Sunday, September 14, 2008

Alstonia scholaris

Alstonia scholaris is an evergreen, tropical tree native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia.

Description






''Alstonia scholaris'' is a small tree that grows up to 40 m tall and is glabrous. The bark is greyish; branchlets are copiously lenticellate.

The upperside of the leaves are glossy, while the underside is greyish. Leaves occur in whorls of 3-10; s are 1-3 cm; the leathery leaves are narrowly obovate to very narrowly spatulate, base cuneate, apex usually rounded; lateral veins occur in 25-50 pairs, at 80-90° to midvein. Cymes are dense and pubescent; peduncle is 4-7 cm long. Pedicels are usually as long as or shorter than . The is white and tube-like, 6-10 mm; lobes are broadly ovate or broadly obovate, 2-4.5 mm, overlapping to the left. The ovaries are distinct and pubescent. The are distinct and linear.

Seeds of ''A. scholaris'' are oblong, with ciliated margins, and ends with tufts of hairs 1.5-2 cm. The bark is almost odourless and very bitter, with abundant bitter and milky sap.

Range



''Alstonia scholaris'' is native to the following regions:

* China: Guangxi , Yunnan
* Indian subcontinent: India; Nepal; Sri Lanka
* Southeast Asia: Cambodia; Myanmar; Thailand; Vietnam, Indonesia; Malaysia; Papua New Guinea; Philippines
* Australia: Queensland

It has also been naturalised in several other tropical and subtropical climates.

Uses



The bark contains the alkaloids ditamine, echitenine and echitamine and used to serve as an alternative to quinine. At one time, a decoction of the bark was used to treat diarrhoea and malaria, as a tonic, febrifuge, emmenagogue, anticholeric and vulnerary. A decoction of the leaves were used for beriberi.

Alstonia henryi

Alstonia henryi is a species of plant in the Apocynaceae family. It is to China.

Alseodaphne rugosa

Alseodaphne rugosa is a species of plant in the Lauraceae family. It is to China. It is threatened by habitat loss.

Alphonsea tsangyuanensis

Alphonsea tsangyuanensis is a species of plant in the Annonaceae family. It is to China.

Alphonsea monogyna

Alphonsea monogyna is a species of plant in the Annonaceae family. It is to China.

Alphonsea hainanensis

Alphonsea hainanensis is a species of plant in the Annonaceae family. It is to China.

Allium galanthum

Allium galanthum is an edible and medicinal plant in the Alliaceae family.

Allium chinense

Allium chinense is an edible plant in the Alliaceae family.

It is also used as a folk medicine curing heart disease.

Aleuritopteris squamosa

Aleuritopteris squamosa is a species of fern in the Pteridaceae family. It is to China. Its natural habitats are temperate forests and subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.

Ailanthus vilmoriniana

Ailanthus vilmoriniana, commonly known as Downy Tree of Heaven, is a tree in the . It is native to western China, but is occasionally encountered in northern European gardens.

Description


''A. vilmoriniana'' is a tree that often attains heights of 20 metres or more with a crown spread of 15 metres. The new shoots occasionally have small green spines. The are quite similar to those of '''', but they are darker in colour and pendulous. The rachis is finely pubescent and is a consistent deep red in colour. It is also longer, being up to 1 metre long on s, and with more leaflets, usually numbering 23 to 35, though they have sometimes as few as 20. The leaves are pubescent beneath. The itself occasionally will have sprouts emerging from it.

Cultivation


The downy tree of heaven was first grown in the United Kingdom in 1897, but it is rarely found in gardens within the British Isles. It is occasionally encountered in plant collections as well as gardens in the south of England. Specimens are also present as far north as the in Edinburgh.

Ailanthus altissima

Ailanthus altissima , commonly known as tree of heaven, ailanthus, or in Standard Mandarin as chouchun , is a deciduous tree in the Simaroubaceae family. It is native to both Taiwan and northeast and central China. Unlike other members of the genus ''Ailanthus'', it is found in temperate climates rather than the tropics. The tree grows rapidly and is capable of reaching heights of 15 metres in 25 years. However, the species is also short lived and rarely lives more than 50 years.

