Picea koyamae

Picea koyamae
Cultivated Specimen
Morton Arboretum accession 126-65-1
Conservation status

Critically Endangered  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Pinophyta
Class: Pinopsida
Order: Pinales
Family: Pinaceae
Genus: Picea
Species: P. koyamae
Binomial name
Picea koyamae
Shiras.
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Picea koyamae (Koyama's Spruce; Japanese: ヤツガタケトウヒ yatsugatake-tohhi) is a rare spruce, native to Akaishi Mountains and Yatsugatake Mountains, or Nagano and Yamanashi Prefectures in central Honshū, Japan, where it grows at 1500-2000 m altitude.[2]

It is a monoecious evergreen tree growing to 25 m tall, with a trunk diameter of up to 1 m. The shoots are orange-brown, with scattered pubescence. The leaves are needle-like, 8-16 mm long, rhombic in cross-section, dark bluish-green with conspicuous stomatal lines. The cones are cylindric-conic, 4-9 cm long and 2 cm broad, maturing pale brown 5–7 months after pollination, and have stiff, smoothly rounded scales 6–18 mm long and 6-12 mm wide. Pollination takes place in late spring.[2][3]

The spruce is found growing in groups of 10-20, with a total population of only about 250 mature trees. The main cause of decline is the loss of natural regeneration after typhoons, with windblown trees being replaced by the planting of other faster-growing commercially valuable species.[1][2]

It is named after the Japanese botanist Mitsua Koyama. The name was first published as "koyamai", but this is an orthographical error to be corrected under the provisions of ICBN Article 60.[4]

It is occasionally planted as an ornamental tree. The wood is similar to that of other spruces, but the species is too rare to be of economic value.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Katsuki, T. & Gardner, M. (2010). "Picea koyamae". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 3.1. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 2013-11-10.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Farjon, A. (1990). Pinaceae. Drawings and Descriptions of the Genera. Koeltz Scientific Books ISBN 3-87429-298-3.
  3. ↑ Gymnosperm Database: Picea koyamae
  4. ↑ Farjon, A. (1998). World Checklist and Bibliography of Conifers. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew ISBN 1-900347-54-7.