Sciadopitys

Anne Shields ( Sciadopitys verticillata )

The Anne Shields ( Sciadopitys verticillata ) is the only species of the monotypic genus Sciadopitys and at the same time the only species of the family of Anne Shields plants ( Sciadopityaceae ) within the order of the pine -like ( Coniferales ). The botanical genus name is from the Greek words Skias, skiádos σκιάς for screen and Pitys πίτυς derived for spruce or pine.

The Japanese name is Kōya Maki (高 野 槙or高 野 槇, literally Kōya - Steineibe ). The Shields Anne is one of the "Five trees of Kiso ", which were made ​​in 1708 in the Owari fief under protection.

• 5.1 Notes and references

Description

Habit

The Shields Anne grows up to 3 meters rarely achieved as evergreen tree, the plant height 20 to 30 (rarely 40) meters and trunk diameter of 1. The largest living specimen is growing on Jinguji temple in Koaza Himejitani aza Ishikawa Nodagawa the city in the prefecture of Kyoto, it has a plant height of 27 meters and a circumference of 4.1 meters. They grow slowly, both single-and multi-stemmed and are rich branches spreading. The bark is thick and reddish- brown. The bark of the branches is orange-brown. The buds are oval and three to four millimeters long. The more or less spirally on the stem are arranged at an angle of about 90 ° branches are usually short.

There are two types of leaves: For a scale-like, triangular leaves on the trunk; they are brown and only 1-6 millimeters in size. Secondly, the photosynthetically active leaves, they are linear and flat, approximately shaped like pine needles, but they have a different internal structure, as they develop through the fusion of two leaves. These needle-like leaves sitting at ten to 30 grouped in the short or long shoots. They are 6-13 cm long, 2-3 mm wide and 1 mm thick, they remain three to four years on the tree.

Flowers, cones and seeds

The Shields Anne is monoecious getrenntgeschlechtig ( monoecious ). The several at the ends of the branches together standing male pin-shaped flowers are 6-12 mm long and spirally constructed with many Mikrosporophyllen. The spherical pollen do not have air bags. The standing on short stalks, female cones are narrow ovate and first green. The spirally arranged bracts have a thin, recurved margin and envelop the triangular seed scales almost. The mature cones are then dark brown, slightly fragile, 4.5 to 10 cm long and 3.5 to 6.5 cm wide when they are open. Are formed each seed scale five to nine seeds.

The seeds are ripe 18 to 20 months after pollination. The flat seeds are oval, orange - brown, 8 to 12 mm long, about 8 mm wide and have a narrow wing. The seedlings have two seed leaves ( cotyledons ).

The chromosome number is 2n = 20

Distribution and evolutionary history

The Shields Anne is at home only in Japan, namely in southern Honshu, Kyushu and Shikoku in. Their habitats are mixed forests, there are cloud forests medium altitudes between 500 and 1000 meters, with high rainfall and high humidity.

This family used to have a wide distribution with many species. Fossils are widespread and since the upper Triassic ( Rhaetian ) occupied. The family had its main development in the Lower Cretaceous. Fossils were also found in Europe, there were some species in the Tertiary often. From the results of a recent study of Baltic amber using infrared spectroscopy and other methods has extensive references to the possibility that an extinct, the Shields Anne closely related species comes from this family as the main producer for the resin of this Eocene amber in consideration revealed.

System

The Sciadopityaceae family was erected in 1877 by Christian Luerssen in Broad Botany, Leipzig. A synonym for the Sciadopityaceae family Taxodiaceae subfam. Sciadopityoideae Silba, so she was counted as part of the family Taxodiaceae. Steven J. Brunsfeld et al. showed in 1994 that there is an independent family.

The genus was Sciadopitys 1842 by Philipp Franz von Siebold and Joseph Gerhard Zuccarini in Flora Japonica, 2: set 1. The first description of this kind took place already in 1784 as Taxus verticillata by Carl Peter Thunberg in Johan Andreas Murray: Systema Vegetabilium, 14th Edition, p 895 Another synonym for Sciadopitys verticillata ( Thunb. ) Siebold & Zucc. Podocarpus is verticillatus ( Thunb. ) Wall. ex Steud ..

Use

The Shields Anne is used worldwide as an ornamental plant in parks and gardens. It is also planted as a forest tree for timber. As this species grows slowly, it was transferred to Japan to replace them in forests by faster -growing species, such as Cryptomeria japonica.

The spicy- scented, soft, elastic wood is very durable in water and is therefore used in boat building. It is obtained an oil which is used as a varnish and dye. The bark is used for sealing.

Swell

• Christopher J. Earle: Sciadopitys verticillata. In: The Gymnosperm Database. December 20, 2010, accessed on 20 October 2011 ( English).
• Liguo Fu Yong -fu Yu & Aljos Farjon: Sciadopityoideae. In: Flora of China. Accessed on 20 October 2011 ( English).