In China, the tree of heaven has a long and rich history. It was mentioned in the oldest extant Chinese dictionary and listed in countless Chinese medical texts for its purported ability to cure ailments ranging from mental illness to balding. The roots, leaves and bark are still used today in traditional Chinese medicine, primarily as an astringent. The tree has been grown extensively both in China and abroad as a host plant for the ailanthus silkmoth, a moth involved in silk production. Ailanthus has become a part of western culture as well, with the tree serving as the central metaphor and subject matter of the best-selling American novel '''' by Betty Smith.

The tree was first brought from China to Europe in the 1740s and to the United States in 1784. It was one of the first trees brought west during a time when ''chinoiserie'' was dominating European arts, and was initially hailed as a beautiful garden specimen. However, enthusiasm soon waned after gardeners became familiar with its habits and its foul smelling odour. Despite this, it was used extensively as a street tree during much of the 19th century. Outside of Europe and the United States, the plant has been spread to many other areas beyond its native range. In a number of these, it has become an invasive species due to its ability to quickly colonise disturbed areas and suppress competition with chemicals. It is considered a noxious weed in Australia, the United States, New Zealand and several countries in and eastern Europe. The tree also vigorously when cut, making its eradication difficult and time consuming.

Description




''A. altissima'' is a medium-sized tree that reaches heights between 17 and 27 metres with a diameter at breast height of about 1 metre . The bark is smooth and light grey, often becoming somewhat rougher with light tan fissures as the tree ages. The twigs are stout, smooth to lightly pubescent, and reddish or chestnut in colour. They have lenticels as well as heart-shaped leaf scars with many bundle scars around the edges. The buds are finely pubescent, dome shaped, and partially hidden behind the , though they are completely visible in the dormant season at the sinuses of the leaf scars.

The are large, odd- or even-pinnately compound, and arranged alternately on the stem. They range in size from 30 to 90 cm in length and contain 10-41 leaflets organised in pairs, with the largest leaves found on vigorous young sprouts. The rachis is light to reddish-green with a swollen base. The leaflets are with entire margins, somewhat asymmetric and occasionally not directly opposite to each others. Each leaflet is 5 to 18 cm long and 2.5 to 5 cm wide. They have a long tapering end while the bases have two to four teeth, each containing one or more glands at the tip. The leaflets' upper sides are dark green in colour with light green veins, while the undersides are a more whitish green. The petioles are 5 to 12 mm long. They appear from mid-April in the south of its range to July in the north. ''A. altissima'' is , with male and female flowers being borne on different individuals. Male trees produce three to four times as many flowers as the females, making the male flowers more conspicuous. Furthermore, the male plants emit a foul-smelling odour while flowering to attract pollinating insects. Female flowers contain ten sterile stamens with heart-shaped anthers. The pistil is made up of five free carpels , each containing a single ovule. Their are united and slender with star-shaped s. ''Altissima'' is for "tallest", and refers to the sizes the tree can reach. The plant is sometimes incorrectly cited with the specific epithet in the masculine , which is incorrect since botanical, like Classical Latin, treats most tree names as feminine.

There are three of ''A. altissima'':
*''A. altissima'' var. ''altissima'', which is the type variety and is native to mainland China.
*''A. altissima'' var. ''tanakai'', which is endemic to northern Taiwan highlands. It differs from the type in having yellowish bark, odd-pinnate leaves that are also shorter on average at 45 to 60 cm long with only 13-25 scythe-like leaflets. It is listed as endangered in the IUCN Red List of threatened species due to loss of habitat for building and industrial plantations.
*''A. altissima'' var. ''sutchuenensis'', which differs in having red branchlets. and northern Korea. Within China itself it has also been naturalised beyond its native range in areas such as Qinghai, Ningxia and Xinjiang. The tree was separately brought to California in the 1890s by Chinese immigrants who came during the California Gold Rush. It has escaped cultivation in all areas where it was introduced, but most extensively in the United States. Ailanthus has also been introduced to Argentina, New Zealand, the Middle East and in some countries in South Asia such as Pakistan.

