Xanthocyparis vietnamensis

Xanthocyparis vietnamensis
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Pinophyta
Class: Pinopsida
Order: Pinales
Family: Cupressaceae
Genus: Xanthocyparis
Species: X. vietnamensis
Binomial name
Xanthocyparis vietnamensis
Farjon & Hiep

Xanthocyparis vietnamensis, commonly known as the Vietnamese golden cypress, is a coniferous tree in the cypress family.

Distribution

Xanthocyparis vietnamensis is endemic to Vietnam, being native only to the karst limestone mountains of the Hà Giang Province in northern Vietnam.[2]

Taxonomy

It was first discovered by western scientists only in October 1999 and was shortly thereafter described as a new genus and species, namely Xanthocyparis vietnamensis, closely related to Nootka cypress (Xanthocyparis nootkatensis), which was also transferred to this new genus.[3] Subsequently, Little et al. (2004) pointed out that an earlier genus name Callitropsis had been given to Nootka cypress,[4] but this name was later abandoned in favour of Xanthocyparis.[5][6]

Conservation

Xanthocyparis vietnamensis is designated as a Critically Endangered species, as only 560 individuals are known to exist, on only 10 km2 of habitat.[2]

References

  1. ↑ Thomas, P. (2013). "Xanthocyparis vietnamensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved May 19, 2014.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Thompson, Christian (2008-12-15). "First Contact in the Greater Mekong" (pdf). World Wildlife Fund. Retrieved 2008-12-20.
  3. ↑ A. Farjon, Nguyen Tien Hiep, D. K. Harder, Phan Ke Loc & L. Averyanov (2002). "A new genus and species in the Cupressaceae (Coniferales) from northern Vietnam, Xanthocyparis vietnamensis". Novon 12 (2): 179–189. JSTOR 3392953.
  4. ↑ Damon P. Little, Andrea E. Schwarzbach, Robert P. Adams & Chang-Fu Hsieh (2004). "The circumscription and phylogenetic relationships of Callitropsis and the newly described genus Xanthocyparis (Cupressaceae)". American Journal of Botany 91 (11): 1872–1881. doi:10.3732/ajb.91.11.1872. PMID 21652334.
  5. ↑ Robert R. Mill & Aljas Farjon (2006). "Proposal to conserve the name Xanthocyparis against Callitropsis Oerst. (Cupressaceae)". Taxon 55 (1): 229–231. JSTOR 25065550.
  6. ↑ Fred R. Barrie (2011). "Report of the General Committee: 11". Taxon 60 (4): 1211–1214.

Further reading