Scientific name: Amentotaxus argotaenia (Hance) Pilger 1916

Synonyms: Amentotaxus argotaenia var. argotaenia, Amentotaxus argotaenia var. cathayensis (H.L.Li) Keng f., Amentotaxus cathayensis H.L.Li, Cephalotaxus argotaenia (Hance) Pilg., Nageia argotaenia (Hance) Kuntze, Nageia insignis (Hemsl.) Kuntze, Podocarpus argotaenia Hance, Podocarpus insignis Hemsl.

Common names: Northern catkin-yew, Chinese flowering catkin-yew (English), Sui Hua Shan (Chinese)

Description

Shrub, or tree 2(-6) m tall, with trunk to 0.2(-0.5) m in diameter. Bark reddish brown at first, weathering light to dark gray. Leaves (2-)3-11(-15) cm long, (3.5-)6-10(-12.5) mm wide, glossy yellowish green to dark green above, straight or slightly curved, widest near or before the middle, tapering gradually and then more abruptly to the sharply to bluntly triangular tip, and more abruptly to the roundly wedge-shaped or rounded base on a very short petiole to 3(-4) mm long. Stomatal bands (0.6-)1-2(-3) mm wide, grayish white to greenish white, flanking a green midrib band 1-1.5(-2) mm wide and flanked by green marginal bands (0.5-)1.5-3 mm wide. Pollen spikes (1-)2-4(-10) in a cluster, each (1-)4-6.5 cm long. Pollen scales of lower cones on spikes with two to four (or five) pollen sacs. Seed stalks 1-1.5(-2.5) cm long. Seeds 2-2.5(-3.5) cm long, 1-1.5(-2.5) cm in diameter, bright red to purplish red.

Throughout eastern and central China (from Jiangsu to Guangdong west to southern Gansu, eastern Sichuan, Guizhou, and Guangxi) and in adjacent northern Vietnam (Hoang Liên Son to Cao Lang), with an outlier in northeastern India (Arunachal Pradesh). Scattered in the understory or in thickets at the edges of wet warm temperate and subtropical, montane broad-leaved evergreen forests, especially in valleys and along streamsides on a variety of substrates; (300-)600-1,100(-1,900) m.

Conservation Status

Red List Category & Criteria: Near Threatened

This taxon has certainly undergone a population decline, but it is hard to say if this is more than 30% over the last three generations (75 years) as there have been range extensions since it was last assessed. It is therefore listed as Near Threatened as it is likely to have had a reduction of 20-29% within the last three generations based on exploitation for its timber and loss of habitat to general logging and clearance for agricultural expansion.

In Vietnam, was locally common (K. Rushforth pers. comm.). In Hong Kong, if it is still there, the population comprises just 20 trees. But it is widespread and common elsewhere in southern China.

Amentotaxus argotaenia is a widespread shrub or small tree (up to 6 m) and occurs on limestone as well as sandstone, shale or granite, and in ravines, on steep slopes or cliffs, on summits and ridges and in mountain forests along shady stream banks. The altitudinal range is between 600 m and 1,100 m a.s.l. Associated trees and shrubs vary with the types of rock, mainly between limestone and other rocks. On limestone, it may grow with Pinus fenzeliana, Nageia spp., Podocarpus neriifolius, Podocarpus pilgeri, Podocarpus macrophyllus and Taxus chinensis. On acidic rock types it is associated with Amentotaxus yunnanensis, Cephalotaxus spp. and broad-leaved trees and shrubs (angiosperms) like Magnolia, Quercus, and Rhododendron in montane evergreen or semi-deciduous forests.

Despite the wide distribution of the type variety of Amentotaxus argotaenia, it is in danger of extinction due to a similarly widespread reduction and deterioration of its habitat. In such cases, we have no direct evidence of decline but this is inferred from circumstantial evidence. When forests on more accessible mountain slopes have been and are being degraded or even removed to make way for agriculture, this shrub will have gone with its habitat from those localities. An assessment of deforestation will amount to an inferred assessment of the status of a forest species.

The wood is used for tool making, furniture and wood turning (handicrafts). This species is in cultivation in China and was introduced to Europe from Hong Kong; it makes an attractive foliage shrub but only grows outside in warmer regions. This (and other) species is rare in gardens due to poor availability in the horticultural trade. In China it is used as a bonsai plant. The seeds have high oil content and are surrounded by a very striking red aril. Recent investigations have been undertaken to analyse its potential for anti-cancer drugs similar to those found in Taxus.

Occurs in many protected areas across its range.

References

Farjon, A. (2010). A Handbook of the World's Conifers. Koninklijke Brill, Leiden.
Eckenwalder, J.E. (2009) Conifers of the World: The Complete Reference. Timber Press, Portland.
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. Cambridge, UK /Gland, Switzerland