In North America, ''A. altissima'' is present from Massachusetts in the east, west to southern Ontario, southwest to Iowa, south to Texas, and east to the north of Florida. On the west coast it is found from New Mexico west to California and north to Washington. Similarly, another study conducted in southwestern Virginia determined that the tree of heaven is thriving along approximately 30% of the state's interstate highway system length or mileage. It sometimes enters undisturbed areas as well and competes with native plants.

Ecology



Ailanthus is an opportunistic plant that thrives in full sun and disturbed areas. It spreads aggressively both by seeds and vegetatively by root sprouts. It can re-sprout rapidly after being cut. though it is sometimes found competing with hardwoods, but such competition rather indicates it was present at the time the stand was established. It is a short lived tree in any location and rarely lives more than 50 years. The inhibitors are strongest in the bark and roots, but are also present in the leaves, wood and seeds of the plant. One study showed that a crude extract of the root bark inhibited 50% of a sample of garden cress seeds from germinating. The same study tested the extract as an herbicide on garden cress, redroot pigweed , velvetleaf , yellow bristlegrass , barnyard grass , pea and maize . It proved able to kill nearly 100% of seedlings with the exception of velvetleaf, which showed some resistance. Another experiment showed a water extract of the chemical was either lethal or highly damaging to 11 North American hardwoods and 34 conifers, with the white ash being the only plant not adversely affected. The chemical does not, however, affect the tree of heaven's own seedlings, indicating that ''A. altissima'' has a defence mechanism to prevent autotoxicity.

The tree of heaven is a very rapidly growing tree, possibly the fastest growing tree in North America. Growth of one to two metres per year for the first four years is considered normal. Shade considerably hampers growth rates. Older trees, while growing much slower, still do so faster than other trees. Studies found that Californian trees grew faster than their counterparts, and American trees in general grew faster than Chinese ones. In its native range ''A. altissima'' is associated with at least 32 species of arthropods and 13 species of fungi.

Uses



In addition to its use as an ornamental plant, the tree of heaven is also used for its wood, medicinal properties, and as a host plant to feed silkworms of the moth ''Samia cynthia'', which produces silk that is stronger and cheaper than mulberry silk, although with inferior gloss and texture. It is also unable to take dye. This type of silk is known as "pongee" or "Shantung silk", the second name being derived from Shandong Province in China where this silk is often produced. Its production is particularly well known in the Yantai region of that province. The moth has also been introduced in the United States. There are problems with using the wood as lumber, however. Because the trees exhibit rapid growth for the first few years, the trunk has uneven texture between the inner and outer wood, which can cause the wood to twist or crack during drying. Techniques have been developed for drying the wood so as to prevent this cracking, allowing it to be commercially harvested. Although the live tree tends to have very flexible wood, the wood is quite hard once properly dried.

Cultivation


Tree of heaven is a popular ornamental tree in China and valued for its tolerance of difficult growing conditions.In Europe, however, the tree is still used in the garden to some degree as its habit is generally not as invasive as it is in America. In the United Kingdom it is especially common in London squares, streets, and parks, though it is also frequently found in gardens of southern England and East Anglia. It becomes rare in the north, occurring only infrequently in southern Scotland. It is also rare in Ireland. In Germany the tree is commonly planted in gardens. The tree has furthermore become unpopular in cultivation in the west due to the fact that it is short-lived and that the trunk soon becomes hollow, making trees more than two feet in diameter unstable in high winds.

A few cultivars exist, but they are not often sold outside of China and probably not at all in North America:
*‘Hongye’ - The name is Chinese and means "red leaves". As the name implies it has attractive vivid red foliage
*‘Metro’ - A male cultivar with a tighter crown than usual and a less weedy habit

Medicinal


Nearly every part of ''A. altissima'' has some application in Chinese traditional medicine. One of the oldest recipes, recorded in a work from 732 AD, is used for treating mental illness. It involved chopped root material, young boys' urine and douchi. After sitting for a day the liquid was strained out and given to the patient over the course of several days.

