  Foliage and bark of a tree in the Los Angeles County Arboretum [C.J. Earle, 12-Mar-1998]. | Glyptostrobus pensilis (Staunton) K.KochCommon NamesSHUI SONG [water pine] (3), Chinese deciduous cypress, Canton water pine (2).Taxonomic notesThe sole species in Glyptostrobus Endlicher 1847.Syn: G. lineatus (Poiret) Druce; G. heterophyllus Endlicher; G. sinensis Loder; Taxodium heterophyllum Brongniart (1), T. sinense Forbes, Thuja lineata Poiret, T. pensilis Staunton (2). DescriptionA small deciduous tree. Lower branches spreading, upper ones more erect. Shoots of two kinds, long and short. Leaves delicate green when young, rich brown in autumn; those on the long shoots (representing fruiting branchlets and mature persistent vegetative branchlets) overlapping and scale-like; those on the short shoots (representing terminal barren branchlets) needle-like, sickle-shaped, enlarged at the base, quadrangular in cross section, 8-12 mm long, on one-year shoots and young trees 2-ranked. Pollen cones terminal on short shoots. Ovulate cones terminal on lateral shoots, pear-shaped or ovate, 12-18 mm long, stalked, disintegrating. Cone scales obovate, thin, bearing wart-like, sub-apical teeth and a small, triangular mucro above their centre. Seeds ovate or oblong, 5-6 mm long, thin-coated and terminated by a hatchet-shaped wing about 3 mm long. Cotyledons 4-5 (1, 2).Similar to Taxodium, from which it differs in having pear-shaped, long-stalked cones, obovate scales, and small-winged seeds (2). RangeChina: Guangzhou, usually in low, damp, riparian areas (1, 2). Evidently also present in Viet Nam (see Remarks).Big TreeThe one tree I have seen was about 12 m tall and 35 cm dbh.OldestDendrochronologyEthnobotanyObservationsHave seen one in the Los Angeles Arboretum.RemarksHas "breathing roots" as in Taxodium (1).Listed as threatened in Viet Nam by the World Conservation Monitoring Centre. Citations(1) Vidakovic 1991.(2) Dallimore & Jackson 1967 (as G. lineatus). (3) Cheng & Fu 1987. See also Silba 1986. |
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