Cupressus torulosa

Himalayan cypress ( Cupressus torulosa )

The Himalayan cypress ( Cupressus torulosa ) is a plant from the family of the cypress family ( Cupressaceae ). It is located in the Himalayas and in the mountains of Vietnam.

Description

The Himalayan cypress evergreen tree grows as the plant height of 15 to 45 meters and diameter at breast height can be from 40 to 350 centimeters reach. The thick bark is gray -brown to brown and peels off in long strips. The crown is oval shaped to broadly conical. It consists of thin, drooping branches. The slim, pencil -shaped branches are 1 to 1.4 millimeters thick and go hanging or irregular protruding from the branches off. They are crowded or loose on the branches. The pale brown heartwood is surrounded by a pale yellow sapwood.

The scale-like, flat leaves are 1 to 1.8 mm long and are colored dark green. They are crowded on the branches. Your tips are blunt.

The flowering period extends from February to March, and the seeds ripen from May to June. The male cones are approximately spherically shaped with a diameter of 3 to 6 millimeters. They contain 14 to 18 Mikrosporophyllen. The cones are spherical shaped with a length of 1.2 to 2 inches and a thickness of 1 to 1.8 inches to broadly ovate. You are on very short stalks. At first they are green or purple. When ripe they turn out dark brown to gray- brown. Each pin consists of six to twelve Zapfenschuppen each carrying six to eight seeds. The flat, red-brown seeds are wide - shaped elongated in a length of 3 to 5 millimeters.

The chromosome number is 2n = 22

Distribution and location

The natural range of the Himalayan cypress covers the north of India, Kashmir, Nepal, the south and east Xizangs and Vietnam. In Vietnam, it occurs in a small area in central Vietnam, as well as in the northern provinces of Vietnam Tuyen Quang and Lang Son. Furthermore, the species is planted in Kon Tum and Lâm Đồng in. There may also be occurrences in Bhutan and the Indian state of Sikkim.

The Himalayan cypress grows at altitudes 800-2800 m. One finds the way, especially in mountains where it grows in tropical and subtropical forests on calcareous soils. In Sichuan, it also grows in arid areas. Sometimes pure stands are formed, but usually it is the dominant tree species in mixed stands with Markhamia stipulata and Burretiodendron hsienmu.

Use

In their homeland, the Himalayan cypress is an important supplier of timber. The hard, fine- grained wood is durable and resistant to insect infestation. It is mainly used for carpentry work as well as construction wood. Furthermore, it is in railway use. Especially from the root wood, an oil can be extracted that can be used due to the antiseptic action for the treatment of infected wounds. The species is also planted as an ornamental tree.

System

The first description as Cupressus torulosa in 1824 by David Don in A Description of the genus Pinus 1 (2 ), pp. 18 synonyms for Cupressus lusitanica Cupressus are torulosa D. Don subsp. torulosa (D. Don ex Lamb. ) Silba & D.Z. Fu, Cupressus tongmaiensis Silba and Cupressus tonkinensis Silba.

The Tibet cypress ( Cupressus gigantea ) is considered by some authors as a variety of Himalayan cypress.

Threats and conservation

The Himalayan cypress is conducted Near Threatened in the IUCN Red List as Least Concern. In Vietnam, however, it is considered at risk.

Swell

• Template: Internet resource / maintenance / access date not in ISO format Christopher J. Earle: Cupressus torulosa. In: The Gymnosperm Database. www.conifers.org, May 20, accessed 29 December 2011 (English).
• Liguo Fu Yong -fu Yu, Robert P. Adams & Aljos Farjon: Cupressaceae. Cupressus. In: Wu Zhengyi, Peter H. Raven & Hong Deyuan (eds.): Flora of China. Cycadaceae through Fagaceae. Volume 4, Science Press and Missouri Botanical Garden Press, Beijing and St. Louis in 1999, ISBN 0-915279-70-3, Cupressus torulosa, p 66 ( this printed work is the same text online, Cupressus torulosa - Online).