The s are also used in modern Chinese medicine under the name ''feng yan cao'' , meaning "herbal phoenix eye". They are used as a hemostatic agent, spermatorrhea and for treating patients with blood in their feces or urine. It was clinically shown to be able to treat trichomoniasis, a vaginal infection caused by the protozoan ''Trichomonas vaginalis''.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that the plant may be mildly toxic. The noxious odours have been associated with nausea and headaches, as well as with contact dermatitis reported in both humans and sheep, who also developed weakness and paralysis. It contains a quinone irritant, 2,6-dimethoxybenzoquinone, as well as active quassinoids which may account for these effects, but they have, however, proved difficult or impossible to reproduce in humans and goats. In one trial a tincture from the blossom and foliage caused nausea, vomiting and muscular relaxation.

Culture


China


In addition to the tree of heaven's various uses, it has also been a part of Chinese culture for many centuries and has more recently attained a similar status in the west. Within the oldest extant Chinese dictionary, the Erya, written in the 3rd century BC, the tree of heaven is mentioned second among a list of trees. It was mentioned again in a materia medica compiled during the Tang dynasty in 656 AD. Each work favoured a different character, however, and there is still some debate in the Chinese botanical community as to which character should be used. The current name, ''chouchun'' , means "stinking spring", and is a relatively new appellation. People living near the lower Yellow River know it by the name ''chunshu'' , meaning "spring tree". The name stems from the fact that ''A. altissima'' is one of the last trees to come out of dormancy, and as such its leaves coming out would indicate that winter was truly over. In certain parts of the United States, the species is called ghetto palm because of its propensity for growing in the inhospitable conditions of urban areas, or on abandoned and poorly maintained properties.

Until March 26, 2008, a -tall member of the species was a prominent "centerpiece" of the sculpture garden at the Noguchi Museum in the borough of Queens in New York City. The tree had been spared by the sculptor Isamu Noguchi when in 1975 he bought the building which would become the museum and cleaned up its back lot. The tree was the only one he left in the yard, and the staff would eat lunch with Noguchi under it. "n a sense, the sculpture garden was designed around the tree", said a former aide to Noguchi, Bonnie Rychlak, who later became the museum curator. By 2008, the old tree was found to be dying and in danger of crashing into the building, which was about to undergo a major renovation. The museum hired the Detroit Tree of Heaven Woodshop, an artists' collective, to use the wood to create benches, sculptures and other amenities in and around the building. The tree's rings were counted, revealing its age to be 75, and museum officials hoped it would regenerate from a stump, as these trees often do.

Europe


Ingo Vetter, a German artist and professor of fine arts at Umea University in Sweden, was influenced by the idea of the "ghetto palm" and installed a living ailanthus tree taken from Detroit for an international art show called ''Shrinking Cities'' at the KW Institute of Contemporary Art in Berlin in 2004.

Aglaia spectabilis

Aglaia spectabilis is a species of plant in the Meliaceae family. It is found in Australia, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, the Solomon Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Adiantum sinicum

Adiantum sinicum is a species of fern in the Adiantaceae family. It is to China. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.

Adiantum fengianum

Adiantum fengianum is a species of fern in the Adiantaceae family. It is to China. Its natural habitat is temperate forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.

Actinidia vitifolia

Actinidia vitifolia is a species of plant in the Actinidiaceae family. It is to China.

Actinidia ulmifolia

Actinidia ulmifolia is a species of plant in the Actinidiaceae family. It is to China.

Actinidia suberifolia

Actinidia suberifolia is a species of plant in the Actinidiaceae family. It is to China.

Actinidia rudis

Actinidia rudis is a species of plant in the Actinidiaceae family. It is to China.

Actinidia pilosula

Actinidia pilosula is a species of plant in the Actinidiaceae family. It is to China.

Actinidia laevissima

Actinidia laevissima is a species of plant in the Actinidiaceae family. It is to China.

