kawakamii Hayata, Cunninghamia lanceolata (Lamb.) Hook. var. konishii (Hayata) Fujita. Common name: Shan Mu (CHN).