Common Names
Yakushima white pine. Japanese: Amami-goyomatsu (2), Yakutane-goyo, Amami-goyo (3).Taxonomic notes
Syn. Pinus armandii var. amamiana (Koidzumi) Hatus. Commonly treated under this name, but now accepted as a distinct species (1), allied not to P. armandii but to P. morrisonicola and P. parviflora (4).Description
"Tree up to 25 m height, 1 m in diameter; bark of young tree greyish, smooth; of older tree scaly; branchlet brown, glabrous; buds oblong-ovoid with brown scales; leaves five in basal sheath, 5-8 cm long, resin canals 3; cones short stalked, oblong-ovoid, 5-8 cm long; seeds about 12 mm long, have no wing." (3). Also cited as"shoots . . . pubescent or glabrous" (2). Shoots with scattered dark brown pubescence; cones glossy orange-brown; seeds with a rudimentary 0.5-1 mm wing (herbarium material at Kew).Range
Extreme S Japan: a local endemic confined to the islands of Yakushima and Tanegashima, at low altitudes. USDA hardiness zone 9.Big Tree
Oldest
Dendrochronology
Ethnobotany
Observations
In cultivation in parks in Kagoshima City, Kyushu, S Japan.Remarks
Listed as vulnerable (criterion D2) in Farjon 1998; much of the population is now protected in Yakushima National Park, following earlier exploitation for timber (3).Citations
(1) Farjon 1998.(2) Koidzumi, G. 1924. Contributiones ad cogitionem Florae Asiae Orientalis. Bot. Mag. Tokyo 38: 88-113 (p. 113).
(3) Takehara, H. 1976. Pinus armandii var amamiana Hatusima. Forest Genetics Resources Information 5: 28-29.
(4) Frankis, M. P. 1989. Some interesting, unusual and recently described pines. Conifer Society of Australia Newsletter 5: 12-15.
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This page is from the Gymnosperm Database
URL: http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Canopy/2285/pi/pin/amamiana.htm
Edited by Christopher J. Earle
E-mail:earlecj@earthlink.com
Last modified on 6-Feb-1999