Actinidia chrysantha

Actinidia chrysantha is a species of plant in the Actinidiaceae family. It is to China.

Actinidia chinensis

Actinidia chinensis is a fruit tree and medicinal plant native to China. It is pollinated by bees.


Habitat


Thickets and oak forests on slopes or in 250-2300 meters.

Uses


Paper is made from the . If the bark is removed in one piece from near the root and placed in hot ashes, it becomes very hard and can be used as a tube for a pencil. The plant is said to have properties.

Acrorumohra hasseltii

Acrorumohra hasseltii is a species of fern in the Dryopteridaceae family. It is to China. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.

Acer truncatum

Acer truncatum is a maple native to northern China, in the provinces of Gansu, Hebei, Henan, Jiangsu, Jilin, Liaoning, Nei Mongol, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, and also Korea.

It is a medium-sized deciduous tree growing to 15 m tall with a broad, rounded crown. The bark is smooth on young trees, becoming shallowly ridged with age. The are opposite, ly lobed with five lobes, 5-12 cm long and 7-11 cm broad, with a 3-10 cm petiole; the lobes are usually entire, but occasionally with a pair of teeth on the largest central lobe, and the margin is often wavy. The petiole bleeds a milky latex when broken. The flowers are in corymbs, yellow-green with five petals 5-7 mm long; flowering occurs in early spring. The fruit is a double with two winged seeds, the seeds are disc-shaped, slightly flattened, 13-18 mm across. The wings are 2 cm long, widely spread, approaching a 180° angle. The bark is greenish-grey, smooth in young trees, becoming shallowly grooved in mature.

A number of cultivars have been selected, including 'Akikaze Nishiki' with leaves, 'Fire Dragon' with very bright autumn colour.

Acer triflorum

Acer triflorum is a species of maple native to hills of northern China and Korea.

It is a deciduous tree that reaches a height of about 25 m but is usually smaller. It is a trifoliate maple related to such other species as and Paperbark Maple . It has yellowish-brown that peels in woody scales rather than papery pieces like ''Acer griseum''..

Cultivation


The species was first introduced to cultivation in 1923. Although common in maple collections, it is rarely seen in cultivation outside of .

It grows at slow to moderate rate and prefers moist, well drained soil; growth is often shrub-like in cultivation. It is relatively tolerant of drought and clay compared to its close relatives. It does not tolerate wet or over-compacted soil. is similar to that required for ''Acer griseum'' and the number of viable seeds is likewise very small.

In Great Britain, the largest specimens are up to 13 m tall, and 60 cm trunk diameter . In the United States, mature specimens can be seen at Arnold Arboretum in Boston, Massachusetts.

Acer miaotaiense

Acer miaotaiense is a species of maple native to China, in southeastern Gansu, southwestern Henan, northwestern Hubei, southern Shaanxi, and Zhejiang.

It is a medium-sized deciduous tree growing to 25 m tall, with rough, grey-brown bark. The are three-lobed, 4–9 cm long and 5–8 cm broad, with a 6–7 cm long petiole; the petiole bleeds white latex if cut. The flowers are produced in spring at the same time as the leaves open, yellow-green, in erect corymbs. The fruit is a with two winged seeds aligned at 180?, each seed 8 mm wide, flat, with a 2 cm wing. It is a rare tree, considered Vulnerable.

Acer mandshuricum

Acer mandshuricum , is a species of maple native to China , Korea and Russia .

It is a slender deciduous tree that reaches a height of up to 30 m tall but is usually smaller. It is a trifoliate maple related to such other species as and Paperbark Maple but has smooth, gray bark dissimilar to the of either..

Cultivation


The species was first introduced to cultivation in 1904, when trees were planted at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in Britain.

In the United States, mature specimens can be seen at Arnold Arboretum in Boston, Massachusetts, including one 70 year old specimen that has reached a size of approximately 13 m tall and 8 m wide. In Canada, the in Hamilton, Ontario have three Manchurian maples each about 10 m tall.

Acer leipoense

Acer leipoense is a species of maple, to southwestern Sichuan in southwestern China. It is an endangered species, growing at altitudes of 2,000–2,700 m.

It is a deciduous small tree growing to 8 m tall. The are shallowly lobed with three lobes, 9–11 cm long and 7–12 cm broad.

Acer laevigatum

Acer laevigatum , is an atypical species of maple native to southern China , northern India , northern Myanmar, Nepal, and northern Vietnam. It grows at moderate altitudes of 1,000-2,000 m, with a wet monsoon climate.

It is an evergreen tree growing to a height of 10-15 m or more, with a trunk up to 50 cm diameter. The are smooth, unlobed, leathery, olive-green, and about 6-15 cm long and 3-5 cm wide, with a short 1-1.5 cm . The leaves are normally persistent, and only drop in winter in unusually severe frost.. One in Cornwall is 17 m tall .

Acer griseum

Acer griseum is a species of maple native to central China, in the provinces of Gansu, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Shaanxi, Shanxi, and Sichuan, at altitudes of 1,500–2,000 m.

It is a small to medium-sized deciduous tree, reaching 10-20 m tall with a trunk up to 70 cm diameter. The bark is smooth, shiny orange-red, peeling in thin, papery layers; it may become fissured in old trees. The shoots are densely downy at first, this wearing off by the second or third year and the bark exfoliating by the third or fourth year. The are compound, with a 2–4 cm petiole with three leaflets, each 3-10 cm long and 2-6 cm broad, dark green above, bright glaucous blue-green beneath, with several blunt teeth on the margins. The flowers are , produced in small corymbs in spring, the fruit being a paired with two winged seeds about 1 cm long with a 3 cm wing.

Cultivation and uses


Paperbark Maple is widely grown as an ornamental plant in temperate regions. It is admired for its decorative bark, translucent pieces of which often stay attached to the branches until worn away. It also has spectacular autumn foliage which can include red, orange and pink tones.

It was introduced to cultivation in Europe in 1901 by Ernest Henry Wilson for the Veitch Nurseries, and to North America shortly after.

Recent attempts have been made to acquire new seed stock from wild populations in China because it is believed that the current gene pool of cultivated specimens is very small. of ''Acer griseum'' is somewhat difficult as seeds have the same tendencies as those of ''Acer maximowiczianum''.

Acer duplicatoserratum

Acer duplicatoserratum is a species of maple, native to southern China, including Taiwan.

It is a small tree, in the same group of maples as ''Acer palmatum''. The leaves are palmately lobed with seven to nine lobes, 2.3–10 cm long and 3–10 cm broad. Leaf s always pubescent.
*''Acer duplicatoserratum'' var. ''chinense'' C.S.Chang. Mainland China, in Anhui, Fujian, Guizhou, southern Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Shandong, and Zhejiang. Leaf petioles only pubescent when young, becoming hairless.

The taxonomic status of the species and its close relatives remains unresolved, and it is possible the species may be relegated to synonymy within ''Acer ceriferum'' in the future.

Acer davidii

Acer davidii , is a species of maple in the snakebark maple group. It is native to China, from Jiangsu south to Fujian and Guangdong, and west to southeastern Gansu and Yunnan.

It is a small deciduous tree growing to 10–15 m tall with a trunk up to 40 cm diameter, though usually smaller and often with multiple trunks, and a spreading crown of long, arching branches. The bark is smooth, olive-green with regular narrow pale vertical stripes on young trees, eventually becoming dull grey-brown at the base of old trees. The are 6–18 cm long and 4-9 cm broad, with a petiole 3–6 cm long; they are dark green above, paler below, ovate, unlobed or weakly three-lobed, with a serrated margin. They turn to bright yellow, orange or red in the autumn. The flowers are small, yellow, with five sepals and petals about 4 mm long; they are produced on arching to pendulous 7–12 cm racemes in late spring, with male and female flowers on different racemes. The nutlets are 7–10 mm long and 4–6 mm broad, with a wing 2–3 cm long and 5 mm broad.

There are two subspecies,
*''Acer davidii'' subsp. ''davidii''. Père David's Maple. Bark greenish-brown with white stripes. Shoots pinkish-green. Leaf petiole pink to red; leaf margin usually single-serrate with variably-sized serrations.
*''Acer davidii'' subsp. ''grosseri'' de Jong. Her's Maple . Bark green with white to pale green stripes. Shoots green. Leaf petiole green; leaf margin more often three-lobed and double-serrate.

Cultivation and uses


Along with '''', the two subspecies of Père David's Maple are among the most commonly cultivated snakebark maples. Both are relatively hardy and fast-growing.

Among the cultivars of ''A. davidii'' are 'Canton' , 'George Forrest' , 'Ernest Wilson' , and 'Serpentine' . In some cases, these cultivars cannot be assigned to one subspecies the other but are simply considered cultivars of ''A. davidii''.

Ceropegia aridicola

Ceropegia aridicola is a species of plant in the Apocynaceae family. It is to China.

Cephalotaxus sinensis

Cephalotaxus sinensis is a shub or small tree in the . It is native to central and southern China.

Cephalotaxus oliveri

Cephalotaxus oliveri is a shub or small tree in the . It is native to China and possibly to Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and eastern India.

Cephalotaxus mannii

Cephalotaxus mannii is a species of plum-yew. It is native to southern China, northeast India, Laos, northern Thailand, northern Myanmar and northern Vietnam.

Sometimes the species ''Cephalotaxus griffithii'' and ''Cephalotaxus hainanensis'' are considered synonyms of this species.

Cephalotaxus latifolia

Cephalotaxus latifolia is a shub or small tree in the . It is native to southern China and is similar in appearance to both '''' and ''''.

Cephalotaxus lanceolata

Cephalotaxus lanceolata is a tree in the . It is native to northern Burma and southern China. It is often considered a variety of ''''.

Cephalotaxus koreana

Cephalotaxus koreana, commonly called the Korean Plum Yew, is a shub or small tree in the . It is native to Korea, Japan and northeast China. Some botanists consider it synonymous with ''''.

Cephalotaxus hainanensis

Cephalotaxus hainanensis is a species of plum-yew confined to the island of Hainan, southern China.

Cephalotaxus griffithii

Cephalotaxus griffithii, commonly called Griffith's Plum Yew, is a shub or small tree in the . It is endemic to northern India, northern Myanmar and the western Sichuan Province in China.

Cephalotaxus fortunei

Cephalotaxus fortunei, commonly called the Chinese Plum Yew, simply Plum Yew, Chinese Cowtail Pine or in as San Jian Shan , is a shrub or small tree in the . It is native to northern Burma and China, but is sometimes grown in western gardens where it has been in cultivation since 1848.

Description


''C. fortunei'' is a shrub or small tree growing to as high as 20 m with a diameter at breast height of about 20 cm. They are usually multi-stemmed with an open and loosely rounded crown. In cultivation they tend to grow on a single stem that is often leaning and bare towards the bottom, but with dense foliage on the upper half. There are 11 haploid chromosomes present with the tree's DNA.

Actinidia stellatopilosa

Actinidia stellatopilosa is a species of plant in the Actinidiaceae family. It is to China.

Centipede grass

Centipede grass is a lawn grass native to China It was introduced to the United States in 1916 and is found primarily on the east and southeast coast.

Celery cabbage

Celery cabbage , is a species of cultivated for its edible leaves.

Carpinus putoensis

Carpinus putoensis is a species of plant in the Corylaceae family. It is to China.

Capparis masaikai

Capparis masaikai, known as Mabinlang, grow in the subtropical region of the Yunnan province of
China and bear fruits of tennis-ball size. The matured seed are used in traditional Chinese medicine.

They are also used as sweets: when chewed the seeds elicits a sweet taste.

The actives exhibiting sweet taste were identified as sweet-tasting proteins and named . They are highly sweet, 100-400 times sweeter then sucrose on a weight basis.